Major research collaboration to map young people's views on natural sciences in the Danish Realm

From 2025 to 2028, researchers in Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands will jointly collect and analyze data from 14 to 16-year-old pupils to gain an understanding of young people's interests, attitudes, and future plans within natural science and technology.

The project, entitled ROSES - Relevance of Science Education - Second, is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation with a grant of DKK 4.875 million and is a follow-up to ROSE - Relevance of Science Education, in which Denmark participated back in 2003. At that time, data was collected on young people's interest in natural science and technology across approximately 40 countries - this time, 50 countries are participating.

"It will be particularly interesting to follow developments since the original ROSE study, which clearly showed that young people's views on natural science varied significantly. At that time, many said that natural science was important, but ‘not for me’, and there were clear gender differences. By comparing the two studies, we can see whether the initiatives to promote interest in natural science and technology have had an effect and whether young people's interest in natural science has become more positive - or whether we need to rethink teaching," says Anders Vestergaard Thomsen, associate professor, PhD at Absalon University College and project manager at ROSES.

ROSE and ROSES are intended as a supplement and counterpoint to international studies such as PISA and TIMMS, where ROSE and ROSES differ in particular by focusing on pupils' attitudes, values, and areas of interest - not their performance.

Opportunity to measure the impact of 20 years of effort

Since 2003, significant resources have been invested in strengthening natural science education in Denmark, including with support from private foundations. Nevertheless, there is limited knowledge about how young people's interest in and attitudes toward natural science have changed over time. ROSES makes it possible to follow up on the previous study and map the impact of these efforts, not only nationally, but also from a Nordic and global perspective.

ROSES is therefore based on the original ROSE questionnaire from 2003, but has been adapted to current conditions. Over the next few years, pupils in Danish, Greenlandic, and Faroese schools will answer 250 questions, a significant portion of which are from the original 2003 study, but with the addition of more contemporary questions on topics such as climate change, sustainable development, and social/digital media.

The project grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation also makes it possible to compare young people's interest in natural science across the Danish Realm. The Faroe Islands and Greenland did not formally participate in the data collection in 2003, but this time they will be an integral part of Denmark's participation in ROSES from the outset:

"Although the Faroe Islands did not formally participate in the original ROSE study, the ROSE questions were nevertheless answered a few years later by both pupils and teacher trainees. The answers showed a significant gender difference in interest in natural science subjects - especially in physics, chemistry, and technology - but also that pupils often showed greater interest in natural science than teacher trainees. In the new study, we look forward to exploring how these differences have developed over time and what measures might promote natural science subjects in schools," says Erla Olsen, associate professor, PhD, at the Faculty of Education at the University of the Faroe Islands, who also conducted the original study in the Faroe Islands.

The project is expected to include 40-60 schools in Denmark (over 1,000 pupils) as well as approximately 700 pupils in the Faroe Islands and 800 in Greenland, who will participate in ROSES when data collection begins in 2026.

"We hope that the study will help shed light on young people's interest in natural science in general, but also on how more informal experiences with nature and natural science are significant. In addition, it will be exciting to learn more about how natural science matters to young people across the Danish Realm, but especially how interest in natural science has changed since the first ROSE study, with a view to possible adjustments to the curriculum and possibly also to teacher training," says Lars O. Demant-Poort, associate professor, PhD at University of Greenland.

Collaboration across geography, language, and school culture

The project is organized as a joint research project across the Danish Realm, where data is owned locally but collected and analyzed in close collaboration. Danish researchers will visit colleagues in Greenland and the Faroe Islands and actively participate in both data collection and analysis. The project will thus also provide an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge about natural science education and school culture across the three countries.

The goal is to present the results in 2027 at the international NARST conference and the ESERA conference.

Facts

• ROSES stands for Relevance of Science Education - Second

• The project is being carried out in collaboration between Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands

• The project collects data on young people's interest in natural science and technology across 50 countries

• Data from all three countries is analyzed and published jointly

• The project is led by Absalon University College in collaboration with University of Copenhagen

• Grantor: The Novo Nordisk Foundation

• Project period: 2025–2028

For interview - contact

• Anders Vestergaard Thomsen, project manager, associate professor, PhD at Absalon University College. Phone +4572482215

• Erla Olsen, associate professor, PhD, University of the Faroe Islands. Phone +298299433 / [email protected]

• Lars O. Demant-Poort, associate professor, PhD at University of Greenland. Phone +299347402 / [email protected]

For more information - contact

• Anne Troldtoft Hjorth, press officer, Absalon University College. Phone +4572481175 / [email protected]

• Per Arnfjord, Head of Internationalization & Communication, University of Greenland. Phone +299347324 / [email protected]

• Brynhild Thomsen, press officer, University of the Faroe Islands. Phone +298292517 / [email protected]