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Science-Related Professional Aspirations and Students' Social Background: Developing and Validating the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe)

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Title: Science-Related Professional Aspirations and Students' Social Background: Developing and Validating the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe)
Language: English
Authors: Jailton Correia Fraga Junior (ORCID 0000-0003-2439-7949), Paulo Lima Junior (ORCID 0000-0002-3382-8387)
Source: Research in Science Education. 2026 56(1):165-182.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Science Tests, Science Interests, Student Interests, Test Construction, Test Validity, Test Reliability, Foreign Countries, Socioeconomic Background, Occupational Aspiration, Social Class
Geographic Terms: Brazil
DOI: 10.1007/s11165-025-10255-z
ISSN: 0157-244X
1573-1898
Abstract: Students' professional aspirations constitute an established area of research within the field of science education. To explore how students' taste for science bridges the gap between their social background and professional aspirations, we developed the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe), which draws on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice. We applied this test to a large sample of Brazilian students (n = 1582) for validation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were the main data analytical tools utilized. The results indicated that the TaSTe is a reliable measure of students' taste for science and mediates the relationship between social background and professional aspirations. Although the effects of family income and parental education on students' taste for science are modest, their effects on students' professional aspirations are notable. While parental education and family income modestly increase the taste for science, even most affluent middle-class families do not consistently demonstrate a positive relationship with science. These results highlight the importance of cultivating students' taste for science to address denialism and the lack of STEM professionals in developing economies.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1504509
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0191207463;g7201feb.26;2026Feb02.06:20;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0191207463-1">Science-related professional aspirations and students' social background: Developing and validating the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe) </title> <p>Students' professional aspirations constitute an established area of research within the field of science education. To explore how students' taste for science bridges the gap between their social background and professional aspirations, we developed the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe), which draws on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice. We applied this test to a large sample of Brazilian students (n = 1582) for validation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were the main data analytical tools utilized. The results indicated that the TaSTe is a reliable measure of students' taste for science and mediates the relationship between social background and professional aspirations. Although the effects of family income and parental education on students' taste for science are modest, their effects on students' professional aspirations are notable. While parental education and family income modestly increase the taste for science, even most affluent middle-class families do not consistently demonstrate a positive relationship with science. These results highlight the importance of cultivating students' taste for science to address denialism and the lack of STEM professionals in developing economies.</p> <p>Keywords: Professional aspirations; Social justice; Class issues; Aesthetics; Science capital</p> <p>Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-2">Introduction</hd> <p>Students' professional aspirations are a well-established and significant research focus in the field of science education. The careers that students choose not only shape their own lives but also have a substantial impact on society as a whole. Students' interest in science-related careers is crucial for technological development and societal growth (Blankenburg et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref1">12</reflink>]). Indeed, scientific and technological fields would benefit from more numerous and diverse practitioners. For example, history indicates that women and black people have made important contributions to science that may not have emerged solely from white Western men (Pinheiro, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref2">17</reflink>]). However, science often fails to recognize women, African-American, Indigenous, and working-class citizens (Aikenhead & Lima, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref3">1</reflink>]; Authors 1; Rosa, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref4">16</reflink>]). For these reasons, every political agenda that aims to expand social equality through scientific and technological development should consider students' professional aspirations.</p> <p>Despite the importance of framing students' professional preferences as a strategic political issue, current investigations in science education tend to approach students' relation to science from the perspective of individual psychology and often focus on concepts such as interest, motivation, and attitude (Potvin & Hasni, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref5">16</reflink>]). While research acknowledges the sociopolitical importance of students' professional aspirations, many research findings remain individual-centred, which hinders the integration of students' choices into a broader theory of social practice. According to contemporary social science, people develop preferences flexibly and are influenced by social structures embodied in family and school experiences (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref6">13</reflink>]). Therefore, students' upbringing may shape their professional aspirations and their determination of what they find admirable, enjoyable, and feasible.</p> <p>In this paper, we report the development and assessment of a quantitative measure of students' taste for science. The taste for science has been described as the practical sense that enables students to distinguish procedures, languages, and people that should be admired and included in (or disregarded and excluded from) science (Anderhag et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref7">4</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref8">5</reflink>]). When students make these distinctions, they eventually include (or exclude) themselves from science. In addition to the science capital framework (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref9">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref10">9</reflink>]), Bourdieu's theory of practice inspires the taste for science through a sociological approach to science education. We applied the latest version of the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe) to a large sample of Brazilian students (<emph>n</emph> = 1582) after several trials and improvements. We analysed the collected data using structural equation modelling (SEM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for validity and investigate the following research question: How does students' taste for science bridge the gap between their science-related professional aspirations and their social background? We expect this analysis to open new possibilities for inquiries into the aesthetics of science learning from a sociological perspective and to contribute to an understanding of who tends to be included in or excluded from science.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-3">Theoretical framework</hd> <p>Historically, students' relation to science has been framed by researchers as an individual-centred phenomenon based on the psychological concepts of interest, motivation, and attitude (Potvin & Hasni, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref11">16</reflink>]). Recently, the social sciences have drawn attention to students' science identities, science capital, and taste for science (Anderhag, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref12">2</reflink>]; Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref13">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref14">9</reflink>]; Vincent-Ruz & Schunn, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref15">17</reflink>]). The concept of the taste for science (Anderhag, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref16">2</reflink>]), the aesthetics of science education (Wickman, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref17">17</reflink>]), and Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref18">13</reflink>]) inspired our investigation.</p> <p>The taste for science is the normative way students distinguish between actions, languages, and individuals that belong in science and those that do not (Anderhag, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref19">2</reflink>]). When students must decide which language to use or how to proceed with data collection and analysis, they make aesthetic judgements (Wickman, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref20">17</reflink>]). These judgements require the necessary discernment to identify what values and practices are necessary to be recognized as a science person. No one is born with a desire to belong to science, and not everyone perceives it as valuable. Professional aspirations and science values are both learned through experience and may differ according to the historical time, sociocultural context, and student background.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-4">Taste for science and social background</hd> <p>According to Pierre Bourdieu ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref21">13</reflink>]), social structures flexibly shape human behaviour, thinking, and perception. The concept of <emph>habitus</emph>, a practical sense that people develop through their past experiences, embodies these structures. To understand how students appreciate science, it is important to consider their social background and cultural context.</p> <p> <emph>Habitus</emph>, an embodied structure that flexibly orients human practice, does not restrict individual agency. Instead, it guides the enactment of agency. Imagine two individuals, Alex and Taylor, who come from different social backgrounds: Alex was raised in a working-class family in a rural area, whereas Taylor was raised in an affluent urban family. These distinct backgrounds likely shaped their preferences in various ways, including their tastes and attitudes towards food, clothing, leisure, art, science, and school. Alex's family may prefer traditional dishes that are both filling and economical, and this <emph>habitus</emph> may lead Alex to view certain foods as indicators of comfort and familiarity. In contrast, Taylor's preferences may reflect exposure to a wider range of culinary experiences and a greater emphasis on dilettantism. He may distinguish himself through his familiarity with international cuisines or his preference for organic ingredients. While both Alex and Taylor exercise their agency in their food choices, the social structures, values, and norms of their respective backgrounds flexibly shape their preferences.</p> <p>In Bourdieu's theory of practice, the concept of <emph>habitus</emph> plays a crucial role in explaining how seemingly convenient decisions can arise without the need for rational calculations. When each social position is compared with its customary practices, one may find that certain practices appear reasonable even if they lack reasoning. Therefore, <emph>habitus</emph> serves as a means to perceive objective needs as virtues (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref22">14</reflink>]). For example, middle-class families that rely on school education to maintain their prestige and employment status tend to value their children's success at school as a noble commitment to culture. This sense of cultural nobility may obscure the fact that for these families, educational achievement is essential for maintaining social heritage. These families may actively participate in their children's education, value the formal arts and see school as a beautiful experience. Indeed, <emph>habitus</emph> plays a significant role in transforming necessities into virtues. This aesthetic appreciation of what is considered virtuous and admirable may drive professional aspirations and replace extrinsic motivations.</p> <p>Science and technology professionals cultivate a taste for science as an important part of their <emph>habitus</emph>. This taste for science enables students to align their aesthetic judgements with scientific norms and to identify themselves and others as scientifically minded. Hence, a taste for science should make science careers more feasible. However, given the dominance of white men from Western countries in the natural sciences, it is crucial to investigate the extent to which the development of a taste for science contributes to the maintenance of social inequalities.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-5">Empirical support</hd> <p>The concept of <emph>habitus</emph> is valuable for understanding patterns of preference that distinguish students from different backgrounds. To what extent do these patterns truly exist? Currently, there is limited universal evidence on how students' social background relates to their appreciation of science (Potvin & Hasni, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref23">16</reflink>]). Social inequities manifest in various ways across countries, and measuring students' socioeconomic status presents challenges. Empirically, measures of social inequality and interest in science are both highly dependent on statistical and conceptual models that may not fully capture real patterns of choice. The results often need to be determined by a large variety of conditions, such as sample size and representation, the variables and analytical methods employed, the structure of class relations, the prestige of science, and the delimitation of what constitutes science subjects and science-related careers.</p> <p>If science and technology held a dominant position in the social field, their corresponding careers would be highly sought after and students' lack of interest in science would not be an issue. In this context, finding a direct correspondence between privileged families and science aspirations would be straightforward. However, the prestige of science is relatively tenuous; thus, the correspondence between scientific aspirations and social background should also be limited. On the one hand, science remains a predominantly Western, white, and masculine field that is less accessible to women and racially marginalized groups such as Latin, Black, and Indigenous people. On the other hand, men themselves often reject the perceived masculinity of science. The nondominant position of science in our society is illustrated by the emergence of denialism among conservative groups (Kerr & Wilson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref24">16</reflink>]; Lewandowsky & Oberauer, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref25">16</reflink>]) and a documented trend of young men moderating their scientific aspirations by distinguishing themselves from the <emph>boffin</emph> identity (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref26">7</reflink>]).</p> <p>An analysis of trends in international mathematics and science study (TIMSS) data reveals a correlation between parents' level of education and students' attitudes towards science (Papanastasiou & Papanastasiou, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref27">16</reflink>]; TellI et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref28">16</reflink>]). However, other sources suggest that social background may not correlate with motivation (Sevinc et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref29">17</reflink>]). In the US, white students show more interest, motivation, and positive attitudes towards science than students of other ethnicities do (Britner, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref30">15</reflink>]; Teshome et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref31">17</reflink>]). Students from suburban areas tend to exhibit better attitudes than those from metropolitan areas do (George, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref32">17</reflink>]), whereas pupils who attend schools in economically disadvantaged areas often exhibit more positive attitudes towards learning than those who attend more affluent schools (Wenner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref33">16</reflink>]). Internationally, the disposition to learn science is greater where the human development index (HDI) is lower (Sjøberg & Schreiner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref34">16</reflink>]). In general, the relationship between economic disadvantage and attitudes towards science is unclear.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-6">Reviewing earlier instruments</hd> <p>The TaSTe draws on international studies on scientific interests and goals, including ASPIRES (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref35">10</reflink>]), ROSE (Sjøberg & Schreiner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref36">16</reflink>]), S-STEM (Unfried et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref37">17</reflink>]), The NextGen Scientist Survey (Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref38">17</reflink>]), and TOSRA (Fraser, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref39">16</reflink>]).</p> <p>The ASPIRES project questionnaire was designed with 47 items that aimed to measure, among other things, the scientific interest and aspirations of 18,000 UK students aged 10–14 years as well as the relationship of the students' families with science (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref40">10</reflink>]). Archer et al. ([<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref41">6</reflink>]) noted that students whose parents had scientific qualifications and/or careers seemed more likely to aspire to a science-related career and/or to plan to study at least one science subject.</p> <p>Internationally, the Relevance of Science Education (ROSE) project applied a 247-item questionnaire to measure factors related to learning science and technology (S&T), particularly the experiences, interests, and aspirations of young students (Sjberg & Schreiner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref42">16</reflink>]). In one of their analyses, they measured the relationship between the Human Development Index (HDI) and interest in learning science and technology among young students. The authors reported that this relationship was negative. In other words, interest in learning S&T tends to decrease when the HDI is high. Although the authors refer to this result as a case of privilege and selectivity (Sjøberg & Schreiner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref43">16</reflink>]), based on these data, we can speculate that the social relevance of science might be decreasing. Perhaps being a "science person" is not as prestigious as it used to be. It is understandable that some affluent youth may not associate science with prestige and therefore may not express interest in studying S&T (George, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref44">17</reflink>]; Wenner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref45">16</reflink>]).</p> <p>The Australian Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA) measures seven constructs: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref46">1</reflink>) the social implications of science; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref47">2</reflink>) the normality of scientists; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref48">3</reflink>) the attitude of scientific inquiry; (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref49">4</reflink>) the adoption of scientific attitudes; (<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref50">5</reflink>) the enjoyment of science lessons; (<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref51">6</reflink>) leisure interest in science; and (<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref52">7</reflink>) career interest in science. Fraser ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref53">16</reflink>]) argued that one advantage of TOSRA is that each participant receives a score for each area mentioned above.</p> <p>Finally, the Student Attitudes Towards STEM (S-STEM) and the NextGen Scientist Survey were both developed in the United States. The former uses 43 items to measure students' attitudes towards science (Unfried et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref54">17</reflink>]), whereas the latter uses 30 items to measure access to STEM professionals, science-related experiences outside of school, and other constructs of science capital, self-efficacy, and self-concept (Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref55">17</reflink>]). Both surveys use a four-factor structure. The factors associated with S-STEM are (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref56">1</reflink>) attitudes towards science; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref57">2</reflink>) attitudes towards math; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref58">3</reflink>) attitudes towards engineering/technology; and (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref59">4</reflink>) 21 st-century skills (Unfried et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref60">17</reflink>]).</p> <p>The factors of the NextGen Scientists Survey are (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref61">1</reflink>) science expectancy value; (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref62">2</reflink>) science experience; (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref63">3</reflink>) future science task value; and (<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref64">4</reflink>) family science achievement values (Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref65">17</reflink>]). These two surveys have been statistically validated and can be used to measure middle school students' attitudes towards STEM, interest in science (Unfried et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref66">17</reflink>]), and science capital (Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref67">17</reflink>]). It is possible to find critiques or caveats in the literature regarding the validation of instruments or the definition of the intended constructs (Aydeniz & Kotowski, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref68">11</reflink>]; Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref69">17</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-7">Methods</hd> <p>The concept of a taste for science stems from practical epistemological analyses of students' aesthetic experiences (Anderhag, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref70">2</reflink>]). Therefore, the majority of research on the taste for science has focused on interactions between students and teachers in the classroom. However, if we situate this concept on the spacetime scale of social phenomena, we find that transactional analysis is restricted to experiences lived by small groups of people in a relatively short time.</p> <p>If we expand the time scale, we can acknowledge that the taste for science also develops as a lifelong process. Various everyday experiences of appreciation at school and at home contribute to the acquisition of a durable aesthetic disposition towards science and science teaching. Therefore, the taste for science can be analysed not only through immediate observation of students' practice but also through sociological interviews with educated STEM professionals about their early experiences. Inspired by sociological portraits (Lahire, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref71">17</reflink>]), this life story approach to taste highlights that aesthetic experiences have durable effects in shaping the ways people distinguish themselves as good professionals (Authors 3).</p> <p>By expanding the social space scale, we recognize that macrosociological and historical perspectives can also influence the taste for science. Indeed, we cannot expect people from different social backgrounds and historical periods to develop their taste for science equally. Figure 1 illustrates different but complementary methods that might serve research on the taste for science.[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref72">1</reflink>]</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 1 Different and complementary methods for studying the constitution of a taste for science</p> <p>To test the hypothesis of a collective variation in taste, we developed a macrosociological survey with items designed to estimate students' taste for science. Our goal was to create a questionnaire that identifies people who enjoy and excel in science to the extent that they see themselves (and are seen by others) as members of the scientific community. To achieve this goal, we developed several Likert-type items for a questionnaire (Appendix). We grouped these items into four factors:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> <emph>Self-identification</emph> (self-identifying as scientific);</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Hetero-identification</emph> (being identified as scientific by others);</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Extrinsic reasons</emph> to study science at school (convenience-driven learning);</item> <p></p> <item> <emph>Intrinsic reasons</emph> to study science at school (pleasure-driven learning).</item> </ulist> <p>We expect that all four factors will correlate and sum to a scale of the taste for science. The items were developed, tested for content validity, and administered in Brazilian Portuguese to a sample of upper secondary Brazilian students through a digital form during their science classes. When developing the items, we chose to employ vocabulary and syntactic structures known for their stability. Regional and colloquial language would not only make the items difficult to translate into English but also hinder their understanding among a wide Brazilian audience. Both the original items and their English translations are available in the Appendix.</p> <p>The questionnaire also included an independent measure of students' future aspirations and social background (family income and parental education). Variable choices and the coding of social background were consistent with national standards for comparability. We pilot tested the questionnaire with a group of upper secondary Brazilian students (<emph>n</emph> = 228) and eliminated items with small factor loadings (0.3 below) and weak conceptual adherence after performing exploratory factor analysis. We then administered the final version of the Taste for Science Test (TaSTE) to a large sample of upper secondary students (<emph>n</emph> = 2747) from public and private schools in the Federal District. The local education authority's ethical committee approved this research, and students' identities were not recorded. Table 1 presents the final sample (<emph>n</emph> = 1582) after missing values were removed.</p> <p>Table 1 Students' socioeconomic information provided at the final TaSTe application</p> <p> <ephtml> <table rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Socioeconomic variables</p></th><th align="left"><p>Level</p></th><th align="left"><p>Percentage</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Parents' education level</p></td><td align="left"><p>Up to Secondary</p></td><td align="left"><p>33.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>Undergraduate</p></td><td align="left"><p>27.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>Postgraduate</p></td><td align="left"><p>38.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Family income</p></td><td align="left"><p>Up to 1 MW<sup>1</sup></p></td><td align="left"><p>7.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 1 to 2 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>12.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 2 to 3 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>9.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 3 to 4 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>6.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 4 to 5 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>8.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 5 to 10 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>17.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 10 to 15 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>15.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>From 15 to 20 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>9.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>More than 20 MW</p></td><td align="left"><p>15.1%</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <sups>1</sups>In 2023, the Brazilian minimum wage was set to 1320.00 BRL (approximately 270.71 USD) per month for 44 working hours per week. Middle-class families often earn five to twenty times this amount of money. The middle class is therefore highly heterogeneous</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-8">Analysis and Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0191207463-9">Internal consistency</hd> <p>To test for the internal consistency of the TaSTe, we conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (Mair, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref73">17</reflink>]) of the collected data. Figure 2 illustrates the four factors of the TaSTe along with their corresponding items and estimated parameters. This model allows for correlations between factors. We refer to these factors as latent variables because they are not measured directly. The items are called manifest variables and correspond from G1 through G18 (see Appendix). Additionally, a separate set of items was developed to measure students' scientific aspirations (from G19 to G22). We tested this set for consistency in addition to the TaSTe items. As shown, the item loadings were consistently greater than 0.70 for each latent variable, indicating that our items could be interpreted as constituting the four factors of our model. [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref74">2</reflink>]</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 2 Four latent variables (factors) of the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe)</p> <p>Model fit is usually assessed with a group of indicators, such as the comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker‒Lewis index (TLI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Table 2 reports the values obtained for the model in Fig. 2.</p> <p>Table 2 Assessing the plausibility indicators for the model designed to test the internal consistency of the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>CFI</p></th><th align="left"><p>TLI</p></th><th align="left"><p>RMSEA</p></th><th align="left"><p>RMSEA upper</p></th><th align="left"><p>SRMR</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>0.993</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.992</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.069</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.071</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.047</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Accepted values for plausibility indicators (Hu & Bentler, 1999): Comparative fit index ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>C</mi><mi>F</mi><mi>I</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>0.95</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ): Tucker‒Lewis index ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>L</mi><mi>I</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>0.90</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ); root mean square error of approximation ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>R</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>S</mi><mi>E</mi><mi>A</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>0.08</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> , <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>u</mi><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>0.1</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ); standardized root mean square residual ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>S</mi><mi>R</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>R</mi><mo>≤</mo><mtext>0,08</mtext></mrow></math> </ephtml> )</p> <p>Table 2 presents values that indicate that our model fit ranged from acceptable to excellent (Hu & Bentler, 1999; Mair, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref75">17</reflink>]). Therefore, the TaSTe can be considered an internally consistent measure of students' taste for science.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-10">Predictive Validity</hd> <p>The theoretical framework indicated that a valid measure of students' taste for science should predict their professional aspirations. Therefore, we developed a new model in which the four latent variables (self-identification, hetero-identification, extrinsic reasons, and intrinsic reasons) manifested the variable "taste for science". This new variable reflects a wide synthesis of items ranging from G1 to G18 (Appendix). We tested its predictive power against the independent measure of students' scientific aspirations.</p> <p>Figure 3 presents the model parameters. The taste for science has high predictive power over scientific aspirations, as expected. We report its fit indicators in Table 3 to test the validity of this model. According to published indicators, the TaSTe has predictive validity; that is, the measure of the taste for science has high predictive power for students' scientific aspirations, as expected from the theoretical framework. [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref76">3</reflink>]</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 3 Model fit of taste and its latent variables against students' professional aspirations</p> <p>Table 3 Assessing the predictive validity of the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe) against students' professional aspirations</p> <p> <ephtml> <table rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>CFI</p></th><th align="left"><p>TLI</p></th><th align="left"><p>RMSEA</p></th><th align="left"><p>RMSEA upper</p></th><th align="left"><p>SRMR</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>0.990</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.988</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.081</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.084</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.057</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Accepted values for plausibility indicators: Comparative fit index ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>C</mi><mi>F</mi><mi>I</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>0.95</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ): Tucker‒Lewis index ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>L</mi><mi>I</mi><mo>≥</mo><mn>0.90</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ); root mean square error of approximation ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>R</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>S</mi><mi>E</mi><mi>A</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>0.08</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> , <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>u</mi><mi>p</mi><mi>p</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi><mo>≤</mo><mn>0.1</mn></mrow></math> </ephtml> ); standardized root mean square residual ( <ephtml> <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><mi>S</mi><mi>R</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>R</mi><mo>≤</mo><mtext>0,08</mtext></mrow></math> </ephtml> ). Source: Authors</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-11">Social Background</hd> <p>After validating the TaSTe, we examined whether the taste for science could be predicted by students' social background using analyses of variance (Authors 2). The results indicate that the taste for science among students tends to increase as their parents' education level increases (<emph>p</emph> < 0.05). In other words, highly educated parents are more likely to raise children who distinguish themselves as scientific. Figure 4 presents a graphical representation of the ANOVA output.</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 4 Graphical representation of the ANOVA of the taste for science score against parental education</p> <p>Although the data suggest that students' social backgrounds have an impact on their taste for science, individual relationships with science can vary significantly. On average, children of parents with postgraduate qualifications show a greater taste for science than children of parents with secondary education qualifications do. However, individual actors often do not conform to expectations given their social background even when there is a clear pattern of association between social structures and individual traits.</p> <p>With respect to family income, a similar pattern emerges. Figure 5 shows that students' taste for science tends to increase with family income. However, this tendency is not consistently linear. For families that earn between 0 and 15 times the minimum wage, students' average taste for science increases with parental income. Beyond this income level, the taste for science either decreases or remains constant. In other words, the most affluent middle-class families do not distinguish themselves through a positive relationship with science.</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 5 Graphical representation of ANOVA on the taste for science score and family income</p> <p>Although the relationship between economic disadvantage and attitudes towards science is uncertain in the literature, the results of this study indicate that the inclusion or exclusion of people from science depends on parental education and family income. For most students, a taste for science increases linearly with parental education and family income. However, families with the highest income levels do not display a continued increase in the taste for science.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-12">Discussion and Limitations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0191207463-13">Finding 1: Mediation of social background and scientific aspirations</hd> <p>The validity of the TaSTe draws on three minor findings: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref77">1</reflink>) the test items are internally consistent according to the theoretical model (Fig. 2); (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref78">2</reflink>) the taste for science largely predicts students' professional aspirations (Fig. 3); and (<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref79">3</reflink>) the taste for science is flexibly determined by students' social background (Figs. 4 and 5). Together, these claims may be summarized as follows:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> The taste for science mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and students' professional aspirations in science.</item> </ulist> <p>In other words, as <emph>habitus</emph> establishes a flexible correspondence between social positions and human practices, the taste for science tends to flexibly shape students' judgements related to science. Figures 4 and 5 show that SES has a barely detectable effect on students' taste for science (tenths of a standard deviation). Indeed, if we employed a different sampling strategy with only hundreds of participants, the ANOVA may have failed to refute the null hypothesis. Unsurprisingly, many studies report that students' social background does not predict their relationship with science (Potvin & Hasni, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref80">16</reflink>]).</p> <p>According to published results, the predictive power of social background for students' relation to science may vary. TIMSS data show a positive correlation between parents' level of education and their children's attitudes towards science (Papanastasiou & Papanastasiou, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref81">16</reflink>]; Telli et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref82">16</reflink>]). However, studies with small samples (Sevinc et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref83">17</reflink>]) suggest that social background may not be linked to students' motivation. These contradictory results suggest that the sampling method and the number of participants are important for detecting the effects of socioeconomic status. Although the social background effect on the taste for science is small, the effect of taste on students' professional aspirations is impressive (Fig. 3). Therefore, pedagogical investments in how students make distinctions are promising.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-14">Finding 2: Taste for science in affluent middle-class families</hd> <p>Our results indicate a consistent linear relationship between parental education and students' preference for science (Fig. 4). This linearity is also predominant with regard to family income, but it is not apparent among the wealthiest families of our sample (Fig. 5):</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> The most affluent middle-class families do not distinguish themselves through a positive relationship with science (Fig. 5).</item> </ulist> <p>The decrease in students' taste for science among the wealthiest families may be related to the lack of prestige attributed to science and the growth of denialism worldwide (Kerr & Wilson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref84">16</reflink>]; Lewandowsky & Oberauer, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref85">16</reflink>]). Indeed, not everyone perceives distinction in science as advantageous (George, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref86">17</reflink>]; Wenner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref87">16</reflink>]). Our evidence indicates that the wealthiest families in Brazil are not particularly inclined towards science. Along with the emergence of denialism and neoconservatism, this finding may result from a durable lack of cultural capital among the richest population (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref88">13</reflink>]).</p> <p>Despite the contemporary emergence of denialism, this result may also reflect ambiguity in the supposedly dominant position of science within class relations. Consider the so-called gender paradox (Stoet & Geary, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref89">17</reflink>]), the empirical finding that fewer women choose STEM occupations in countries with higher levels of gender equality, or the ROSE paradox (Sjøberg & Schreiner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref90">16</reflink>]), in which students tend to be more interested in science in contexts where quality science education is not provided. Indeed, students who attend schools in economically disadvantaged areas may exhibit more positive attitudes towards learning science than those who attend more affluent schools (Wenner, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref91">16</reflink>]). These results are only paradoxical if we assume prematurely that science is always desirable and that it holds an uncontested dominant position in the social field.</p> <p>Although highly educated people are more likely to visit museums spontaneously, when science and art are compared, science museums tend to show a lower level of conformity to a sense of cultural nobility and offer fun and relaxed experiences that are more in line with popular class values and leisure activities (Valente et al., [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref92">16</reflink>]). Similarly, the relationship between scientific and masculine identities is not linear. On the one hand, STEM careers tend to be dominated by men; on the other hand, young men may not fully identify with science when performing masculinity (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref93">7</reflink>]). For these reasons, the pattern in Fig. 5 may not be entirely conjectural.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-15">Implications for research and practice</hd> <p>The TaSTe provides a valid measure of students' taste for science and may be employed in various ways. In addition to research settings inspired by experimental designs, the TaSTE may be employed as a preliminary step of in-depth qualitative research to identify educational systems, institutions, and teachers that are likely to develop students' taste for science when the effect of social structure is controlled for. In other words, the TaSTe might indicate schools and teachers that make a difference in their students' relationships with science and can help researchers identify teachers and schools that positively influence students' engagement with science by encouraging them to pursue science-related careers against the odds of their social background. Anderhag et al. ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref94">3</reflink>]) successfully illustrated this strategy of incorporating quantitative analysis as a preliminary step to select distinguished individuals from a large population in the Swedish education system.</p> <p>These findings have important implications for educational policies. Given the low numbers of people graduating in science worldwide (OCDE, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref95">17</reflink>]), our results suggest that governments would benefit by focusing on the development of students' taste for science. Policies oriented towards the development of the taste for science would support science-related professional aspirations. Students' taste for science could be supported through financial support for extracurricular activities such as visits to planetariums and science museums. Furthermore, educational policies related to the development of students' taste for science are necessary to fight the growing trends of science denialism and fake news (Nasr, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref96">16</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-16">Limitations</hd> <p>Conducting large-scale surveys and questionnaires can contribute to a complementary understanding of the taste for science despite the primary investigation of students' aesthetic experiences through actual science learning practices. These instruments, in conjunction with sociological lifetime analyses (Authors 3), facilitate the exploration of how social structures flexibly determine the taste for science and aesthetic experience. However, it is important to clarify how we might frame this determination to prevent misunderstandings.</p> <p>First, determination by social structures is flexible, and population patterns are identified only on average. The dependence between the taste for science and students' social background (Figs. 4 and 5) does not imply that individual experiences must conform to the populational pattern. As Anderhag et al. ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref97">3</reflink>]) predicted, we can also use populational measures of the TaSTe to identify teachers and schools that exceed average expectations.</p> <p>Second, sociological findings are context dependent. Therefore, the validation of the TaSTe with a Brazilian sample does not imply that it will be valid elsewhere. We recommend repeating the tests for internal consistency. Even if we deliberately avoid the inclusion of items that would be overly context dependent, further replications should be aware of potential cultural differences between populations.</p> <p>Third, it would be relevant to compare the TaSTe and its framework with science capital, a prominent approach to research in science education. We expect striking similarities as both the TaSTe and science capital draw their sociological inspiration from Pierre Bourdieu. On the one hand, science capital refers to scientific forms of cultural and social capital as defined by Archer et al., ([<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref98">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref99">9</reflink>]). It includes scientifically valued manners, experiences, and relationships. The taste for science, on the other hand, is specifically oriented towards students' scientific manners, i.e., their ways of judging (Anderhag et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref100">4</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref101">5</reflink>]). Unsurprisingly, both the taste for science and science capital facilitate students' recognition as members of the scientific community and enhance the attractiveness of science-related careers.</p> <p>If we compare the TaSTe with science capital surveys (Archer et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref102">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref103">9</reflink>]; Jones et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref104">17</reflink>]), it is evident that the taste for science is more restrictive but is largely included in the operationalizations of science capital. This inclusion aligns with the fact that the manners of culturally dominant groups, such as scientists, often count as embodied cultural capital. In fact, people often distinguish themselves as culturally dominant on the basis of their manners rather than their school certificates (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref105">13</reflink>]). Although institutional forms of cultural capital are easier to obtain in populational surveys, manners play a prominent role in everyday judgements of belonging. Therefore, with regard to the embodied aspect of scientific privilege, a taste for science is likely the most influential constituent of science capital.</p> <p>Finally, as clearly indicated in Table 1, our sample was designed to ensure the proportional representation of each social group in the study. This sampling method cannot adequately represent Brazil and other developing societies where the overrepresentation of students with lower socioeconomic status is evident (IBGE, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref106">16</reflink>]). However, a proportional sample would also not have favoured a precise description of how high-income families relate to science. The analysis of the relationships among a taste for science, gender and race will be developed in further studies.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-17">Conclusion</hd> <p>Students' professional aspirations are a well-established and significant research focus in the field of science education. In this paper, we reported the development and assessment of a quantitative measure of Brazilian students' taste for science. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling and analysis of variance to test for validity and to investigate the following research question: How does the taste for science fill the gap between students' science-related professional aspirations and their social background?</p> <p>Our findings indicate that a taste for science mediates the relationship between social background and students' professional scientific aspirations. The social background effect on students' taste is small but detectable in large samples, whereas the taste effect on professional choices is impressive. The findings also suggest that the preference for science does not affect the most affluent families.</p> <p>In terms of Bourdieu's sociology, the taste for science tends to shape students' judgements in relation to science. Thus, a taste for science corresponds with economic and cultural capital. In addition, the patterns identified in relation to the taste for science among the wealthiest families in our sample could be an effect of the differences among cultural practices. In the context of our investigation, cultural practices related to science may be more likely to be practised among low middle-class families, and it is likely that these children report a greater taste for science than other students do.</p> <p>We know that cultural practices tend to be marginalized when they become popular and accessible (Bourdieu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref107">13</reflink>]). For this reason, the most affluent families may not view science as holding the same amount of prestige as it did previously. Some science-related careers may therefore not be pursued by children to conserve their social distinction. Alternately, access to careers that were previously inaccessible and perhaps unthinkable may allow children from lower middle-class families to see science-related careers as a life project for social ascension. These factors are connected to the (non)development of students' taste for science.</p> <p>Finally, the taste for science is a valuable conceptual tool for research that enables investigations of the experience of belonging to science (Authors 3). We hope that this paper contributes to an understanding of how large-scale instruments complement the study of the taste for science and disciplinary aesthetics (Girod, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref108">16</reflink>]; Prain et al., [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref109">17</reflink>]; Tytler & Ferguson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref110">16</reflink>]) and provides researchers with a validated instrument for future applications. Furthermore, we hope that this investigation will contribute to science education research by highlighting the role of judgements in science learning and the aspiration to science-related careers.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-18">Funding</hd> <p>This work was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq: [Grant Number 409863/2023–8] and by the University of Brasilia, UnB: [Edital nº 001/2025 DPI/BCE/UnB].</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-19">Declarations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0191207463-20">Ethics Committee</hd> <p>The data for this study was gathered through anonymous questionnaires distributed to high school students in the Federal District. The research was authorized by the Federal District's Department of Education, in accordance with Memorandum No. 096/2022—EAPE, dated September 5, 2022, and therefore, did not require submission to an ethics committee. The students willingly volunteered to participate, fully aware that their involvement would be treated with utmost confidentiality.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-21">Conflict of interest</hd> <p>The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.</p> <hd id="AN0191207463-22">Appendix</hd> <p>The items that compose the factors of the taste for science model are as follows:</p> <p></p> <hd1 id="AN0191207463-23"> • Self-identification </hd1> <p></p> <ulist> <item> G1 - I can explain scientific ideas to other people [<emph>Eu consigo explicar ideias científicas para outras pessoas</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G2 - It is easy for me to understand what science teachers say [<emph>Para mim é fácil entender o que os professores de ciências dizem</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G3 - I generally understand graphs and diagrams of science well [<emph>Eu geralmente entendo bem gráficos e diagramas da ciência</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G4 - For me, it is easy to understand science books [<emph>Para mim, é fácil compreender os livros de ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G5 - My performance in science is usually higher than that of my classmates [<emph>Meu desempenho em ciências costuma ser superior ao dos meus colegas</emph>].</item> <p></p> </ulist> <hd1 id="AN0191207463-24"> • Hetero-identification </hd1> <p></p> <ulist> <item> G6 - I am generally considered a science person [<emph>Sou geralmente considerado uma pessoa das ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G7 - I was encouraged to choose a profession related to science [<emph>Fui encorajado a escolher uma profissão relacionada à ciência</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G8 - I was once considered a successful student in science [<emph>Eu já fui considerado um estudante bem-sucedido em ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G9 - Other people say I have a scientist's way [<emph>Outras pessoas dizem que eu tenho um jeito de cientista</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G10 - I seem to be a person who works with science [<emph>Eu pareço ser uma pessoa que trabalha com ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> </ulist> <hd1 id="AN0191207463-25"> • Extrinsic reasons </hd1> <p></p> <ulist> <item> G11 - Learning science is important because it will help me in my future job [<emph>Aprender ciência é importante porque isso vai me ajudar no meu futuro emprego</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G12 - Studying science is worthwhile because it increases my chances of getting into university [<emph>Estudar ciência vale a pena porque aumenta minhas chances de entrar na universidade</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G13 - What I learned in science class will be very relevant for my future [<emph>O que aprendi na aula de ciências será muito relevante para o meu futuro</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G14 - Studying science will help me get a better job [<emph>Estudar ciências me ajudará a conseguir um emprego melhor</emph>].</item> <p></p> </ulist> <hd1 id="AN0191207463-26"> • Intrinsic reasons </hd1> <p></p> <ulist> <item> G15 - I like to study science [<emph>Eu gosto de estudar ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G16 - I am interested in scientific activities [<emph>Eu tenho interesse por atividades científicas</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G17 - I like to read about scientific topics [<emph>Eu gosto de ler sobre temas científicos</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G18 - I am interested in learning new things about science [<emph>Estou interessado em aprender novas coisas sobre ciências</emph>].</item> <p></p> </ulist> <hd1 id="AN0191207463-27"> • Scientific Aspirations </hd1> <p></p> <ulist> <item> G19 - I intend to get a job where I can apply my scientific knowledge [<emph>Pretendo conseguir um emprego onde eu possa aplicar meu conhecimento científico</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G20 - I would like to pursue a career related to science [<emph>Eu gostaria de seguir uma carreira relacionada à ciência</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G21 - I feel that I am a science person [<emph>Eu sinto que sou uma pessoa da ciência</emph>].</item> <p></p> <item> G22 - I intend to continue studying science after I finish school [<emph>Pretendo continuar estudando ciências após terminar a escola</emph>].</item> </ulist> <hd id="AN0191207463-28">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0191207463-29"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref3" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Aikenhead, G. 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Urban Education. 2003; 38; 2: 153-172. 10.1177/0042085902250483</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wickman, P. O. (2006). Aesthetic experience in science education: Learning and meaning-making as situated talk and action. Routledge.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0191207463-30"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibtext> There are four approaches to investigating the taste in science according to the spacetime scale of social phenomena. The horizontal line corresponds to the time scale (short-term data collections to the left, lifetime methods to the right). The vertical line corresponds to the social space scale (large social groups above, individuals and small groups below.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> The four latent variables are self-identification and hetero-identification as a competent student in science and extrinsic and intrinsic reasons to study science at school. The scale of scientific aspirations is an independent variable.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> In this model, four latent variables (factors) are determined by Taste for Science with high loadings for each. The taste for science has high predictive power for students' scientific aspirations.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Jailton Correia Fraga Junior and Paulo Lima Junior</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref35"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref68"></nolink>
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  Data: Science-Related Professional Aspirations and Students' Social Background: Developing and Validating the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jailton+Correia+Fraga+Junior%22">Jailton Correia Fraga Junior</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2439-7949">0000-0003-2439-7949</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paulo+Lima+Junior%22">Paulo Lima Junior</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3382-8387">0000-0002-3382-8387</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Research+in+Science+Education%22"><i>Research in Science Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 56(1):165-182.
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  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Tests%22">Science Tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Interests%22">Science Interests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Interests%22">Student Interests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test+Construction%22">Test Construction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test+Validity%22">Test Validity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test+Reliability%22">Test Reliability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socioeconomic+Background%22">Socioeconomic Background</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Occupational+Aspiration%22">Occupational Aspiration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Class%22">Social Class</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1007/s11165-025-10255-z
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  Data: Students' professional aspirations constitute an established area of research within the field of science education. To explore how students' taste for science bridges the gap between their social background and professional aspirations, we developed the Taste for Science Test (TaSTe), which draws on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice. We applied this test to a large sample of Brazilian students (n = 1582) for validation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were the main data analytical tools utilized. The results indicated that the TaSTe is a reliable measure of students' taste for science and mediates the relationship between social background and professional aspirations. Although the effects of family income and parental education on students' taste for science are modest, their effects on students' professional aspirations are notable. While parental education and family income modestly increase the taste for science, even most affluent middle-class families do not consistently demonstrate a positive relationship with science. These results highlight the importance of cultivating students' taste for science to address denialism and the lack of STEM professionals in developing economies.
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