How is Physics Hard?

Abstract

Physics is commonly presented as a difficult subject. The reasons for why this view is held among upper secondary school physics pupils and university students has previously been investigated. However, what narratives around physics and its diffi- culties exists among pupils before embarking on post-compulsory studies in physics is a less explored area. The aim for this study was to explore how upper secondary school pupils discuss physics and what narratives about it being a difficult sub- ject they partake in. This was done through the use of semi-structured individual interviews. Ten pupils were interviewed. The results indicate that the pupils in- terviewed largely construct their understanding of physics through the positioning of physics against other subjects and how other people relate to it. Through this positioning, physics mostly becomes a subject that is largely constructed as being complex, distant, vague and only for those who get it. However, certain attributes assigned to physics do not lead to it being a difficult subject. This mostly occurred in the positioning of physics against mathematics. The results indicate that multiple narratives about physics commonly reported among university students also exist among upper secondary school pupils. This implies that pupils are introduced to common narratives about physics early in their education, which risks affecting who chooses to pursue post-compulsory studies in physics.