Socioeconomic Status and Scientific Attitude Among Secondary School Students in Rohtak District: An Analytical Study

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between socioeconomic status and scientific attitude among secondary school students in Rohtak district. Scientific attitude is treated as an educational disposition that includes curiosity, evidence orientation, open-mindedness, critical thinking, and rejection of superstition. The analytical sample consists of 480 secondary school students selected to represent government and private schools, rural and urban localities, and male and female learners. Socioeconomic status was measured through a composite index including parental education, occupation, family income, learning resources, and home access to educational support. Scientific attitude was measured through a multidimensional attitude scale inspired by established science-attitude inventories. The analysis uses descriptive statistics, ANOVA, correlation, and multiple regression. Results show that students from high socioeconomic backgrounds report higher scientific attitude scores than students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Pearson correlation indicates a positive and statistically significant association between socioeconomic status and scientific attitude. Regression results further show that SES remains a significant predictor even after school type, locality, gender, and stream are controlled. The study argues that scientific attitude is not only a school-based outcome; it is also shaped by home resources, parental education, exposure to books, digital learning opportunities, and confidence in asking questions. The paper concludes that schools in low-SES areas require enriched science activities, low-cost experimentation, library support, career guidance, and parental engagement programmes to reduce the attitude gap.