Perceptions of pre-university students in Malaysia on geoscience discipline

As Malaysia seeks to enhance its educational development, understanding student attitudes toward various scientific disciplines-particularly STEM fields-becomes crucial.This study investigates the perceptions of preuniversity students in Malaysia regarding the geoscience discipline.Data were collected through a questionnaire designed to explore students' experiences with geoscience-related subjects and their perceptions of this essential field, focusing on their understanding and interest in geoscience, their views on its importance, their positive and negative impressions, and their initial reactions to the field.A total of 184 pre-university students from the STEM Foundation Centre of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (PASTEM-UMT), representing diverse regions of Malaysia, participated in the study and completed the questionnaire in March 2024.The results indicate that most students had previously studied a subject related to geoscience (e.g., geography) during secondary school.While many students generally understood what studying geoscience entails, more students expressed disinterest than interest in the field, and many found geoscience topics difficult to understand.Despite these challenges, most students agreed that geoscience is important for addressing key contemporary issues such as mineral and energy resources, natural hazards, and climate change.Overall, students held mostly positive perceptions of geoscience, primarily because it enables a better understanding of the Earth.Only a few students expressed negative perceptions, largely due to concerns about limited job prospects.Although geoscience is not widely recognized as a prominent discipline in Malaysia, many students still found it interesting at first impression.This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, universities, and industry stakeholders to promote geoscience through targeted programs aimed at increasing pre-university students' understanding, interest, and awareness of its significance and career oppor-tunities.Such efforts could ultimately boost enrolment in geoscience majors at the university level.