A Study On The Decision Making Of Chemistry Examination From The Perspective Of Bounded Rational Choice Theory

The new policy of college entrance examination gives students the right to choose their own subjects,but also tests the students’ rational choice ability.In recent years,some studies on students’ subject selection found that chemistry has become a new unpopular subject under the "3+1+2" college entrance examination model.This phenomenon will affect the quantity and structure of science students in the provinces and cities with the new college entrance examination reform,which does not meet the country’s demand for talents.Therefore,guiding students to make rational decision-making in chemistry is of great significance to individuals and society.Students’ subject selection behavior is a kind of choice behavior,which is influenced by many factors,so it needs to be studied under the guidance of systematic theory.Rational choice theory is often used in sociology to study the relationship between social environment or other people’s actions and individual choices.At present,this theory has some applications in the field of educational decision-making,and has a relatively mature research paradigm.Many scholars continue to explore it and believe that people are "bounded rationality" rather than "perfect rationality" when making choices.Thus,this theory is presented as a new appearance of "bounded rationality choice theory".Rationality can be divided into instrumental rationality and value rationality.In this context,this paper adopts literature analysis and questionnaires to conduct a study of high school students’ chemistry subject selection decisions based on bounded rational choice theory in order to provide reference for schools and parents to guide students to choose a reasonable subject.This study takes 2020 senior high school students in Fujian province as an example,and establishes the framework of this study according to the structure of bounded rational choice theory.irstly,the macro-social environment which influences students’ decision of choosing chemistry courses is analyzed.Secondly,the basic characteristics,preference and purpose,and information resources of the candidates are investigated to analyze the rational degree of the students’ chemistry selection.Then,the influence degree of each factor on students’ decision making was determined by regression equation,and how individual factors,school support,family capital and subject characteristics affected students’ decision making was discussed based on the survey data.Finally,the social influence of the rationality of students’ chemistry decision is discussed.The main conclusions of this study are as follows:（1）The behavior of high school students in choosing chemistry is the result of both rationality and emotion,which is consistent with the view of " bounded rationality ".（2）Through the analysis of macro policies and social environment,it is found that Fujian province has provided various supports for students’ rational decision of choosing courses,and respected and guaranteed students’ autonomy in choosing chemistry courses.（3）Through the investigation of the decision-making process of micro actors,it is found that the individual factors of students play a decisive role in influencing the results of chemistry selection,and the grades are the primary judgment basis;High school plays a recessive role in students’ decision support for chemistry courses and is the main channel for students to obtain information.Family is an important external resource for students to choose a chemistry subject.Most families can provide targeted guidance and extracurricular tutoring support.The difficulty and usefulness of chemistry have substantial influence on students’ choice of subject.（4）At present,there are still some problems in promoting students’ rational chemistry selection: students and parents still have a great space to improve the breadth of information and channel sources;there are significant differences in high school resources support,and inter-school balance is worth paying attention to.Based on the problems found in the study,the following suggestions are made to help students make reasonable decisions on chemistry selection:（1）establish a rational decision-making concept in which instrumental rationality and value rationality coexist,and advocate an approach to selection that is both emotional and rational;（2）parents,schools,and universities help students obtain information to improve their confidence and inclination to choose chemistry;（3）narrow the differences in chemistry curriculum resources between schools and improve the career planning education system.