What Role Can Science Education Play?

2021 ◽  
pp. 50-74
Author(s):  
Gale M. Sinatra ◽  
Barbara K. Hofer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
K 12 ◽  
National Trends

In international tests, the United States lags behind other developed nations in scientific knowledge, consistently scoring in the middle of the pack, motivating calls to strengthen the science curriculum in the United States, as reflected by the current standards movements in education. As educators, the authors make the case in Chapter 3, “What Role Can Science Education Play?,” that while increases in science instruction in K–12 education would be a net gain for increasing public understanding of science, education alone has its limits in addressing the broader problem. They provide examples from their own research and that of others of national trends that show the value of focusing science education on the process of how scientific knowledge is created and vetted. The authors offer suggestions to educators, communicators, and policy makers for supporting public understanding of science.

Editorial

1988 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
Susan E. Cozzens
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Freedom ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Rational Knowledge

It is widely thought that the state of public understanding of science in the United States, and indeed throughout much of the industrialized world, is in need of fundamental reexamination…. Regardless of its philosophical soundness, the old model of value-free science unlocking the secrets and powers of nature for man's benefit has had profound social and intellectual consequences. Today, however, there is growing resistance to this model; in various quarters, allegiance is shifting to another image, one that projects science as almost mindlessly giving virtually uncontrolled powers over nature and human life to unprepared people…. We seem to be in a crisis of reason in which commitment to rational knowledge as a source of human freedom is being seriously challenged.

scholarly journals The meaning of `public understanding of science' in the United States after World War II

1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce V. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Popular Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
World War ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The 1960S

In the United States after World War II, the term `public understanding of science' became equated with `public appreciation of the benefits that science provides to society'. This equation was the result of the independent, but parallel, social and institutional needs of four different groups with an interest in popularizing science: commercial publishers, scientific societies, science journalists, and government agencies. A new, more critical era of popular science began in the 1960s.

Interactions between the formal UK school science curriculum and the public understanding of science

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Hutton
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
School Science ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
The Public ◽  
Understanding Of Science

The debate about the public understanding of science has taken place at a time when science education in UK schools has undergone significant change. This paper examines some of the features pertinent to the two areas. The aims of school science education are shown to be generally consistent with those cited for increasing the public understanding of science. A comparison is made between the science occurring in the public domain of newspapers with that included in the formal curriculum. A large degree of complementarity is noted leading to the conclusion that schoolchildren's exposure to newspaper science can be beneficial to their formal education. The rationale of journalists in writing about science is considered and the issue of relevance is shown to be consistent with the perceived needs of schoolchildren.

scholarly journals Training in Astronomy

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 910-911
Author(s):  
M. Gerbaldi
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Primary Science ◽  
University Colleges ◽  
University Level ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Physical Laws ◽  
The University

Astronomy offers a unique opportunity for promoting the science teaching in its present crisis. Astronomy can be introduced at various levels and become the medium by which both primary science education and public understanding of science are stimulated.At the University level, astronomy can be introduced in the curricula of university colleges and be a subject for M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Astronomy, can give students the opportunity to work scientifically from observations and known physical laws in order to derive knowledge in another field of science. Astronomy can be taught with less formalism and more experimentation, giving students a feel for the link between a phenomenon and its theoretical representation, and how and why a given observation can be represented by different theoretical models.

How Do Individuals Think About Knowledge and Knowing?

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-121
Author(s):  
Gale M. Sinatra ◽  
Barbara K. Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Epistemic Cognition ◽  
Scientific Enterprise ◽  
New Information ◽  
Scientific Claims ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Reasoning About Knowledge

In everyday encounters with new information, conflicting ideas, and claims made by others, one has to decide who and what to believe. Can one trust what scientists say? What’s the best source of information? These are questions that involve thinking and reasoning about knowledge, or what psychologists call “epistemic cognition.” In Chapter 5, “How Do Individuals Think About Knowledge and Knowing?,” the authors explain how public misunderstanding of scientific claims can often be linked to misconceptions about the scientific enterprise itself. Drawing on their own research and that of others, the authors explain how individuals’ thinking about knowledge influences their science doubt, resistance, and denial. They explain how educators and communicators can enhance public understanding of science by emphasizing how scientific knowledge is created and evaluated and why it should be valued.

Understanding science from the perspective of the sociology of scientific knowledge: an overview

1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Yearley
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Practice ◽  
Public Understanding Of Science ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Public Controversy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sociology Of Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Understanding Science

In this paper I argue that the analytic perspective known as the `sociology of scientific knowledge' (SSK) provides an appropriate platform for examining issues in the public understanding of science. In particular. I suggest that three pervasive features of academic scientific practice identified by SSK—trust, judgement and long-termism—are central to interpreting difficulties with the `public understanding of science' in many situations of public controversy. The paper concludes by identifying areas where studies in SSK and the public understanding of science would be of mutual benefit.

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