On Becoming Scientifically Literate Where can scientific literacy he acquired? Where should it he acquired? It has been said that the general concept of literacy includes a functional part-an ahility to perform certain basic skills such as reading and writing-and a culturally dictated part. Do these components of literacy provide any insight into the acquisition of scientific literacy? The cultural focus for scientific literacy must surely he the need for people to nnderstand and appreciate the scientific basis for today's technologically oriented society. As heneficiaries of the unorecedented rise in living standards, people need to understand the basis of these changes in ind"stria1ized countries. Much of the technological, agricultural, and medical progress is derived from advances in chemistry. Scientific literacy underlies the "technological literacy" which citizens should command in order tocope with the demands of everyday life. Among the major issues in today's world are the acauisition of resources (ex.. " enerm "" and materials) and new scientific knowledge (the results of basic research). While citizens mav not he exuected to contrihute directly to the acquisition bf resource; or basic knowledge, to contrihute directiust as thev are not necessarilvexoected . . I" t u literature, music,or art, they sh(mld have the inrellertudl basis for 3n aooreciation of the vrohlen~s-terhnirnl and .. human-involved. Along with the rise of technologically based progress in industrialized nations hns come a grow in^ awareness of the imoortnnrr of puhlie opinion in the political prwrss. This is peihaps most bbviousin countries-where citizens vote on issues, hut there are indications that a kind of puhlic opinion is equally important in countries with more closed forms of government. Thus, questions that concern the public (e.g., factors that affect the standard of living) give rise to public pressures that in turn influence politically determined responses. In democratic forms of government, these pressures are directly transmitted by the voting process. If issues involving science are considered important in this country, a political vote can only be beneficial if it is an informed vote. How are citizens going to become informed-literateabout the workings of science (chemistry) as i t is reflected in the technology that affects them? Most of the citizens in any
country are no longer involved in the formal systems of education and, hence, are not likely to be directly affected by processes working within such systems. The major influence of the formal education system is lona term since i t affects the mind set of the yoing-the future citizens-who as adults will apply and/or respond to the political processes. For some this lealization may be depressing and the implications for action within the formal education community daunting, hut it is the only clear route to action. To engage seriously in teaching requires a belief that the process is worthwhile. Teachers often recognize their influence on their students, sometimes long aft; they have left the classroom. Indeed, sensitive students also recognize such influences, even though these may not he acknowledged in a formal wav to their teachers. All of this is to say that, even rhuugh efforts ti, inipro\.e srientit'i(,literacy of citizens within r h t'(mnul ~ system u i educntion involve long odd*, there aren't many other oprions. However, the pirture may not he n i bleak as it mighr npprar initiallv. Interesting and intellectually rhallmying icirnce ruurses at the secondary-srhool Iewl designed for future citizrni can make an impact on students whose life goals have not yet been clearly formulated. Such courses are not common. Students in these courses would include future orofessionals (e.~..ohvsicians, . . lawvers, . engineers) and businessmen as weil as successful ordinary people. Such early exposure will have some effect, the nltimate quality of which will he directly related to the quality of the effort. If we are unthinking and haphazard, we shall reap the same in kind. Many of the students who would take such courses will leave the formal education systems after high school and will not again he directly affected by that system. Those who continue their education a t the postsecondary level in areas other than science will have a hackground on which college and university courses should be able to operate. T o maximize the number of scientifically literate citizens, scientific literacy should he acquired in the secondary schools, hut the question still remains, what are we to teach students-at any level-to help them become scientifically JJL literate?
Volume 64
Number 10 October 1987
821
