Investigating public science interest and understanding

Evidence for the importance of free-choice learning

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19604397
AutoresJohn H Falk (0000-0002-7634-899X, Institute for Learning Innovation, 166 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21403, USA, autor correspondente), Martin Storksdieck (0000-0003-3967-8583, Institute for Learning Innovation), Lynn D Dierking (0000-0003-1213-0649, Institute for Learning Innovation)
Ano2007
Volume16
Fascículo4
Páginas455-469
Data de publicação2007-09-27
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPublic Understanding of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0963-6625 • E-ISSN: 1361-6609
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0963662506064240
OpenAlexW2045863122
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas62
Referências citadas29

Historically, most of the focus of science education has been on pre-college and college level schooling. Although some of the public's interest and knowledge about science is unquestionably shaped by compulsory schooling, given that the average adult spends only a fraction of their life participating in some kind of formal schooling, we argue that the contribution of school-based science learning to the long-term public understanding of science is limited, particularly for the majority of Americans who do not go on to post-secondary schooling. This article shows that the majority of the public constructs much of its understanding of science over the course of their lives, gathering information from many places and contexts, and for a diversity of reasons. A random telephone survey of Los Angeles, California residents found that nearly half (43 percent) of the public's self-reported science understanding derives from leisure time, free-choice learning; science understanding was primarily acquired for reasons related to personal interest, need and/or curiosity. The conclusion drawn from this preliminary investigation is that future efforts to understand and support the public's understanding of science will require approaches that take into account individual differences and the unique personal and context-specific nature of knowledge; findings also support the value of asset-based approaches to education which build from strengths rather than dwelling upon deficits

Curiosity · Pedagogy · Political science · Public awareness of science · Public interest · Public relations · Science communication · Science education · Sociology · Animal and Plant Science Education · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social Psychology