A Twenty-Year Survey of Science Literacy among College Undergraduates

Autor/inn/en	Impey, Chris; Buxner, Sanlyn; Antonellis, Jessie; Johnson, Elizabeth; King, Courtney
Titel	A Twenty-Year Survey of Science Literacy among College Undergraduates
Quelle	In: Journal of College Science Teaching, 40 (2011) 4, S.31-37 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0047-231X
Schlagwörter	Likert Scales; Scientific Literacy; Science Education; Surveys; Undergraduate Students; Higher Education; Science Instruction; Science Curriculum; Scientific Attitudes; Evolution; Majors (Students); Arizona + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Likert-Skala; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht
Abstract	First results from a 20-year survey of science knowledge and attitudes toward science among undergraduates are presented. Nearly 10,000 students taking astronomy as part of a general education requirement answered a set of questions that overlap a science literacy instrument administered to the general public by the National Science Foundation. The research questions addressed are: What is the level of science literacy among undergraduates, and what variables or attributes predict science literacy? Their attitudes toward science and pseudo-science were probed by a set of 22 statements coded on a Likert scale. On the knowledge items, freshmen perform only marginally higher than the general public, with exception of large positive differences in their knowledge of evolution and the Big Bang. Gains on any particular item through the time that students graduate are only 10%-15%, despite the fact that they have taken two or three science courses. Belief in pseudoscience runs high, and the fact that the level of pseudoscience belief does not correlate well with the level of science knowledge is particularly noteworthy. In addition, no variable in the analysis is predictive of science literacy. Over the interval 1988-2008, there's no detectable improvement in undergraduate scientific literacy. (Contains 5 figures.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10