Science Literacy Concepts, Contexts, and Consequences (2016) / Chapter Skim
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1 Introduction
1 Introduction
Pages 11-20
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From page 11... ...
Knowledge of basic science facts is but one small part of the constellation of features that can constitute science literacy. In this report, we document what is known about the components of science literacy, the contexts in which it arises and is used, the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that are prerequisite to it, and the ways in which it is applied, supported, and constrained.
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From page 12... ...
COMMITTEE CHARGE AND APPROACH In response to a request from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an expert committee to examine the role of science literacy in attitudes toward and public support for science, and its relationship to health literacy and healthrelated behaviors.
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From page 13... ...
The committee considers health literacy as an important domain that is closely related to and somewhat overlapping with science literacy, though the history and recent developments in the scholarly work on health literacy have been quite different than that on science literacy. Because NIH asked the committee to assist the agency with understanding a potential relationship between science literacy and health literacy, the committee sought research that illuminated the connection across fields: we found few studies.
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From page 14... ...
Throughout this report, the committee aims to challenge traditional understandings of science literacy, and as a result we note many places at which expanding conceptions of science literacy would require further research. That is, in order to fully understand whether or not there is a need to improve the understanding of science and scientific research in the United States, it would first be necessary to solidify an evidence base that investigates science literacy in all its complexity.
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From page 15... ...
The committee emphasizes another important finding emerging in the literature in its use of the term science literacy in this report: a science literate society is more than the aggregation of science literate individuals. A science literate society or community is a social organization, with traits that can transcend the average knowledge or accomplishments of individuals in that society or community.2 In light of this broad understanding of science literacy, the committee organized its work to answer the questions posed in the charge by examining evidence at three levels of science literacy: the society, the community, and the individual.
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From page 16... ...
For science literacy, the production or consumption of science knowledge depends on the ability to access text, construct meaning, and evaluate newly encountered
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From page 17... ...
Individuals with fewer economic resources and less access to high-quality education have fewer opportunities to develop science literacy and health literacy. This lack of access disproportionately affects some demographic groups: second-language speakers of English, Latinos, black Americans, and children growing up in low-income families or attending under-resourced schools may have fewer opportunities to acquire science literacy (see Chapter 3)
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From page 18... ...
. There is strong evidence that health literacy is associated with access to health resources, so those with less opportunity to develop health literacy may as a consequence also experience poorer health care and poorer health outcomes than people with more opportunity to develop health literacy.
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From page 19... ...
The committee also commissioned four supplementary papers intended to support the writing of this report.4 Lauren McCormack, director for the Center of Communication Science at RTI International, provided a paper on the ways in which health literacy is assessed and measured. Michael Cacciatore, assistant professor of public relations at the University of Georgia, reviewed literature on the role of science literacy in public support for and attitudes toward science and science research.
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From page 20... ...
The final chapter offers the committee's recommendations for the field and identifies areas in which new measures and new research inquiries might improve what is known about science literacy and its relationship to support for and use of science and research. Appendix A presents a table of key definitions and statements about literacy, numeracy, science literacy, health literacy, and health numeracy.
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Key Terms
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