Scientific Literacy for a Knowledge Society

Abstract

The role of science education in preparing students for the world of work was taken seriously by OECD (1996a, 1996b) when it launched studies on how the world of work was changing, especially in science-related occupations. At about the same time, the Royal Society for the Arts, Industry, and Commerce initiated a similar study in Britain (Bayliss, 1998). Together these studies found that the nature of work in developed countries has changed in three ways: in kind, in the requirements for performance, and in the lack of permanence of one’s engagement. These changes in the world of employment are driven by new forms of information technology, design requirements, and technology transfer. For example, oral and written literacies are no longer adequate; digital literacy is a new essential. The resulting new knowledge enables innovation of processes and products, locally and globally. This new knowledge is increasingly becoming a primary source of economic growth in knowledge-based economies. Taken together, these changes characterize a Knowledge Society (Gilbert, 2005). A knowledge-based economy and a Knowledge Society create a need to re-examine SL in developed countries. The chapter begins with an account of the features of a knowledge-based economy and a Knowledge Society, as these features affect the interpretation of SL. A policy position about SL-in-action is developed and analyzed in terms of considerations that would confront decision makers who shape school science curriculum policy. Special attention is paid to the choices that exist in types of school science content, and to the powerful influence of educational assessment practices.

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