This paper explores the concept of scientific literacy through its relation to democracy and citizenship. Scientific literacy has received international attention in the twenty-first century as demonstrated by the Programme for International Student Assessment survey of 2006. It is no longer just a concept but has become a stated and testable…

An interdisciplinary group of faculty members from Tufts University developed an undergraduate civic science course designed to help students better understand and interpret the broad, sociocultural impacts of science. The course teaches principles of civic science and was designed around four facets of learning. These facets lay groundwork for…

The use of indicators in research policy and evaluation is widely perceived as problematic. Responding to demands for explicit normative framings in STI governance, I propose an agenda for transforming the place and role of indicators in policy. Given that expert advice should not separate knowledge formation from decision-making under conditions…

This article identifies historical, pedagogical and epistemological problems which distance the school science curriculum from social questions, and issues of social justice more specifically. Drawing on a critical realist approach it addresses these problems and aims to demonstrate that social justice lies at the heart of inquiry in science in…

STEM, or the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has rapidly become a dominant discourse in political, economic and educational spheres. In the U.S., the STEM movement has been boosted by global economic-based competition and associated fears, in terms of STEM graduates, when compared with other nations. However, many…

The ways in which societies and institutions institutionalize and practice invention management reflects not only how new ideas are valued, but also imaginaries about the role of science and technology for societal development. Often taking the US Bayh-Dole-Act as a model, many European states have recently implemented changes in how inventions at…

The scientific literacy level of the whole population has long been focusing the researchers' attention because of its direct impact on many aspects of our lives. As a matter of fact, studies in cognition have both been inspired by educational issues as well as by misconceptions of scientific ideas often based on irrational beliefs, old theories,…

In this theoretical paper, I argue that whether science is universal or culture-specific endeavor is a nature of science (NOS) question that needs to be explored critically by learners in a science classroom. Delimiting the discussion to precollege (secondary) science education, I discuss the educational benefits of such a proposal and evaluate…

Science and technology centers continue to emerge as hubs for building climate change and resiliency literacy in communities around the United States. What's less clear, however, is how these institutions foster and sustain climate action based on this acquired literacy. The Science Museum of Virginia developed, delivered, and evaluated climate…

Impact of science is one of the most important topics in scientometrics. Recent developments show a fundamental change in impact measurements from impact on science to impact on society. Since impact measurement is currently in a state of far reaching changes, this paper describes recent developments and facing problems in this area. For that, the…

Educators have been increasingly concerned with what can be done about "post-truth" problems--that is, threats to people's abilities to know what is true--such as the spread of misinformation and denial of well-established scientific claims. The articles and commentaries in this special issue present diverse perspectives on how…

Mankind could not exist without the earth to which it owes its life and could not have continued to exist to this day. This earth we call our world is an ecosystem. Mankind could not survive alone in this ecosystem. Mankind was able to continue its existence to the present day forming a whole with the other elements of this ecosystem. Aware of…

The article is devoted to the analysis of the modern state of ethics of science. The question is raised regarding the possibility and problems of the interference of ethics in scientific rationality. From a philosophical position, preliminary answers are given to the following questions: How is it possible to incorporate ethics into the scientific…

There are many potential harms to individuals, societies and environments associated with powerful "networks" of living, nonliving and symbolic entities (actants), such as financiers, banks, think tanks, transnational trade organizations and agreements, competitiveness, scientists, engineers, universities, governments, military,…

The focus of this paper is on the Science-Technology-Society (STS) initiative, developed in the 1980s, subsequently expanded to STSE to acknowledge environmental concerns and later expanded further to include the provision of opportunities for students to confront socioscientific issues (SSI), often of a controversial and certainly of a topical…