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Asia-Pacific
Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 12, Issue 1, Foreword (Jun., 2011) Dana L. ZEIDLER Global sustainability and public understanding of science: The role of socioscientific issues in the international community
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Asia-Pacific
Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 12, Issue 1, Foreword (Jun., 2011) Dana L. ZEIDLER Global sustainability and public understanding of science: The role of socioscientific issues in the international community
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Sustainable Science Education in a Pluralistic World
To begin, let us raise the obvious question that begs our attention: what does it mean to think in scientifically responsible ways? What does it mean to think globally and act locally if words and deeds are to be viewed in a global context? That we live in a pluralistic world with competing values is brute fact to be reckoned with. Defining what it means to think responsibly in a pluralistic community is both an academically interesting challenge and a task that is necessary to support the quality of our physical, organic and social world. Here, I wish to argue that if we hope to achieve a common vision of sustainability and facilitate public understanding of science, then we will find that thinking in scientifically responsible ways requires features of character, which in turn requires the formation of conscience. For this to happen, there needs to exist a sense of community in science education.
All of us recognize the need for future scientists to be insightful and well grounded in their respective research programs. But I am also concerned about the larger majority of students who will not seek scientific professions but who, nonetheless, need to be functionally scientifically literate and make informed judgments about decisions that impact the biological, physical and social environment. Character, at least in the sense that I am prescribing, matters. Character is intricately tied to virtue – a sense of being true to oneself and appearing to others in a manner that is transparent; we appear to be who we really are. Hence, our words and deeds are the signature of our character, and our character is bound up in the actions and perceptions of others in the world. The first step toward a degree of sustainable science education in a pluralistic world is recognizing that we are each linked to a pluralistic community of science education.
Copyright (C) 2011 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 12, Issue 1, Foreword (Jun., 2011). All Rights Reserved.
