Debate on the nature of science in the context of scientific competence for citizenship

Abstract

In recent decades numerous publications have highlighted the need for citizens to acquire not just knowledge of science content but also knowledge about science. In a previous Delphi study of the key aspects of scientific competence for citizenship we identified a number of aspects related to the nature of science (NOS). Our aim here is to analyse four aspects which, in the Delphi study, yielded differences of opinion among the Spanish science professionals we surveyed. These aspects of the NOS concerned the environment and sustainability, an appreciation of science, problems in science and scientific method. A more detailed understanding of the content and importance of these aspects could help to identify which of them, if any, should underpin scientific competence for citizenship. To this end, we asked a group of experts to rate (on a 5-point Likert scale) the importance of four pairs of redefined NOS themes and to justify their rating with any pertinent observations. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each theme and statistical tests were applied to identify any significant differences between the ratings awarded and between professional groups. Significant differences in ratings were only observed on one pair of themes, and similarly, only one pair of themes yielded a significant difference in the ratings awarded by different professional groups. On the other three pairs of themes the experts did not ascribe greater importance to one or the other element. We nonetheless believe that this new analysis adds to our understanding of the epistemological beliefs of experts regarding these themes and goes some way to identifying the key elements of the NOS that should underpin scientific competence for citizenship.