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| Scientific
Literacy and
Cultural Studies Project Abstract
To date, science
educators have not studied what students and teachers believe about
the world, beliefs rooted and nurtured in the cultural environments
in which students and teachers live. If one were speaking of a non-Western,
developing nation, one would speak of students' traditional culture
in contrast to the culture of science. Americans, on the other hand,
assume that science is a natural part of American students' culture.
There is, however, widespread disinterest in science. Also, American
society is increasingly pluralistic, and there are several cultural
subgroups traditionally under represented in science. A new approach
is for American science educators to consider the possibility that
science is a second culture experience for many students. Traditionally,
the study of culture is left to the cultural anthropologists. In recent
years, however, scholars in several disciplines have undertaken cultural
studies in which they investigate the validity of cultural assumptions
in their fields. Similarly, cultural studies in science education can
contribute significantly to our understanding of the barriers to effective
science education. We suggest that it is important for science educators
to understand the fundamental, culturally based beliefs about the world
that students and teachers bring to class, and how these beliefs are
supported by culture; because, science education is successful only
to the extent that science can find a niche in the cognitive and cultural
milieu of students. Thus, the purpose of this research is to gain an
understanding of student and teacher fundamental beliefs about the
world, and how personal/cultural environments foster and support those
beliefs. The methodology is ethnographic, involving the extensive interviewing
of students.
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