EDUCATION STUDIES A positive relationship between the public and science and technology has many advantages, such as facilitating an improved quality of life for the individual and thus contributing to the country's social development; contributing to a more educated and skilled workforce and thus boosting economic development; and assisting the country's efforts in consolidating democracy and citizenship. South Africa has not undertaken a systematic, comprehensive and nuanced assessment of the public understanding and engagement with science. Why is this important? Vijay Reddy, Andrea Juan and Michael Gastrow explain.
In the past, science and technology have been seen as exclusive to formal education, but in the last few decades a number of countries have acknowledged the importance of these subjects for the general public, and have initiated programmes to ensure that the public is informed about science knowledge. A positive relationship between the public and science and technology has many advantages, such as facilitating an improved quality of life for the individual and thus contributing to the country's social development; contributing to a more educated and skilled workforce and thus boosting economic development; and assisting the country's efforts in consolidating democracy and citizenship. The Department of Science and Technology's (DST) 10-Year Plan recognises the importance and impact that these subjects have on the public and how, in turn, the public can shape the course of science and technology. The DST plan notes that it is important to support the public's understanding and engagement with science if South Africa is to become an innovative society - that is, we have a responsibility to ensure a positive relationship between science and society. But South Africa does not yet have a systematic, comprehensive and nuanced assessment of the relationship between science and the public. The HSRC was therefore commissioned by the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) to review existing studies, both internationally and nationally, with a view to determining how South Africa can initiate programmes to enhance the relationship between the public and science. We reviewed the international and national studies on the public's relationship with science and make recommendations on what to do further in South Africa. Observations from our review Our review shows that South Africa has not undertaken a systematic, comprehensive and nuanced assessment of the public understanding and engagement with science. The Foundation for Education, Science and Technology (FEST) surveys, conducted in the 1990s, used items from surveys conducted in other countries and were administered to largely urban areas. Similarly, the HSRC surveys of the 1990s included a set of items, without a framework, measuring general attitudes towards Science and Technology. A critique of these surveys includes questions about their validity, the reliability and appropriateness of items, the language and means in which the surveys were administered to the South African public, and the samples used. However, in the last few years South Africa has focused on undertaking surveys on specialised topics like biotechnology and climate change. It is important that we undertake further studies, designed for the general South African public, to measure their understanding and engagement with science. In looking at this domain of the public and science, the review proposes a framework of the relationship between the public(s) and science and technology. This framework encompasses the dimensions of the stratified nature of South African society; the attitudes, values and knowledge of the public(s); and the communication and awareness programmes. To enhance the relationships between science and the public, such a framework must consider both science and the public as important stakeholders in the relationship. It should acknowledge that each affects the other, unlike previous frameworks which gave science a position of power and perceived the public to be more or less deficient. This article is based on a report, Science and the publics: A review of public understanding of science studies (2009), by the three authors. The full report is available at: Dr Vijay Reddy is an executive director and head of the Education, Science and Skills Development programme. Ms Andrea Juan, a Master's intern, and Michael Gastrow, a chief researcher, work in the same programme.
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