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Concept
Scientific literacy
Summary
Scientific literacy or science literacy encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories. Scientific literacy is chiefly concerned with an understanding of the scientific method, units and methods of measurement, empiricism and understanding of statistics in particular correlations and qualitative versus quantitative observations and aggregate statistics, as well as a basic understanding of core scientific fields, such as physics, chemistry, biology, ecology, geology and computation.
The OECD PISA Framework (2015) defines scientific literacy as "the ability to engage with science-related issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen." A scientifically literate person, therefore, is willing to engage in reasoned discourse about science and technology which requires the competencies to:
Explain phenomena scientifically – recognize, offer and evaluate explanations for a range of natural and technological phenomena.
Evaluate and design scientific inquiry – describe and appraise scientific investigations and propose ways of addressing questions scientifically.
Interpret data and evidence scientifically – analyze and evaluate data, claims and arguments in a variety of representations and draw appropriate scientific conclusions.
According to the United States National Center for Education Statistics, "scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity". A scientifically literate person is defined as one who has the capacity to:
Understand, experiment, and reason as well as interpret scientific facts and their meaning.
Ask, find, or determine answers to questions derived from curiosity about everyday experiences.
Describe, explain, and predict natural phenomena.
Read articles with understanding of science in the popular press and engage in social conversation about the validity of the conclusions.
Official source
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