Cultivating Science Literacy Through the General Education Curriculum

Abstract

The goal of science education is to cultivate science literacy. Science literacy is the ability to find rational solutions to personal or social problems based on scientific evidence. This article emphasizes that cultivating science literacy is consistent with the goal pursued in general education.It is essential to understand the process of scientific research in science classes in general education to cultivate science literacy. Understanding the process of scientific research includes raising problems, designing experiments, data collection, interpretation of results, publishing a paper, and so forth. The latest innovations in science and technology immediately affect the decision-making process of the public. This makes the ability to find and evaluate relevant scientific information even more crucial. Furthermore, teaching the scientific approach to problem-solving based on appropriate information, along with scientific thinking, is the unique and core role of the science class in general education.Science literacy can be effectively achieved through convergent education that encompasses diverse academic fields in the framework of the overall general education curriculum. This type of convergence allows students to reflect on and sometimes re-establish images of oneself and society being changed by cutting-edge science and technology. This is the basic philosophy pursued by liberal arts education. By broadening our horizons through interdisciplinary convergence, students will be able to find clues leading to a deeper understanding and to a creative resolution of social issues related to science and technology that sometimes lead to social conflicts. One of the greatest strengths of general education in universities is that it can open an integrative perspective to students who have been learning within the boundaries of individual subjects until middle school. Collectively, cultivating science literacy requires deliberation and collaboration across diverse disciplines to create an effective general education curriculum for future students-ones who have to cope with the rapid social changes from scientific and technological innovation.