ABSTRACT
Scientific literacy (SL hereafter) has become an object of frequent debate in the field of science education worldwide. Beneath a superficial consensus, SL reveals itself to be a rather polysemic expression. Extensive research and practice on SL has indicated that it can be conceptualized, amongst other alternatives, as a teaching objective, as a learning goal, as a framework for curriculum development, as a basis to assess public understanding of science, and as a research topic (Roberts, 2007). SL has been understood either as an individual attribute or as something that is distributed within social systems (Roth & Calabrese Barton, 2004) and also been connected with the fields of citizenship education and multicultural education (Martins, in press). In Brazil, contributions explore links between SL and sociocultural dimensions of scientific knowledge in teaching (Chassot, 2003), trace the history of policies for SL (Cazelli & Franco, 2001), elaborate the influence of critical education and Freirean approaches to SL actions (Santos, 2008; Auler & Delizoicov, 2001), and establish relationships between SL and vocational and professional training (Lacerda, 1997), and between SL and science-technology-society (STS) education (Leal & Sousa, 2000; Mamede & Zimmermann, 2005). Internationally we find theoretical and empirical discussions of SL and its implications for science education, as well as exhaustive literature reviews (Laugksch, 2000; Roberts, 2007), comparisons between experiences of different countries (Yore, Chinn, & Hand, 2008), and implementation of related classroom activities (Jarman & McClune, 2007). Traditionally linked to the reaffirmation of the relevance of science for responsible citizenship, there has been considerable growth and opening out in both SL research and development agendas which led to the discussion of issues such as inclusion, identity, disciplinary engagement, assessment, social transformation, and legitimacy (Linder, Östman, & Wickman, 2007). According to Roberts (2007), definitions of SL typically involve relationships between society and scientific knowledge, though some of them (Vision I) place a stronger emphasis on science’s internal agenda, and others (Vision II) broaden the scope of what is to be considered relevant knowledge for a scientifically literate person. However, both visions reinforce the view that science plays an important part in a number of matters of both private and public importance. Quite
often SL goals and actions are justified in terms of the need to prepare citizens for living and coping with the demands of an increasingly science-technology based society, and are identified with preparation for work, informed decision making, and responsible citizenship. In both cases (Vision I and Vision II), SL would respond to demands posed either by science itself or by society and would help achieve objectives consonant with functionalist approaches for education,1 which advocate the need for people to fit in, contribute to, and participate in (a democratic) society. In this chapter I will try to show that an analysis of the concept of literacy allows for such complexity in SL definitions-much needed in times where changes in both group and individual behavior towards health and environmental issues are crucial to the future of next generations on this planet. This argument qualifies and extends analyses of the concept of literacy carried out by Soares (2003) in the field of literacy studies, so as to elaborate a view in which SL is seen not just as a pedagogical issue but also as a political issue, that is, as an investment in humanist and liberating praxis. I start by exploring a diversity of perspectives and approaches to SL through a discussion of the concept of literacy, and its cognates, in order to propose the idea that we should consider the use of literacy in the expression SL as a metaphorical appropriation from the field of language and literacy studies. I then discuss implications of such metaphorical appropriations, suggesting a further expansion of the agenda of the science education community so as to include political, affective, and multimedia dimensions in research and development of actions aiming at promoting SL.
