Scientific Literacy And Its Relevance In The Modern World

Abstract

The terms science and scientific literacy, historically refer to natural sciences, but in recent years the term scientific literacy has included terms from mathematics and technology with applications in the physical sciences. The term science literacy was first encountered in an article by Paul DeHart Hurd in 1958 entitled Science Literacy: Its Meaning for American Schools (Laugksch, 2000). According to Hurd, the term refers to the community’s understanding of science and its applications. Norris & Philips (2003) believe that the term scientific literacy refers to general scientific knowledge that one must have in order to be able to understand scientific applications, to be able to distinguish between science and non-science and to recognize the benefits and risks of science.