Public attitudes to science in South Africa

Self Cite

An important component of an individual’s scientific literacy is a positive attitude towards science. However, emphasis is too often placed on achievement scores rather than attitude. While individuals’ relative levels of problem-solving skills, inherent aptitudes for the subject matter and teaching practices are conveyed through achievement scores, attitudes to science convey individuals’ emotional evaluation of the subject. Attitudes have a strong impact on behaviour: through either facilitating the learning process or hindering it. Furthermore, attitudes towards science reflect the culture which exists within a school, as well as the wider social context within which learning takes place. As a result, understanding attitudes is a key component of the interpretation of achievement results. We used data from 12 514 Grade 9 students in South Africa who participated in the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study to investigate students’ self-efficacy in science. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to address the following key research questions: (1) What is the relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement for Grade 9 students in South Africa? and (2) What are the contextual factors associated with the self-efficacy of Grade 9 students in South Africa? The findings reveal a positive relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement and suggest a need to also focus on noncognitive aspects in order to improve science achievement. Significance: • The study contributes to understanding the determinants of science performance at school. • The findings highlight the importance of non-cognitive dimensions in science achievement at school. • The findings have policy implications for education programmes and teachers in relation to interventions which incorporate non-cognitive dimensions.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

I believe I can do science: Self-efficacy and science achievement of Grade 9 students in South Africa

Juan¹,

Hannan²,

Namome³

2018

Self Cite

“…In turn, these attitudes affect outcomes such as support for public funding among the voting population. 1 For South Africa, certain initial findings have led researchers to conclude that this country has a unique fingerprint with regard to public attitudes towards S&T. 4 South Africans generally show a mix of positive and negative attitudes about S&T. In this paper, 'promises' refer to people's positive expectations and beliefs about the benefits of S&T, whereas 'reservations' refer to negative views about S&T. A comparison of recent data with earlier data 5 showed that for South Africans, scientific promises have dropped slightly whereas some reservations have increased significantly. Age and education seem to influence the promise−reservation ratio in South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

unique fingerprint? Factors influencing attitudes towards science and technology in South Africa

Guenther¹,

Weingart²

2016

From an international perspective, research in the field of public attitudes towards science and technology has been conducted since the 1970s. A frequently proposed – and empirically supported – theory is that strong interest in and knowledge about science in a society is associated with more favourable attitudes towards science. This positive attitude in turn affects support for public funding of science. However, this research field is not without controversy, and for the South African population many questions remain unanswered. Initial research has not explored the factors that shape attitudes towards science and technology in detail. We re-analysed data from the Human Sciences Research Council to explore the above theory. Interestingly, for the South African population, higher levels of scientific literacy and use of information sources are associated with more promises but also more reservations towards science and technology. This is especially true for relatively young and educated survey respondents. In international comparison, South Africa shows a unique fingerprint to some extent, but also shares characteristics with industrially developing countries of Europe (such as Greece or Portugal). To understand the correlations better, future research should aim to examine the overall picture when investigating the diverse South African population more extensively.

“…30,31 While the public communication of science, including the factors that influence scientists in terms of their communication with lay audiences, has attracted considerable research interest over the last few decades, local studies were mostly limited to explorations of public science literacy and attitudes to science. 32 Only two studies investigated interactions between South African scientists and journalists 33,34 and both highlighted gaps in understanding and skills deficits on the sides of both journalists and scientists.…”

Section: The South African Context For Public Science Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

In the footsteps of Einstein, Sagan and Barnard: Identifying South Africa’s most visible scientists

Joubert¹,

Guenther²

2017

ARTICLE INCLUDES:× Supplementary material × Data set FUNDING:National Research Foundation (South Africa) Highly visible scientists are increasingly recognised as influential leaders with a special role to play in making science part of mainstream society. Through consultation with a panel of 45 experts working at the science-media interface, we sought to identify the most visible scientists currently living and working in South Africa. In total, 211 scientists -less than 1% of the scientific workforce of the country -were identified as visible in the public sphere. The demographic profile and institutional spread of South Africa's visible scientists suggest that more should be done to increase the diversity of scientists who are publicly visible. Although only 8% of South Africans are white, 78% of the group of visible scientists were white, and 63% of the visible scientists were men. Only 17 black women were identified as publicly visible scientists. While visible scientists were identified at 42 different research institutions, more than half of the visible scientists were associated with just four universities. Recent controversies surrounding the two most visible South African scientists identified via this study, and the potential implications for fellow scientists' involvement in public engagement, are briefly discussed. Significance:• This is the first study to identify highly visible scientists in South Africa.• The study has meaningful policy implications for mobilising scientists towards public science engagement.• It is an important contribution towards the new public engagement framework of the Department of Science and Technology.