The Cultural Negotiation of Publics–Science Relations: Effects of Idaho Residents’ Orientation Toward Science on Support for K-12 STEM Education (2015)
John A. Mihelich (Author)
Dilshani Sarathchandra (Author)
Leontina Hormel (Author)
Traci Craig (Author)
Debbie A. Storrs (Author)
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society
Volume: 35
Issue: 5-6
Pages: 166-177
Understanding the intersections of science and publics has led to research on how diverse publics interpret scientific information and form positions on science-related issues. Research demonstrates that attitudes toward science, political and religious orientation, and other social factors affect adult interactions with science, which has implications for how adults influence K-12 STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Based on a statewide survey of adults in Idaho (n = 407), a politically and religiously conservative western state, we demonstrate how attitudes toward science, measured through a composite measure “orientation toward science,” and other social factors are correlated with support for STEM education. Results show that “orientation toward science,” along with political orientation and respondents’ perceptions of feeling informed about science, predicts behavior intentions to support STEM education. Our findings suggest that a nuanced and localized approach to fostering support for K-12 STEM education would resonate with populations regardless of political orientation, and they illuminate new ways of thinking about how political orientation more generally impacts thinking about science in the context of complicated “socio-scientific relations.” In exploring how people think about science in a politically and religiously conservative state, we provide insights on potential outcomes in other states, should conservative ideology spread. We argue that the publics’ relationship with science and, by extension, support for science education, is more fluid, as many of us suspect, than ideological polemics suggest.
...MoreSimilar Citations
Article
John A. Mihelich;
Dilshani Sarathchandra;
Leontina Hormel;
Debbie A. Storrs;
Michelle M. Wiest;
(2016)
Public Understanding of Science and K-12 STEM Education Outcomes: Effects of Idaho Parents’ Orientation Toward Science on Students’ Attitudes Toward Science
(/isis/citation/CBB098269732/)
Thesis
Kasey Marie Sease;
(2021)
Marketing Agencies for Science: Nonprofits, Public Science Education, and Capitalism in Modern America
(/isis/citation/CBB197222725/)
Article
Turner, Steven;
(2008)
School Science and Its Controversies; or, Whatever Happened to Scientific Literacy?
(/isis/citation/CBB000831211/)
Article
Andrew G. Skuce;
John Cook;
Mark Richardson;
Bärbel Winkler;
Ken Rice;
Sarah A. Green;
Peter Jacobs;
Dana Nuccitelli;
(2016)
Does It Matter if the Consensus on Anthropogenic Global Warming Is 97% or 99.99%?
(/isis/citation/CBB075592404/)
Article
W. H. Brock;
(2017)
British School Chemistry Laboratories, 1830–1920
(/isis/citation/CBB701556562/)
Article
Lydia E. Carol-Ann Burke;
John Wallace;
(2020)
Re-examining Postcolonial Science Education Within a Power-Knowledge Framework
(/isis/citation/CBB504787662/)
Article
Losh, Susan Carol;
(2016)
Preface: Why It Matters: U.S. Adult Perceptions of Environmental Scientist Agreement on Global Warming
(/isis/citation/CBB046731657/)
Article
Achterberg, Peter;
(2014)
Knowing Hydrogen and Loving It Too? Information Provision, Cultural Predispositions, and Support for Hydrogen Technology among the Dutch
(/isis/citation/CBB001420075/)
Article
Milam, Erika Lorraine;
(2013)
Public Science of the Savage Mind: Contesting Cultural Anthropology in the Cold War Classroom
(/isis/citation/CBB001320233/)
Article
Roberts, Lissa L.;
(2012)
Instruments of Science and Citizenship: Science Education for Dutch Orphans During the Late Eighteenth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB001220437/)
Article
Rudolph, John L.;
(2005)
Epistemology for the Masses: The Origins of “The Scientific Method” in American Schools
(/isis/citation/CBB000741261/)
Book
Barbara Schneider;
Joseph Krajcik;
Jari Lavonen;
Katariina Salmela-Aro;
Margaret J. Geller;
(2020)
Learning Science: The Value of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments
(/isis/citation/CBB848656364/)
Article
Michael J. Feuer;
(Spring 2013)
STEM Education: Progress and Prospects: Editor's Note
(/isis/citation/CBB049575987/)
Article
Carlos López-Beltrán;
Abigail Nieves Delgado;
Sandra P. González-Santos;
Vivette García-Deister;
(2022)
The Heredity Matrix: Genetics and the Understanding of Mestizaje, Health, and Belonging in Mexico
(/isis/citation/CBB464443070/)
Article
Schweingbruber, Heidi A.;
(Spring 2013)
A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Looking Toward the Future of Science Education
(/isis/citation/CBB667548307/)
Article
Heering, Peter;
Wittje, Roland;
(2012)
An Historical Perspective on Instruments and Experiments in Science Education
(/isis/citation/CBB001220436/)
Article
Forato, Thaís Cyrino de Mello;
Martins, Roberto de Andrade;
Pietrocola, Maurício;
(2012)
History and Nature of Science in High School: Building up Parameters to Guide Educational Materials and Strategies
(/isis/citation/CBB001250433/)
Article
Daniel Gamito-Marques;
(2020)
In Praise of a Historical Storytelling Approach in Science Education
(/isis/citation/CBB988919539/)
Article
Braga, Marco;
Guerra, Andreia;
Reis, José Claudio;
(2012)
The Role of Historical-Philosophical Controversies in Teaching Sciences: The Debate between Biot and Ampère
(/isis/citation/CBB001250444/)
Article
Clark, Kathleen M;
(2010)
Connecting Local History, Ancient History, and Mathematics: The Eustis Elementary School Pilot Project
(/isis/citation/CBB001034725/)
Be the first to comment!