Chinese Journal of Science Education

Abstract

International science education community has oriented the attention to the impact of sociocultural factors on the effectiveness of science learning. However, such efforts have seldom done in Taiwanese society. Therefore, this study used interview methods to collect data from 12 elites about their views of the contemporary educational environment and the strategies to enhancing the scientific literacy in Taiwanese society. The findings show that elites claimed Taiwanese people to be superstitious and irrational; the different way to see the nature from the western world also plays as one of the factors to influence science education. Since science education in school has served for the preparation for the entrance examination, students memorized the factual knowledge instead of the useful learning skills in their daily life context. However, elites especially mentioned the intelligence of local people and the social values in education were the strengths in promoting science education. According elites opinions, five suggestions were summarized for enhancing the scientific literacy in Taiwan through creating learning atmosphere for (1) inducing alternative thinking framework, (2) motivating their curiosity, positive attitudes, and value in science learning, (3) nurturing the problem-solving, co-operative, and life-long learning abilities, (4) facilitating students understand the basic scientific principles and theories by means of experiments, hands-on activities, and multi-media, and (5) communicating their own scientific thoughts clearly based on the information from informal education channels. In the last, the author retrospects on the discrepancy of sociocultural factors between western and Taiwanese society and proposes the suggestions for future science education in Taiwan.

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