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Portraying real science in science communication
Author(s) -
Dijk Esther M. van
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
science education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.209
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1098-237X
pISSN - 0036-8326
DOI - 10.1002/sce.20458
Subject(s) - science communication , generality , science education , scientific literacy , philosophy of science , science, technology, society and environment education , social science education , nature of science , field (mathematics) , outline of social science , sociology , public awareness of science , epistemology , formal science , focus (optics) , engineering ethics , psychology , pedagogy , mathematics , engineering , philosophy , pure mathematics , psychotherapist , physics , optics
In both formal and informal settings, not only science but also views on the nature of science are communicated. Although there probably is no singular nature shared by all fields of science, in the field of science education it is commonly assumed that on a certain level of generality there is a consensus on many features of science. In this paper, it will be argued that because of their focus on unifying items and their ignoring of the actual heterogeneity of science, it is questionable whether such consensus views can fruitfully contribute to the aim of science communication, i.e., to enhance the public's functional scientific literacy. The possibilities of an alternative approach to the portrayal of the sciences within science communication are explored. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 95:1086–1100, 2011