Secondary Students' Attitudes toward Science-technology Related Issues in Korea

과학.기술과 관련하여 사회적으로 쟁점화된 주제에 대한 중.고등학생의 태도

The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of secondary school students in Korea toward science-technology related issues. A questionnaire was designed in which students were confronted with personal, global, and philosophical levels of arguments, which were composed of three against and three in favor of each eight issues, i.e., use of antibiotics, family planning, transplant of organs, genetic engineering, use of microorganisms. exploitation of the sea, land reclamation from the sea, and nature reserves. Student was requested to rate each argument independently and to vote for or against each issue. It was shown that most of students voted in favor of using technologies except land reclamation from the sea, and that students having more learning experiences on each topic vote more favorably. It is thought that our science education might be effective in increasing awareness and appreciation of benifits of technology, but it is not as effective in developing ambivalence attitudes.