Perceptions of High-School Students and Science Teachers about Science-Technology-Society(STS)

고등학생들과 과학교사들의 과학-기술-사회(STS)에 대한 인식 조사

Various modern social problems are also related with science and technology. Thorough understanding about Technology-Society(STS) interactions is required to take informed action about how to deal effectively with these problems. In this case, there is a need for STS education. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of high -school students and science teachers about Technology-Society interactions and differences of their perceptions. It is my hope that this thesis will contribute to future "General Science" class in Korea. We obtained the data by a survey of 414 high school students who took "General Science" courses in Seoul and 54 of their science teachers. The survey was made using 10 multiple-choice items selected from the VOSTS (Views On Science-Technology-Society) item pool. The results of this study are as follow: 1. More than half of the students and teachers thought that science is exploring the unknown and discovering new things. Their perceptions about the science are somewhat stable, but about the technology various. 2. Most students and teachers thought that science and technology interact and complement each other. They also thought that the improvement in the quality of life needs investments in both science and technology 3. Most students and teachers thought social facts as community, government, and politics influenced scientists and scientific research. They also had a good understanding about the effects of science and technology on society. We can conclude from this that they had a Science-Technology-Society oriented viewpoint. 4. There are significant differences between the perceptions of boys and girls in following categories (p<.05): Influence of Community or Government Agencies on Scientists Influence of Politics on Scientists Role of Scieoce/Technology in Resolving Social Problems 5. There are significant differences between the perceptions of students and teachers in following categories (p<.05): Definition of Science Influence of Politics on Scientists