| dc.description.abstract | Science literacy is an important element for individuals in any society. How a person engages with scientific information can help or hinder the progress of society. Science literacy can advance society through evolution of technology, advancements in healthcare, and comprehensive ways to protect the planet. While a scient literate society itself should be a global goal, modern science is rooted in Eurocentric ways of knowing. It is important to understand that the differences in social and cultural experiences play a part in how people see and interact with the world around them. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between previous science experiences, sociocultural experiences, and science literacy of first-year college students.
To gain a better understanding of factors that contribute to science literacy, an anonymous survey was distributed to first year college students at a single university. The survey was designed using the embedded method which included both quantitative and qualitative questions which pertained to participants’ demographics, previous science experiences, sociocultural experiences, as well as a science literacy assessment. Correlation analysis was utilized to assess quantitative responses. Reflexive thematic and sentiment analysis was used to analyze qualitative responses. Lastly, critical discourse analysis was employed to investigate instances of identity, agency, and power, identified within open-ended responses.
Results indicated that there were a greater number of relationships between sociocultural experiences and science literacy than between previous science experiences and science literacy. Furthermore, critical analysis identified several instances of identity, agency, and power in participant responses. | en_US |
