Critical science literacy: key competencies for engaging with science in the digital age

Abstract

The capacity to engage with science is recognized as a dynamic and multifaceted set of competencies that extend beyond conceptual understanding. It includes the ability to critically evaluate socio-scientific issues, interpret scientific information in diverse contexts, and participate meaningfully in public discourse about science. This article addresses a timely and significant concern: the need to revisit and expand the concept of science literacy in an intensely mediated environment, shaped by platformization and the algorithmic influence on the framing of scientific information and discourse. It advocates for a reconceptualisation of how individuals engage with science, grounded in the integration of multiple critical literacies and competencies, to better support informed participation in science-related decision-making.