Scientific literacy and its role in students’ academic and professional development

Abstract

This paper presents results from the research study of students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, University of Zagreb, Croatia about their views and perceptions of scientific literacy. The results show that students are interested in scientific discoveries, that they partially have trust in outcomes of scientific research and that they mostly understand work of scientists. To become acquainted with news from science, students use various digital information resources, mostly digital. What is most important, they have clear understanding of what it means to be scientifically literate and what are the competencies that constitute a scientifically literate person. They prefer an institutionalized type of education about science. The results of this research study indicate a mature approach to the understanding of the concept of scientific literacy and that students rely on their knowledge about science and scientific research in their academic (and later in professional) development.