英国の科学コミュニケーター養成におけるメディアの位置づけ

─ジャーナリズム学会と連携するシェフィールド大学の事例から

抄録

The purpose of this paper is to examine the position of the media in the training of science communicators in the UK by clarifying how science communicators involved in public engagement are expected to interact with the media and how science communication is taught. In an increasingly digital society, the relationship of trust between scientific information transmitted by the media and the public receiving that information is complex, so examining the relationships between science, media and society is an important issue for the future. The UK is a leading country in science communication, and has more postgraduate science communicator courses than any other country which also leads to science communicators having roles in various parts of UK society. This paper focuses on the University of Sheffield, which has a media-centred science communicator training course, to identify how science communicators involved in public engagement are expected to engage with the media, which are also the main actors in science communication. Section 1 reviews previous research on science communicator training while Section 2 provides an overview of UK science communication curricula and their characteristics. Section 3 presents the research subjects and the analytical framework. Section 4 identifies the characteristics of the curricula at the University of Sheffield, by examining in terms of （i） the provision of correct information and technology, （ii） approaches to promote social discussion, and （iii） knowledge sharing and interactivity to specify how educational activities are carried out with specific classes related to media and public engagement. As a result of this discussion, the following three points can be noted from the University of Sheffield’s curriculum. First, the course offers many subjects in common with the Department of Journalism, enabling students to acquire theories and skills related to the media in general. Second, ‘practical skills in media’ are positioned as a key element of the science communicator’s role in relation to public engagement. At the University of Sheffield, the curriculum is based on the principle of building skills through practical training to disseminate, educate and identify scientific information to diverse audiences. Third, in the shift in UK science communication policy from ‘public understanding of science’ to ‘science and society’, society expects science communicators to be the people responsible for interactive science communication activities. However, in this respect, the University of Sheffield shows there is a room for improvement. In this regard, there is a new educational trend in recent science communication curricula in that science communicators are being trained under educational activities that emphasise a humanities and social science perspective. Analysis of these emerging trends is a topic for future work. In addition, this paper, which is based on a literature review, was unable to clarify the aims of the education and how the educational modules are actually implemented. These points will be discussed in a separate paper.