Socioscientific Issues in Science Education and Their Relationship with Citizenship Education

Abstract

This study aims to examine the treatment of socioscientific issues (SSI) in science education while focusing on their relationship with citizenship education. Two general properties of the use of SSI were identified. First, SSI-based science education seeks both to develop scientific literacy and impart scientific knowledge. Second, it endeavors to inculcate in citizens the ability to make reflective decisions on SSI based on an understanding of the “nature of science” and rational argumentation. These findings suggest three strategies for the development of an SSI-based curriculum with a view to training future citizens as sovereign individuals with agency to affect change as responsible menbers of society. First, while an SSI-based curriculum needs to focus on science and technology, it must also incorporate elements of sociology/culture, environmental studies, economics, ethics/morality, and policy. Second, students need to make reflective decisions about SSI as a community after fully examining information and engaging in informal reasoning over socioscientific argumentation. Third, students need to see themselves as one of a multitude of members who constitute society, and to be provided with an opportunity to participate independently in the process of decision-making to develop their sense of agency, individual responsibility, and confidence in the realms of science and citizenship.