Fostering Scientific Literacy through an educational study: students’ initial perceptions of Science Communication on social media

Introduction

Achieving Scientific Literacy (SL) requires STEM education to move beyond the mere acquisition of conceptual knowledge and to foster critical thinking and informed decision-making (Ah-Namand & Osman, 2018; EC, 2015). Currently, science content is widespread in both formal and informal environments, including Science Education (SE) and Science Communication (SC) on social media (WHO, 2020). However, there is still a lack of integration between SE and SC in research and school practice (Everhart, 2009; Lewenstein & Baram-Tsabari, 2022). This study aims to address this gap by combining SE and SC in an educational research study designed to foster students’ SL. The objective is to utilise the benefits of SC, particularly its increased engagement and edutainment function.

Methods

The research adopted a phenomenological approach to investigate the experiences and meanings constructed by the involved students and teachers (Mortari, 2007). Data were collected through various qualitative methods and analysed using content analysis (White & Marsh, 2006) and the crystallisation technique (Ellingson, 2009).

Results

The presentation will briefly describe an educational project conducted in six schools with 11- and 14-year-old students, and focus on findings related to students' prior knowledge of SC on social media. Specifically, the analysis of classroom discussions shows that students associate SC with planning and content creation and, above all, with communication skills and audience engagement. The activity has two purposes: educating students about the opportunities and risks of social media and gathering data on their existing beliefs.

Conclusions

Given the growing popularity of social media among young people (Karahan & Roehrig, 2015) and their perceptions of SC on social media, this study emphasises the importance of linking SE and SC in educational settings. Such integration can improve students’ ability to consciously and responsibly access scientific information online, promoting the development of SL.