Economic crisis and public attitudes toward science: A study of regional differences in Spain.

Although there is little theory about the effects of economic conditions on public support for science and technology (S&T), some evidence suggests that an economic crisis could produce a decline in support for S&T because of more pressing priorities, such as jobs and social services. But the public may also view S&T as a strategic pathway out of an economic slump. We test these competing hypotheses employing two national surveys from Spain, implemented before (2006) and after (2010) the onset of a severe economic crisis. We find that, in regions hit hardest by the crisis (compared to less-affected regions), trust in the benefits of S&T increased substantially, as did general public interest in S&T. Similarly, residents of the hardest-hit regions were more likely after the crisis to choose S&T (out of a list of policy areas) as a priority for government, and somewhat more likely to express support for increases in government S&T spending. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

How social background and interest in science are linked to junior high school students' perceptions of the ecological transition.

Junior high school students are tomorrow's key protagonists in the ecological transition. They need enlightened education to face the uncertainty and challenges of climate change. The development of climate change education programs requires a clear understanding of how young people perceive the issue. This study deals with social representations. Its aim was to understand how social background and interest in science are linked to the way young people perceive the concept of the ecological transition. Four hundred twenty-nine junior high school students took part in this study. Data were collected and subjected to prototypical analysis and factorial correspondence analysis. Three main findings emerged from the analysis: (1) the participants had significant knowledge of the ecological transition, (2) their awareness of the social aspects of climate change was limited, and (3) their representations of the ecological transition were linked to their interest in science and their parents' social background. To conclude, these results underline the importance of educating all social classes about effective solutions for the ecological transition. Our findings also highlight the need to consider existing representations and prior knowledge when designing educational programs on climate change issues.

Explaining Waldorf students' high motivation but moderate achievement in science: is inquiry-based science education the key?

BACKGROUND: Evidence so far shows that Waldorf students are characterized by average science achievement but at the same time high socioeconomic status and high science motivation. Moreover, Waldorf education is characterized by high emphasis on inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The present study investigates if the specific attitude-achievement constellation of Waldorf students in science may be explained by the high level of IBSE. METHODS: Propensity score matching was applied to control for Waldorf students' more advantageous social background using the Austrian PISA 2015 sample (N = 7007 15-year old students). After propensity score matching, 1107 matched controls were included alongside all 149 Waldorf students. RESULTS: The results show that Waldorf students report higher enjoyment in learning science and more interest in broad science topics than matched controls. On the other hand, they demonstrate lower science achievement. Mediation analyses show that, although Waldorf students' more positive attitudes towards science can be almost entirely attributed to their higher exposure to IBSE, their underperformance in science cannot. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that attending a school type with a high level of IBSE (Waldorf) may have positive effects on attitudinal outcomes (enjoyment and interest in science) whereas it does not seem to have notable effects on science achievement. This indicates that IBSE could be applied in educational contexts aiming to increase students' scientific attitudes.

Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia.

In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between "ad hoc" terms that correspond to news coverage and "cyclic" terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns. While the peak activity in Google and Wikipedia largely overlapped for ad hoc terms, it mismatched for cyclic terms. The findings indicate the importance of external cues such as news media and education, and also of the online engagement process, and particularly the crucial but different role played by Google and Wikipedia in gaining science and technology knowledge. Educators and policy makers could benefit from taking into account those different patterns.