This falls into the category of, "Wow, I didn't know that!"1. According to a press release from Michigan State University: College Science Requirements Keep US Ahead Of World, Researcher Argues ...
Despite frequent warnings of the inadequacy of education in the United States, citizens here are still among the world's most scientifically literate, a Michigan State University researcher said.Who would 'av thunk it? American are better at critical scientific reasoning because there are more science-receptive citizens. And it even extends to the law.
You can thank those general education requirements that force English majors to sit through biology classes and budding engineers to read Hemingway, Jon Miller said.
...
Fifty years after English novelist and physicist C.P. Snow warned of a disturbing lack of scientific literacy among the cultural elite and a parallel literary void among Britain's scientists and technologists, little has changed in most of the world, Miller argued. And that's part of what keeps the U.S. at the forefront of scientific endeavor and technological innovation.
"What makes the American market and society different," he said, "is that we have more science- and technology-receptive citizens and consumers, and as a society we're willing to spend money for basic science and have been doing that for years."
Americans as a group tend to be more open-minded about innovations such as genetically modified food, he said. Scientific reasoning also works its way into such disciplines as law, he noted, where facts are routinely marshaled to support or disprove theories.
I guess that's why American courts spend so much time trying to keep superstition out of the science classroom.
1. Personally, I don't think there's all that much difference between science literacy in the USA and other Westeren industrialized nations. However, the idea that the USA is actually superior to other nations does strain belief, somewhat.
8 comments :
This is a two edged sword. Someone who has had "bio for poets" or "astronomy for poets" sometimes leave those courses thinking that they know more than they really do.
TIMSS 2007 International Science Report, listing only those above "TIMMS scale average":
8th grade
Singapore 567
Chinese Taipei 561
Massachusetts, US 556
Japan 554
Korea, Rep. of 553
England 542
Hungary 539
Minnesota, US 539
Czech Republic 539
Slovenia 538
Hong Kong SAR 530
Russian Federation 530
British Columbia, Canada 526
Ontario, Canada 526
United States 520
Lithuania 519
Australia 515
Sweden 511
Quebec, Canada 507
4th grade
Singapore 587
Massachusetts, US 571
Chinese Taipei 557
Hong Kong SAR 554
Minnesota, US 551
Japan 548
Russian Federation 546
Latvia 542
Alberta, Canada 543
England 542
United States 539
British Columbia, Canada 537
Hungary 536
Ontario, Canada 536
Italy 535
Kazakhstan 533
Germany 528
Australia 527
Slovak Republic 526
Austria 526
Sweden 525
Netherlands 523
Slovenia 518
Denmark 517
Quebec, Canada 517
Czech Republic 515
Lithuania 514
New Zealand 504
Scotland 500
Now the same thing for TIMMS 2007 International Math:
8th grade
Chinese Taipei 598
Korea, Rep. of 597
Singapore 593
Hong Kong SAR 572
Japan 570
Massachusetts, US 547
Minnesota, US 532
Quebec, Canada 528
Hungary 517
Ontario, Canada 517
England 513
Russian Federation 512
British Columbia, Canada 509
United States 508
Lithuania 506
Czech Republic 504
Slovenia 501
4th grade
Hong Kong SAR 607
Singapore 599
Chinese Taipei 576
Massachusetts, US 572
Japan 568
Minnesota, US 554
Kazakhstan 549
Russian Federation 544
England 541
Latvia 537 (2.3)
Netherlands 535
Lithuania 530
United States 529
Germany 525
Denmark 523
Quebec, Canada 519
Australia 516
Ontario, Canada 512
Hungary 510
Italy 507
Alberta, Canada 505
Austria 505
British Columbia, Canada 505
Sweden 503
Slovenia 502
So, roughly, 10th place, trailing East Asian countries, few Soviet block countries and few Western countries. MA is far ahead of the USA average.
Well 10th isn't bad, there's plenty of countries. I'm not surprised Australia is where it is.
Just becuase you think you're 'the best' doesn't mean you are, nor does it really relate to your productive output or lifestyle anyway. A stable social system, and an overly competitive culture are bigger factors.
And anyone who has gone beyond highschool realises it is pretty worthless, and for many of those who don't, it's pretty worthless as well. Intellectual and worldly curiosity count for a lot more than rote learning or high test scores when you were 15.
as a society we're willing to spend money for basic science and have been doing that for years.
Perhaps in absolute money, due to the size of the US.
Actually, in outlay per person or in outlay per GDP (If GDP it is, the wealth of the country), the US does not come first. Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland are the relative top, both in outlay and science performance.
No surprises here. Higher education in America enjoys an excellent reputation. People all over the world want to attend American universities. They represent one of your most important national assets. Their appeal is a driving factor behind the international 'brain drain' that has worked in America's favour for decades.
K-12 education is another story. The structure for American K-12 education exists separately from the university system and it shows. No one in the world wants to emulate that. When stories like the Dover School Board make global headlines (and they do), people around the world are bewildered and amused that things like that can happen the land of personal computers and moon landings.
In reference to the lists above: there is no such country as 'Chinese Taipei.' The country under discussion is Taiwan. Its capital city is Taipei.
'Chinese Taipei' is one of those fictitious names China uses its political clout to force on Taiwan in international arenas (Olympics, WTO, etc.) The intent is to deny Taiwan--a technologically advanced, self-governing democratic society with a standard of living far above China's--its own identity on the international stage. Why? In a nutshell: it annoys China's leaders terribly to see Taiwan minding its own business without their permission. It always has.
For the purposes of this blog 'Chinese Taipei' is just another example of propaganda and myth taking the place of accuracy and sound education. Just call Taiwan Taiwan.
And yes, Taiwan's public education system is one of the most distinguished in the world.
It doesn't do to talk about American K-12 education and and American university education as if they were the same system. They are not. They are distinctly funded and administered. They have different standards and serve a different pool of students.
This divide between the two does not exist in every country. But in America it does.
The news item is about universities. (The title is misleading because it does not specify this fact.) Many of the remarks posted since are about American K-12 education.
You can't use K-12 as a stick to beat up American universities, and you can't use American universities to give honour to a K-12 system that has little to recommend it. They are two different systems.
Archer says,
You can't use K-12 as a stick to beat up American universities, and you can't use American universities to give honour to a K-12 system that has little to recommend it. They are two different systems.
What's your point. Are you claiming that post-secondary education in the USA is significantly better than that in India, Japan, Germany and Australia?
Are you claiming that university students in the USA are much more scientifically literate than students in, say, Canada or Chile?
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