Science Literacy: Ways of Thinking & Being

As our world is constantly changing with new technology, ideas, and discoveries, it can be intimidating to keep track of all of this new information, let alone understand and engage with it critically.  If you’re anything like me, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of information out there and mentally check out. The ability to understand and engage with science is essential for engaging with politics and policy, as well as with each other in our collective future. Let’s talk about science literacy in a way that doesn’t make us ashamed of what we don’t know and understand, and instead talk about it in terms of what we do know and how much more we can learn and do when we are scientifically literate. Once we learn what science literacy is we can go on to ask how we can become more curious, more rigorous, and more present people in our world.

 

So what exactly does science literacy mean? 

According to one definition produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, science literacy means four things:

1. Whether or not we have scientific knowledge and how we use that knowledge to ask questions, learn new things, explain scientific happenings, and draw conclusions based on evidence.
2. Understanding that science is a form of human knowledge and enquiry.
3. An awareness of how science and technology shapes all aspects of the world around us.
4. The willingness to engage in science-related issues.

While the possession of scientific knowledge is essential, it is only one part of the picture. The rest of this definition shows us that science literacy includes the ways that we think of and exist in the world. A scientifically literate person not only uses their scientific knowledge to engage with the unknown, but also understands how important their role is in being informed and contributing in a meaningful way to their community, society, and the world at large. They ask questions of themselves and the world. Science literacy makes us ask what the tools are that we will need to solve problems, and how can we keep asking productive questions? In order to reach this level, we need to understand how science literacy looks in different parts of our lives.

What impacts science literacy?

The development of a person’s individual science literacy is shaped by the social organizations they interact with. Social organizations can include schools, the healthcare system, the justice system, local and federal government, and nonprofits. Each of these social institutions are responsible for collecting and distributing the knowledge and resources that make up science literacy. 

Think about where you first encountered science in your life. Was it at a summer camp? A daycare? At school? In your neighbor’s backyard? The opportunity to have these moments of learning are strongly impacted by our social identities, which include our race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, and educational attainment. Based on research on individuals’ science knowledge assessments in the United States, these identities can inequitably impact an individual’s science literacy.

 For example, research shows that there is a gap in science knowledge between black, white, and Hispanic populations, with white populations scoring better on average on science knowledge tests than their black or Hispanic counterparts. There are many reasons for this, including different levels of access to higher education and the lack of diversity in the sciences, and the reasons are often interconnected.

Not only do we develop science literacy on our own, but we also develop its skills and knowledge by participating in our communities. Science exists in the context of local experience and knowledge that is connected to people’s everyday lives. Because of this, it is also a way of participating in society.  One example of a community developing science literacy is the neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago. Pilsen is a mostly Latino neighborhood located between an industrial corridor and two major highways. According to a 2020 report, Pilsen and its neighboring communities have some of the worst rates of air pollution in the city. As a result, there are several environmental justice organizations actively organizing, educating, and advocating for the rights and health of their communities. These community-founded organizations are directly involved in increasing the science literacy of the people in Pilsen. They do this by raising awareness of air pollution, giving people tools to protect themselves and their families from its effects, and advocating for the cause in local and state politics. 

We can now understand that science literacy is a complex and far-reaching concept that touches many parts of our lives. It is in part determined by who we are and where we are in society. This gives us opportunities to grow by engaging our own science literacy with others’ for the betterment of everyone’s skills and knowledge. Rather than thinking about science literacy as a level of knowledge to be achieved, we should think of it as an ever-changing way of learning and problem-solving that connects us to each other and the world. These are essential missions in the work we do at C2ST, and thank you for your support and interest in creating new pathways forward in science.

 

References

1. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/luc/detail.action?docID=662255
2. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2010/01/pisa-2009-assessment-framework_g1ghb2d7.html
3. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/09/10/what-the-public-knows-and-does-not-know-about-science/
4. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/09/15/the-race-gap-in-science-knowledge/
5. https://publichealth.uic.edu/news-stories/environmental-justice-conditions-for-a-proposed-pilsen-area-metal-recycler/
6. https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/statistics_and_reports/Air_Quality_Health_doc_FINALv4.pdf
7. https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/04/04/southwest-side-activists-demand-transparency-in-proposed-environmental-justice-ordinance/