Civic science literacy in Thailand: the role of scientific communities to support lifelong learning

Abstract

Early in 1936, a group of passionate young Thai scholars who had studied abroad initiated scientific activities, such as films and lectures, and eventually founded the Science Society of Thailand in 19481. Over the past eighty years, a number of organizations and interested agencies have been established and involved in various activities to promote science in Thailand. At present, there are hundreds of participating organizations involved in the promotion of science learning activities in formal, nonformal and informal settings. These organizations include official agencies directly responsible for national capacity building such as agencies under the Ministry of Education, research agencies that also set aside resources to help promote talents in certain scientific fields, lifelong learning agencies such as museums and learning centers, as well as the private sector. Most activities or projects are usually aimed at promoting interest and inspiration in science, in addition to providing educational scientific engagement in order to encourage studies and careers in science-related disciplines. Despite the numerous agencies involved in promoting science learning, the national competitiveness index that includes science literacy continues to be ranked below average compared to those of Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) countries2. A survey conducted among policy experts in the field suggested that there are barriers and possibilities to promote science literacy in Thailand3, 4. Interviews conducted with science education policy experts revealed some challenges that the country encountered in the past years and has yet to overcome. One challenge is the public perception of science, especially of parents. Even though parents consider science to be important for their children and support science education, it is because science is an important subject in entrance examinations that will allow their children to enter good schools or universities, or popular professional fields of study in higher education such as medicine or engineering. Another challenge is the lack of common and specific goals among all the agencies involved in promoting science learning. Most activities are independently developed and implemented in small scales. Other challenges include poor communication and/or lack of information transfer on current science and technology issues to the general public. Therefore, Thailand or other countries trying to prepare their citizens for the rapidly changing world would have to re-evaluate their goals in promoting science literacy and look for alternatives in engaging the general public towards science in order to convince people of its benefits in the futuristic world. Shen5 proposed three types of science literacy, namely practical, civic and cultural science literacy. The three categories are different in terms of their objectives, audience, contents, formats, and means of delivery. Practical scientific literacy is the possession of scientific knowledge that can be used to help solve practical problems in an individual’s life. Civic scientific literacy takes it further towards the goal of informed public policy making by enabling citizens to become sufficiently aware of science and science-related public issues in order for the average citizen to become involved in the decision-making process regarding issues, e.g., health, energy, natural resources, food, and the environment. Cultural scientific literacy is derived from different motives as it is driven by the desire to know something about science as an achievement to mankind. Therefore, it would be worthwhile for scientific communities with noble intentions, which have