Revised: June 2009

Provided by the NASA Headquarters Library

"The trouble with people is not that they don’t know but that they know so much that ain’t so." - Josh Billings.

Scientific literacy is a familiarity with the concepts and processes of science. Since the Industrial Revolution, scientific literacy has been as much a goal of a well rounded education as a familiarity with the events and currents of American history. Recently, several questions have arisen about scientific literacy:

• Which of these concepts and processes should be taught in American primary and secondary schools?
• How scientifically literate are Americans, compared to people from other nations?
• How many Americans are willing and able to enter technically oriented jobs, especially as more and more jobs in our economy depend on workers' high-tech skills?
• Will there be enough young scientists, engineers, and technicians to fill the vacant jobs that will be left after Baby Boomers retire?

This bibliography covers the state of American scientific literacy. You may also find some interesting resources at our webpages on Human Capital Management in the Technical Fields and Science Education.

All items are available at the Headquarters Library, except as noted. NASA Headquarters employees and contractors: call (358-0172) or email Library@hq.nasa.gov for information on borrowing or in-library use of any of these items. Members of the public, contact your Local Library for the availibilty of these items. NASA Headquarters employees can request additional materials or research on this topic. The Library welcomes your comments or suggestions about this webpage.

Books

Gould, Stephen Jay, et al. Science Literacy for the Twenty-first Century. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2003.

Q183.3 .A1 S3565 2002 BOOKSTACKS

 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World. Paris, France: OECD, 2007.

LB2823 .P57 2007 BOOKSTACKS

 

Pohl, Frederik. Chasing Science: Science as Spectator Sport. New York, NY: Tor, 2000.

Q162 .P585 2000 BOOKSTACKS

 

Pollack, H.N. Uncertain Science ...: Uncertain World. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Q175 .P65 2003 BOOKSTACKS

 

Technology for All Americans Project. Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standards. Reston, VA: International Technology Education Association, 2003.

T65.3 .A48 2003 BOOKSTACKS

 

Trefil, James. Why Science?. Arlington, VA: NSTA Press, 2008.

Q181 .T8195 2008 BOOKSTACKS

 

Wynn, Charles M., Arthur W. Wiggins, and Sidney Harris. Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends -- and Pseudoscience Begins. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2001.

Q172.5 .P77 W96 2001 BOOKSTACKS

E-books

All e-books listed here are available to NASA civil servants and contractors through the Books 24x7 service of SATERN.

 

Averill-Snell, Jo. Skill Level of the Workforce. American Management Association/Human Resources Institute, 2005.

 

Estrin, Judy. Closing the Innovation Gap: Reigniting the Spark of Creativity in a Global Economy. McGraw-Hill, 2009.

 

Karoly, Lynn A., and Panis, Constantijn W.A. The 21^st Century at Work—Forces Shaping the Future Workforce and Workplace in the United States. RAND Corporation, 2004.

 

Wilhelm, Anthony G. Digital Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society. The MIT Press, 2004.

Articles and Reports

Brewer, Carol. "Scientific Literacy in the Classroom", ActionBioscience.org, 2008.

(ED501353 (2007) ERIC)

 

Guisasola, Jenaro, Mike Robinson,and Kristina Zuza. "A Comparison of the Attitudes of Spanish and American Secondary Science Teachers toward Global Science and Technology Based Problems/Threats", International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, vol. II, no. 1 (2007), p. 20-31.

Available through ERIC as document no. ED497732.

 

Sadler, Troy D. "Moral and Ethical Dimensions of Socioscientific Decision-Making as Intergral Components of Scientific Literacy", Science Educator, vol. XIII, no. 1 (Spring 2004), p. 39-48.

Available through ERIC as document no. EJ740943.

 

Toulmin, Charles N., and Meghan Groome. Building a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Agenda. National Governors' Association, Washington, DC, 2007.

(ED496324 (2007) ERIC)

Internet Resources

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. June 20, 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.sloan.org/

 

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Project 2061. 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.project2061.org/

 

The Foundation for Scientific Literacy. 2006 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.scientificliteracy.org/index.htm

 

International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy. May 14, 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://icasl.msu.edu/

 

International Technology Education Association. June 18, 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.iteaconnect.org/

 

National Academy of Engineering. Technically Speaking. 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.nae.edu/nae/techlithome.nsf

 

National Bureau of Economic Research. Science and Engineering Workforce Project. Dec. 18, 2008 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.nber.org/~sewp/index.html

 

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Programme for International Student Assessment. May 26, 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.pisa.oecd.org/

This program compares the state of scientific literacy among high school students all over the world.

 

Western Michigan University. Scientific Literacy and Cultural Studies Project. March 11, 2009 [June 22, 2009]

http://www.wmich.edu/slcsp/index.htm