Science of the people

"How do people understand science? How do they feel about science, how do they relate to it, what do they hope from it and what do they fear about it? Science of the People: Understanding and using science in everyday contexts helps answer these questions as the result of painstaking interviewing by Professor Joan Solomon of all and sundry in a fairly atypical small town. The result is a unique overview of how a very wide range of adults, united only by local geography, relate to science. Many of the findings run contrary to what is widely believed about how science is learnt and about how people view it. Chapters include:An Approach to AwarenessPublics for Science?Ethics and ActionInterpretation and ChangeJoan Solomon, who sadly died before this book could be published, enjoyed an international reputation in science education. After a long career teaching science in secondary schools she moved into the university sector and ending up holding chairs of science education at the Open University, King's College London and the University of Plymouth. She was a world leader in her subject and inspired classroom teachers and wrote a number of very influential papers with some of them. She produced many important books, booklets and other resources to help science teachers and science educators get to grips with the history and philosophy of science and the teaching of energy, amongst other topics. This book is essential reading for those involved in Science education and educational policy"-- "This book is about demotic science, that is the science 'of the people', in somewhat the same way as democracy is about being ruled 'by the people', but there are substantial differences. People often define democracy simply and memorably as 'one person - one vote'. That is based on a profound sense of the equality of individuals: but it is easy to see that there may well be a great difference when it comes to people's scientific knowledge which cannot be defined by any voting mechanism. The demotic science of people is that science that they believe they know, and use in discussion. Chapters include: - An Approach to Ethics and Action - Risk - Interpretation and Change - Scientific Literacy in Post-Modern Space and Time This book is essential reading for those involved in Science education and educational policy"--