June 14, 2011 Vol. 4, Issue 4
In advance of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Deauville, France, the science academies of the G-8 and five other nations released a statement recommending that their governments take action to improve science education.
Science and technology have enabled dramatic gains over the past century in areas ranging from food production and medicine to travel and communications, and future progress will continue to depend on scientific and technological advances. As science becomes an increasingly global endeavor, both industrialized and developing nations need scientifically literate populations. The joint statement from the heads of the G-8+ science academies noted that science education must extend beyond the scientific community:
“Education in science must be targeted not only to future scientists, engineers and other specialists in government and industry but also to the general public, from children in school to adults. This is the only way to make them partners of the scientists and hence to avoid misunderstandings and unfounded fears, and to better understand risks and uncertainties.”
This requires delivering science education simultaneously at three different levels: for the general public, in schools and universities, and through other national research bodies. The heads of the academies recommended that their respective governments:
- Establish the conditions for a true globalization of knowledge in science and technology. Encourage and help governments of developing countries, to give high priority to acquiring and maintaining the necessary infrastructure and human resources for science education, and to facilitate the return of those trained abroad.
- Support international collaboration to set up quality e-learning facilities, accessible to all, including students worldwide, and promote open access to scientific literature and databases.
- Share the growing knowledge derived from brain research, cognitive sciences and human behavioral research to improve learning programs for children, students and the general public.
- Create a network of virtual collaborative research centers at the front line of innovations in education, such as e-learning, inquiry-based and evidence-based education.
- Support and expand existing successful programs that facilitate two-way interactions between scientists and the general public, media, and decision makers.
Signatories included the heads of science academies in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Read the full statement.
