CHINESE PRE-SERVICE SCIENCE TEACHERS’ VIEWS OF THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

Abstract

Scientific and technological research is important to everyone because their results affect humanity worldwide. Although science and technology bring many benefits to humanity, individuals and societies can face the negative consequences of science and technology. To prevent and solve the negative consequences of research in these fields, it is important to educate scientists and engineers to have social responsibility. However, no research has addressed pre-service science teachers’ views of social responsibility in literature. Therefore, this study aimed to explore Chinese pre-service science teachers' views on the social responsibility of scientists and engineers. The research participants were 194 pre-service science teachers. A social responsibility instrument was administered for data collection. The results showed that participants had high mean scores in five areas of social responsibility and a good awareness of the role of scientists and engineers in addressing problems and risks related to human, environmental, and societal impacts. However, they had lower mean scores in three areas requiring action or involvement. In addition, the results did not show statistical differences by gender or grade level. In light of our findings, we conclude pedagogical and practical implications for teachers and researchers in teaching social responsibility. Keywords: pre-service science teachers, science education, social responsibility, social responsibility of scientists and engineers, quantitative research