Perspectives of German and US Students as They Make Meaning of Science in Their Everyday Lives

Scientific literacy is a major educational and political goal worldwide, yet the development
and enhancement of scientific literacy is not well understood. In order to better
understand scientific literacy at the level of everyday science meaning making and a person’s
ability to address scientific questions and issues, this study reports on findings from
semi-structured interviews of seven German and five American secondary students. This
paper reports on these students’ conceptions of their science interactions in everyday life.
By conducting the same interviews in the native languages of students representing two
countries known for their emphasis on improving secondary science education’s scientific
literacy enhancement, this research aims to learn from a cultural and contextual spectrum
of science experiences. Our findings include two distinct themes independent of the educational
setting. In addition, the research finds the recurrent and prevalent theme of German
students’ practicing science in nature not mentioned by American students.