The importance of developing students scientific literacy skills is discussed by Dawson & Venville (2007, p.109) as the underlying purpose of the science curriculum that needs to be implemented in a “real-world context that is meaningful” to students. The Australian Curriculum supports this purpose in their design of the curriculum to equip students “with the skills, knowledge and capabilities necessary to enable them to effectively engage with and prosper in society, compete in a globalised world and thrive in the information-rich workplaces of the future” (Seely Flint, Kitson, Lowe & Shaw, 2014, p.21).
The term literate is widely used throughout the curriculum and is the basis of how students learn to interpret and interact with the world around them. The engagement and use of scientific literacies develops scientific knowledge and understanding to apply this knowledge to make an informed decision about “the natural world and changes made to it through human activity” (Curriculum Support, n.d) as a scientific literate person. This is reflective of the skills, knowledge and capabilities the Australian Curriculum is fostering students to develop. These scientific literacy skills are evident in the Australian Curriculum strands of “science as a human endeavour (SHE), science inquiry skills (SIS) and science understanding (SU)” (Skamp, 2012, p.57). Science literacy is an important aspect of teaching science in order to equip students with the skills to be an active and contributing member of their local and global communities in the 21st century.
The term literate is widely used throughout the curriculum and is the basis of how students learn to interpret and interact with the world around them. The engagement and use of scientific literacies develops scientific knowledge and understanding to apply this knowledge to make an informed decision about “the natural world and changes made to it through human activity” (Curriculum Support, n.d) as a scientific literate person. This is reflective of the skills, knowledge and capabilities the Australian Curriculum is fostering students to develop. These scientific literacy skills are evident in the Australian Curriculum strands of “science as a human endeavour (SHE), science inquiry skills (SIS) and science understanding (SU)” (Skamp, 2012, p.57). Science literacy is an important aspect of teaching science in order to equip students with the skills to be an active and contributing member of their local and global communities in the 21st century.