Introducing RRI in Science Teaching - An Actual Challenge for Science Teachers

Abstract

Even the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has not been clearly explained in the scientific literature, it is more and more frequent used, being promoted in the European Union policies and programs in Science and beyond. According to the Horizon 2020 initiative, launched by European Commission in 2014, RRI underpins several European projects and represents one of the current images of the connection between Science and Society, in the EU vision. Anyway, one of the targeted issues is related to make a transparent engagement of all the societal actors in research and innovation aspects, through promoting science education and facilitating the access to scientific knowledge. However, at the global level, RRI has implications on designing and implementing research and innovation policies that lead to: hiring the society in research and innovation; increasing the access to scientific results; ensuring gender equality in the research area; providing an ethics of researcher / research, and in compliance with current laws relating to ethics; promoting science education at formal and non-formal levels. The paper illustrates the feed-back of the teachers who participated to several Workshops dedicated to promote RRI in Science education, organized in the frame of the European FP7 project entitled: “ENGAGE - Equipping the Next Generation for Active Engagement in Science Equipping the Next Generation”. The workshops introduced the concept of RRI and offered a series of teaching materials, as examples of implementing the RRI dimensions in Science lessons.