Abstract
The marked contrast between the scientific consensus on global warming and public beliefs indicates a need to research how high schoolers, as future citizens, engage with and make meaning from news articles on such topics. In the case of socioscientific issues (SSIs) such as global warming, students’ acquisition of knowledge from the news is mediated by their epistemic understandings of the nature of science (NOS) and use of informal reasoning in evaluating claims, evidence, and sources. This exploratory qualitative study examined twelve U.S. high school students’ understandings, opinions, and epistemic beliefs concerning global warming knowledge. Researchers examined microgenetic changes as students discussed global warming during semi-structured interviews and a close reading of global warming news texts. Although results showed that most students could articulate a working concept of global warming, in follow-up questions, a subset offered personal opinions that differed from or contradicted their previously stated understandings. Meanwhile, students who offered opinions consistent with the scientific consensus often argued that the dangers of global warming were exaggerated by politicians and scientists who wished to profit from the issue. This study suggests a need for more explicit focus on NOS and scientific news literacy in curricula, as well as further research into the interplay between epistemic beliefs and the informal reasoning students use to negotiate diverse sources of SSI knowledge—from the classroom to the news media and public life.
Highlights
Introduction published maps and institutional affilGiven the ubiquity of contradictory sources, the technical complexity of socioscientific issues (SSIs), and the advent of “fake news” in public discourse, it can be challenging for the voting public—let alone high schoolers—to know what sources are credible when it comes to socioscientific news and who is “crying wolf.” Medical breakthroughs are glossed over in headlines, technological advancements pour in from newsfeeds, and debates concerning public health issues, such as vaccinations, ignite on social media
The section details the results of the analytical close-reading task in which participants were asked to find areas of news articles that agreed with their own opinions, rebutted them, or expressed better ways of thinking about global warming
While students articulated epistemic understandings of knowledge as complex and constructed on an abstract level, they had more difficulty applying these understandings to the real-life topic of global warming. In this exploratory qualitative study, we explored the understandings, opinions, and epistemological understandings rural U.S high school students have about global warming to find out what high schoolers know, what they think, and how they know what they know about the topic [28,31]
Summary
Introduction published maps and institutional affilGiven the ubiquity of contradictory sources, the technical complexity of socioscientific issues (SSIs), and the advent of “fake news” in public discourse, it can be challenging for the voting public—let alone high schoolers—to know what sources are credible when it comes to socioscientific news and who is “crying wolf.” Medical breakthroughs are glossed over in headlines, technological advancements pour in from newsfeeds, and debates concerning public health issues, such as vaccinations, ignite on social media. Without the ability to apply reasoning to the scientific news that affects our everyday lives, “the links between rigorous thought and evidence on the one hand and democratic deliberation and informed policymaking on the other are iations.
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