SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY AS A SOCIAL PRACTICE

This paper explores scientific and technological literacy (STL) from a mainly socio-constructivist perspective. I define STL as the empowerm ent of people in the name of humanistic and/or socio-economic goals, a nd then confront it with normal teaching practices. I suggest some cri teria to evaluate a person's ability to negotiate within a technoscien tific society, such as 'how to use': experts, 'black boxes', simple in terdisciplinary models ('rationality islands'), metaphors, comparisons and images; translations; standardized and disciplinary knowledge; an d rationality in the process of making decisions. I examine how to emp hasize meaning, contexts, and underlying projects when STL is taught, as well as some of the obstacles impeding that teaching. From my adopt ed perspective, I propose programmatic statements with respect to STL education and the training of teachers.