Valoración de la cultura científica mediante entrevistas. Abordaje en grupos diferenciados

Abstract

Adults' scientific culture has been a common concern for some decades. Its measurement through quantitative strategies has become the privileged resource; however, strong results still being a remaining issue; Purpose: The following work aims to explore new qualitative strategies to measure scientific culture on people beyond formal education, which enhances quantitative instruments such as questionnaires, identified as the hegemonic strategy so far worldwide; Methods: Three homogeneous groups of adults, currently differentiated by their work activity and/or their university education background (both away from science), took part in a in-depth interview divided into two open-question blocks. The second block was based on a participants’ reading of an advertising; Results: Results show (a) a strong link between the current attitude of people and their teacher's methodology during their school beginnings, (b) an hegemonic traditional vision of science, (c) a strong difference regarding cognitive aspects among those people who reached the highest levels of secondary education, in relation to formal thinking as well as the use of models. Conclusions This scientific culture measurement strategy converges with those implemented under the quantitative paradigm, yet it provides new dimensions such as the emotional which reveals the incidence of the school in people' scientific culture.