This article was downloaded by: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBİTAK EKUAL] On: 16 February 2011 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 772815468] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 3741 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
International Journal of Science Education
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713737283
Valuing Science: A Turkish-American comparison
Osman Titreka; William W. Cobernb a Education Faculty, Sakarya University, Hendek, Turkey b The Mallinson Institute For Science Education, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA First published on: 10 May 2010
To cite this Article Titrek, Osman and Cobern, William W.(2011) 'Valuing Science: A Turkish-American comparison',
International Journal of Science Education, 33: 3, 401 — 421, First published on: 10 May 2010 (iFirst) To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/09500691003628379 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09500691003628379
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
International Journal of Science Education Vol. 33, No. 3, 1 February 2011, pp. 401–421
RESEARCH REPORT
Valuing Science: A Turkish–American comparison Osman Titreka* and William W. Cobernb Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
aEducation
Faculty, Sakarya University, Hendek, Turkey; bThe Mallinson Institute For Science Education, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, USA
0OsmanTITREK
[email protected] 000002010 International 10.1080/09500691003628379 TSED_A_463346.sgm 0950-0693 Original Taylor 2010 00 and & Article Francis (print)/1464-5289 Francis Journal of Science (online) Education
The process of modernization began in Turkey under the reform government of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881–1938). Turkey officially became a secular nation seeking to develop a modern economy with modern science and technology and political democracy. Turkey also has long been, and remains, a deeply religious society. Specifically, the practice of Islam is widespread, which raises the important question: whether the path of modernization in Turkey will look more like the American pattern or the European, where the Europeans are much more philosophically secular than the Americans? One way to look at this question is by examining how people value science vis-à-vis other important aspects of society and culture. Hence, our study is a comparative look at Turkish and American opinions about science. The American society, which is certainly a very modern society, is of particular interest in Turkey, given the significant religiosity of the American people, making the American and Turkish societies similar at least on this one significant point. Although we do not have comparable European data at this time, our Turkish–American comparison can be suggestive of whether or not Turkey is likely to follow the American pattern of a highly modernized yet deeply religious society.
Keywords: Attitudes; Comparative; Developing world; Modernization; Religion; Survey; TSSI; Valuation of science The Ataturk (1881–1938) government set Turkey on the road to technological, economical, political, and social modernization at the turn of the dawn of the twentieth century. Turkey nonetheless remains a deeply religious society. Specifically, the practice of Islam is widespread, which raises the important question: whether the path of modernization in Turkey will look more like the American pattern or the European, where the Europeans are much more philosophically secular than the Americans *Corresponding author. Educational Science Department, Education Faculty, Sakarya University, Hendek, Sakarya 54300, Turkey. Email:
[email protected] ISSN 0950-0693 (print)/ISSN 1464-5289 (online)/11/030401–21 © 2011 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09500691003628379
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
402 O. Titrek and W. W. Cobern (Eberstadt, 2007; Hansen, 2003; Masci, 2007)? Our study is a comparative look at Turkish and American opinions regarding the valuation of science vis-à-vis other important aspects of society and culture. The subjects in the study are pre-service elementary teachers. Many members of the science and science education community are concerned about a perceived anti-science sentiment in the public. Any problem of anti-science attitudes is worse if it exists among teachers, for it is the teachers of school-level science who influence the developing attitudes of children. There are many studies on science attitudes, including major surveys of the American public such as the National Science Indicators (2008), and studies on student attitudes toward science also exist (Gardner, 1975; George, 2006; Young & Kellogg, 1993). However, our interests are prompted by a worldview theory (Cobern, 1991, 1996) that suggests that important ideas are not held in isolation but are related to a network of various ideas that are deemed to be of importance. Hence, we ask: how do people value science (that is their valuation of science) vis-à-vis other important ideas? We focus on the opinions of pre-service elementary teachers because of the pivotal role they have in fostering student attitudes toward science at an early age. Moreover, elementary teachers are an interesting group because, although they are not science majors or even majors in science-related disciplines, the program of study for elementary teachers involves the significant study of science. We ask: what comparative value do people in Turkey and the USA, who while having studied science are not traditional ‘science types’, place on science? Science, Modernization, and Religion in Turkey Modern science is uniquely Western despite the fact that Islamic science was the most advanced science in the world from roughly the eighth to the thirteenth century. In that early period of Islamic Civilization, science was relatively free from religious and political censors in Islamic countries. After the thirteenth century, while the West separated church from politics, religious laws (S¸eriâ) became more dominant in Islamic countries (Huff, 1997). Islamic countries lost ground to the West as the Western cultures utilized science and technology not only to improve peoples’ daily lives but also to compete in the world market and accumulate capital. The West eventually flooded the world market with goods based on the latest technology and made science a world-wide culture. As a result, non-Western cultures are unavoidably influenced by science (Haidar, 2000).1 Turkey is a country in which the process of modernization (or westernization) began little more than a century ago under the Ottoman Empire, with the process speeding greatly after the 1920s (Yalçın, 1967). State laws, education policies, and school programs have become scientific, democratic, and secular. To catch up with the developments in the West, many Western science education programs were adopted. Western-style schools and institutions of higher education were established (Güney, 2005). Furthermore, since 1949, many Turkish students and academicians have completed graduate programs in the USA, bringing a Western influence to Turkey (Aydog˘an, 2004). Since 1964, Turkey has also had various agreements with S []ced li
gb [ev]r
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
Valuing Science 403 the European Union (EU) and is a candidate for EU membership. Interesting cultural issues have surfaced in that some Europeans oppose Turkish membership because Turkey has ‘a different culture, a different approach, and a different way of life’ (Güney, 2005, pp. 304–306). Turkey is an emerging modern state and industrialization is still developing as compared with the USA. Over half of the Turkish labor force is employed in agriculture, with 40% of all citizens still living in villages (DPT, 1996). Prior to the 1980s, there were few modern secular universities and no private media. In the 1980s, there were 19 Turkish universities primarily located in big cities only (YOK, 2007). Today, all cities have their own universities (85 state and 30 private) (YOK, 2009) and scientific studies are much more common. Since the 1980s, Turkey has become a more open and capitalistic society. The labor force employed in agriculture dropped to 26.4% and schooling rates in Turkey are almost 100% (TUI˙K, 2008). However, since the 1970s, there has also been a resurgence of Islamic political power in Turkey, as well as in the rest of the Muslim world (Edis¸, 2008), with the result that the modern Turkish society involves a delicate balance between traditional Islamic ideas and modern secular ideas. There seems to be three possible paths for Turkey’s future: ‘the path of Islamic traditionalism, the American religious–modernism compatibility path, or the path of European secularism.’ d I[]ot
cs[]ed li
Science and Culture The issue will not be decided by how much the public knows about science, that is, it will not be decided by levels of public scientific literacy—at least not if we can rely upon the experiences in North America and Europe. There are significant cultural issues pertaining to the public valuation of science. For example, in her study involving highly educated, non-science majors, Tobias (1990, 1993) found students concluding that scientists do not ask interesting questions because science as they learned it was never placed within the broader realm of culture. Or consider the Eurobarometer finding (Gaskell, 1996) that in several European countries more knowledge in science was not reflected in an increased interest and approval of science. To the contrary, there were data suggesting that some people who knew more about science were actually troubled by what they knew of science. Whether in Europe or North America, research shows that the embrace of the evolutionary theory has little to do with how much people actually know about the science of evolution (Lombrozo, Shtulman, & Weisberg, 2006). Moreover, Bloom (2009, p. 20) argues that: Life is too short for non-specialists to learn the relevant facts and theories in all of these domains. Rather, it is worth making the more general point that the community of scientists really does have a legitimate claim to trustworthiness: scientific inquiry involves procedures, such as experiments and open debate.
We concur that trust and value with respect to science are critical for a healthy science environment in any society, and suggest that clues to the future path for
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
404 O. Titrek and W. W. Cobern science in Turkey can be acquired by studying the Turkish valuation of science visà-vis other important cultural factors. Our approach was to use a Turkish version of the Thinking about Science Survey Instrument (TSSI) developed by Cobern (see Cobern, 2002; Cobern & Loving, 2002, 2006). The TSSI is composed of items based on either objections to or defenses of science. The items are grouped into nine categories described in Table 1. These categories are not intended to represent an authoritative scientific perspective2 but a scientific perspective commonly found in both the popular media and the popular literature of science and science education in the USA. Is this instrument appropriate for use in Turkey? We think that it is. Turkey does not have the presence of media at levels comparable to North America and Europe and thus there is not a public media image of science to the extent that one finds in North America and Europe. However, the categories of the TSSI are relevant to the public thinking about science in any society. And although we are not ‘measuring’ Turkish values using American data, comparing data from a similar scale on the valuation of science can be informative with regard to the future of science in Turkey. Table 1 provides a brief comment on the situation in the Turkish media and schools with respect to the TSSI categories. Our research question is thus about the differences and similarities between American and Turkish responses to the TSSI categories. Our subjects are preservice elementary teachers. Many scientists and science educators are concerned about the public’s ambiguous relationship with science and this public includes elementary teachers (Mandel, 2008). Science is a ‘school’ subject—not an important part of everyday life. Some may believe that science conflicts with important personal beliefs they hold about other areas of life such as religion and art. Elementary teachers who feel this disconnection with science will at best approach science teaching as something one does if school authorities demand it (Durland, Karatas, & Bodner, 2009; Young & Kellogg, 1993). Hence, it is important to know how those studying to be elementary teachers (i.e., pre-service elementary teachers) value science with respect to other important aspects of culture (Taconis & Kessels, 2009). And as noted above, these persons provide an insight into the general public of educated persons who are not the traditional ‘science types.’
Method The TSSI-Turkish Version The original TSSI instrument was first translated into Turkish by two university academicians in educational science and educational technology who specialize in science education. Subsequently, the original TSSI instrument was also translated into Turkish by three Turkish–English language teachers. They compared their Turkish translation with the first translation. Having considered the two translations, the teachers of English recommended that two items from the science, race, and gender category be adjusted so as to better fit the Turkish culture (see Table 2).
Category
Epistemology
Science and economy
Science and environment
Science and public policy
Science and public health
Science and religion
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Category description
Science is neutral with regard to religion except that the importance of science is such that science must be protected from the intrusive activities of some religions (Gould, 1987, 1997; Larson & Witham, 1998; NAS, 2008).
Science acts in the public interest. Science should thus be supported by public funds; however, the science community is more than capable of policing scientific activity (Gross & Levitt, 1993). The conquering of disease and physical affliction and the great advances in public health are made possible by science and will not continue without science (Clark, 1989).
Science is a superior, exemplary form of knowledge that produces highly reliable and objective knowledge about the real world (Feynman, 1995; Gross & Levitt, 1993; Monod, 1971). Modern industrial, commercial, and information-based economies depend on scientific developments for increasing production, wealth, and general public welfare (Alperts, 2000; Hurd, 1989). Science is necessary for the discovery, development, and conservation and protection of natural resources and the environment in general (Polkinghorne, 1996).
A common image of science (Cobern & Loving, 2002)
Table 1. TSSI categories and their media basis
TSSI categories and Turkey
c]s[ed li
d ]I[ot
The Turkish government funds public health efforts to prevent disease, increase health, and prolong life based on science (Mercan-I˙rgil, 2000). Turkey is officially secular yet deeply Islamic. There is, for example, an Islamic Creationist movement and also Turkey is the center of this movement (Avcı, 2002; Edis¸, 2009; MacKenzie, 2009).
d ]I[ot
Turkish modernization is built on the idea that science and education promotes the economy (Ayyıldız-Onaran, 2005; MEB, 1973; Yalçın, 1967). The Turkish media periodically will run stories and documentary programs produced in the West having to do with science and environmental issues. TUBI˙TAK is the state-funded agency in Turkey that provides grants in support of scientific researches.
Turkey is officially secular and commitment to philosophical secularism is not hard to find (e.g., Irzik, 1998; Irzik & Nola, 2009).
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
Valuing Science 405
Category
Science and beauty (aesthetics)
Science, race, and gender
Science for all
No.
7
8
9
Category description
The importance of science is such that it should be taught at all levels of schooling. Every citizen should have attained at least a minimal level of science literacy (AAAS, 1990).
Scientists are often passionate about their work but the work of science best proceeds on the basis of objective reason and empiricism. There is a beauty to science. Indeed, ‘elegance’ is often required of scientific ideas (Dawkins, 2000; Polkinghorne, 1996; Shlain, 1991). Science is an ‘equal opportunity employer.’ Race, gender, and other personal factors are irrelevant in science.
A common image of science (Cobern & Loving, 2002)
Table 1. (Continued)
TSSI categories and Turkey
cs[]ed li
Science, education, and art freedom is an equal opportunity for every Turkish citizen (Turkish Constitution, 1998, Item 10, Item 27, Item 42). The importance of science is such that it should be taught at all levels of schooling (Yetkin & Das¸can, 2006).
Science and aesthetics is not an issue that has appeared in the Turkish media or in the writings of Turkish scientists.
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
406 O. Titrek and W. W. Cobern
Valuing Science 407 Table 2.
Downloaded By: [Titrek, Osman][TÜBTAK EKUAL] At: 11:23 16 February 2011
English original
Culturally adjusted items of the TSSI-Tr Original Turkish translation
Adjusted translation
The scientific community is mostly dominated by white men and is often unfriendly to minority people (scored in reverse).
Bilim toplumu çog˘unlukla beyaz adam tarafından egemen olunur ve azınlıg˘a kars¸ı çog˘unlukla arkadas¸ça davranmazlar (Ters kodlanacak).
Bilim çevrelerinde belirli bir sınıfın hakimiyeti vardır (Ters kodlanacak) (Kültüre uyarlanmıs¸tır).
African Americans and other minority people are just as welcome in the scientific community as are white people.
Afrikan Amerikalılar ve dig˘er azınlık insanlar beyaz insanlar gibi kars¸ılanırlar.
Bilim insanlar arasında her sınıftan insanlar ayrımsız kabul görür (Kültüre uyarlanmıs¸tır).
gb [evr]
gb [evr]
cs[]ed li
gb [evr]
cs[]ed li
gb [evr]
cs[]ed li
cs[]ed li
cs[]ed li
With these two items adjusted, the English language original items and the Turkish language translations were sent to 10 academicians in Sakarya and Ankara in educational science, science education, and educational measurement. They approved the Turkish translation. Finally, to ensure that the items were understandable by teachers, the English TSSI, and the TSSI-Tr were shown to another set of 10 teachers of English for their comments. They too approved and, at this point, the researchers were confident that the TSST-Tr was a linguistically and culturally valid translation of the English TSSI. To assess statistical reliability, the 42-item TSSI-Tr was administered to 245 senior-level pre-service teachers. The resulting data were subjected to a principal component analysis with the result that two items had unacceptably low loadings (
