Chapter 5: The Multiple Response Model For The “Views on Science-Technology-Society” (Vosts) Instrument: An Empirical Application in the Context of the Electronic Waste Issue

A major goal of science education today is to promote students’ understanding of the nature of science, technology, and their interactions within society (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1990, 1993; National Research Council [NRC], 1996). To accomplish this goal, science educators have advocated the instruction of scientific knowledge in the context of Science-Technology-Society (STS) education. STS education supports students’ natural tendency to integrate their personal understandings of the natural, technological, and social environments (Aikenhead, 1994; Layton, 1994; Ziman, 1994). Fundamentally, it is student-oriented; ultimately, it aims to promote students’ social responsibility in collective decision making on issues related to science and technology (Aikenhead, 1994; Ziman, 1994).