Science, technology and the environment: the views of urban children and implications for science and environmental education in Korea

Abstract

With science and technology playing profound roles in mediating human relationships with the environment, a key question concerns which expectations and views of science and technology have emerged and prevail in visions of the social and environmental development of contemporary societies. This study engages this question through examining children’s views of science and technology in South Korea. Eighty‐six sixth graders from Seoul, a highly urbanized city, were invited to share their views. A drawing and writing activity and an open‐ended questionnaire were administered for data collection. The study found that the children’s views are grounded in optimistic and positive expectations and visions of science and technology even as some of the children show awareness and concern about environmental destruction. They may also offer contradictory views toward social development and environmental destruction. The paper discusses these findings in light of the complex meanings of development in modern Korean society and the challenges teachers there may face in cultivating sustainable views and relations via science and environmental education.

Keywords:

• STSE (science, technology, society and the environment)
• children’s perception and drawings
• modern culture

Acknowledgement

Some drawings and tables in this work were previously presented in Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education, Vol. 26, No 3. I am grateful that the publisher gave me permission to use the materials here.

Notes

1. According to South Korean Statistics (http://kostat.go.kr), South Korea had 483 people/km² in 2005 (world average 48 people/km², developed country average 23 people/km², developing country average 65 people/km²) with limited natural resources. Energy consumption has increased by 3.77% on average for five years (world average 2.85%, OECD average 0.95%). Ninety‐seven percent of energy consumed in South Korea is imported from other countries.

2. This project was initially proposed as enhancing land resources and supporting the local economy by fostering and applying scientific and technological knowledge and skills. More recently, it has led to public concern about trade‐offs; e.g. which will be acceptable and which will be tolerated when the project is characterized as economic growth versus the massive ecosystem destruction of the seabed around that region.