Despite all those studies that show America’s education system lagging further behind in the world, it turns out all is not lost when it comes our collective knowledge about science and technology.
A portion of a big national survey released late last week measured the public perceptions of science and technology and compared the data to similar studies around the world. The results show that while Americans, like much of the rest of the world, still have some basic things to learn, there is a keen interest in the latest scientific and technological discoveries.
The survey was part of the National Science Foundation’s report on Science and Engineering Indicators that it puts out every other year. John Besley was the lead author of the report’s chapter on Public Attitudes and Understanding. He’s an associate professor at MSU and the Ellis Brandt Chair in Public Relations in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
