Abstract:

At the XXI century science and technology (S&T) have made substantial contributions to the development of society. In contemporary society, science and technology are part of important agendas in developing countries and in the processes of being. S&T in the last decades was the core of multiple advances and actually it’s impossible to imagine a society without such knowledge. Levels of science and technology have come to be substantial standard of progress of any country. Recent inform about Chilean status of Innovation and Development (I+D) emphasize the urgent need for a greater number of professionals who provide a training creative, innovative and enterprising specially related with S&T. At the same time, another consideration holds Chilean S&T should contribute: at least with knowledge and economic development [1]. Historically Chilean science education has transmitted a traditional vision of S&T without social context relation and influence. In this sense, the perspective of meaning of science and technology is critical and can be into a major obstacle to improve attitude consistent with new challenges of twenty-first century Chilean society in relation to S&T development. It’s recognized S&T visions have a substantial influence on disciplinary and sociocultural decision [2]. In this way tertiary education requires know and enrich students S&T visions at light of theoretical and practical understanding about this issue. Disciplinary training require considering true nature of science and technology and close relationship between both knowledge with social context and it influence and reconsidering the essential reinforce of students vision with sense of social responsibility should have Chilean professional of S&T area. For this reasons this study it’s centered in determine first year university students’ attitude about science, technology and society relation. Quantitative and qualitative approach used. Quantitative approach based on COCTS questionnaire [3]. Scale with nine questions organized in four analysis categories. From quantitative analysis obtained diverse attitudinal indices according with position of phrase from adequate to naive vision of each idea. The indices provide knowledge about trends of students attitudes of issue investigated. The sample included 221 first year students’ of science and technologies careers from two public Chilean universities (Average: 18 years old; gender: female and male: 50 % and graduate: 85% of scientific-humanistic and 15% professional technical education). A qualitative approach with open question about social responsibility as students’ of S&T. Data contents of students’ response to the open question analyzed with semantic network. About the results, in qualitative analysis the students’ responses emphasized in trend of S&T social responsibility focused in country development. In quantitative results trends showed positive attitudes to adequate ideas of science and technology however science attitudes showed most favorable trend to technology. Also, for students S&T are the same kind of knowledge while they confuse the elements of science with technology. Therefore it infers first year university students’ of science and technology have an ambiguous attitude S&T. This trend is reinforced by the strong naive attitudes of relation science-technology and society. They considerer S&T with society not related, notion have an important effect in vision of social sense of S&T.

Keywords:

Nature of science and technology, science-technology and society relation, vision of chilean university student.