Abstract

Scientific and technological literacy is important in order to have a population that can evaluate new scientific and technological developments. For this, new educational strategies need to be found that promote scientific literacy in science education. This study examined one aspect of popular culture, science fiction books for children, in an attempt to determine if science fiction would make an effective tool in elementary science education. A content analysis of science fiction books for children was conducted using an evaluation chart created for this purpose. The chart contained five main categories of information. They were: the physical aspects of the book, the science issues the story illustrates, the types and veracity of the science portrayed, the aspects that relate to teacher use of science fiction in the classroom, and the societal issues that surround each story. This study concluded that science fiction stories aimed at elementary school students contain useful information with regard to their ability to increase scientific literacy. There are several implications of these results. For example, the science curriculum could be developed to include the use of science fiction stories. In addition, pre-service and in-service teacher education could be used to increase teacher awareness of the value of science fiction stories for science education.

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