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The promotion of 'scientific literacy' is seen to be desirable by governments and science educators due to the low level of measured public knowledge about scientific issues. A 20-statement survey originally designed by American researchers was completed by 400 UK higher education students to assess the knowledge and understanding of the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion. The overall mean score was higher than that of the American students. UK students scored significantly higher on ozone depletion questions than greenhouse questions. Significant differences were found (1) between students with science A levels and those without, and (2) between students whose main information source was printed matter and those who relied on television. There were no significant gender-related or age-related differences in the study. The relevance of such knowledge-based studies is discussed.
Spellman et al. (Sat,) studied this question.