What is the Significance of Science Education?

Significance of Science Education

As said earlier that majority of educationists are of the view that science education should be provided a considerable space in the school curriculum at all the levels. They are of the view that science education is essential as it is of paramount importance in individual lives of students and in their social lives.

Present era or time is known as scientific era or time, where majority of people are in pursuit of scientific knowledge which is necessitated by space age and explosion in knowledge in the field of information technology.

As science education affect and play an important role in different fields, thus, it is believed to have taken place an important position in human life. Although science affects various areas of life, however, to throw some light on its importance, mention of some of the areas has been discussed, which are as follows:

i. Intellectuality:

Majority of experts are of the view that primary objective of science education is to develop intellectual level of students. Through science, an instinct to know new facts and to make inquiries and judgments get arise in students.

Through it, students become desirous to search the truth existing beneath the surface. By scientific information, students become able to understand and evaluate various kinds of social problems arising in day to day life. Through this subject, students become trained to make use of scientific methods properly and effectively. Thinking and outlook of students become more practical, logical and rational. Better reasoning ability gets developed in them and their level of creativity also gets developed.

All the intellectual abilities get developed by student of changes or developments taking place in the field of science. Through it, intellects of students get sharp and they become intellectually honest. Thus, it can be said that science is not a content of knowledge, but it is a method or manner in which knowledge can be acquired effectively and properly.

ii. Practically:

As known that subject of field of science is based on various principles and laws, out of which various gets applied in everyday life. Such application cannot be utilised properly in absence of fundamental knowledge of the subject. There are various fields in which subject of science are being applied today.

An important example which proves the practical value of science is development taken place in the field of communication. As known that computer is a machine which came into existence as a result of scientific and technological development.

Today, by making use of this machine, a person living in any place of the nation or world can communicate with other person or persons living in any part of the world. Not only this, one can also witness the practical value of scientific developments in the field of medicines. In modern day life, number of sources of entertainment have been developed, which came into being as a result of scientific developments. Not only this, newer dimensions have been provided to various functions performed by human beings by the scientific developments.

iii. Aesthetically:

As said earlier that through science, an urge to find truth existing beneath the surface gets developed in human beings. Thus, a passion for finding the truth gets developed in human beings as a result of knowledge of science. By passing for truth, a passion for beauty gets also developed in human beings.

Basically, science is the process by which store of mysteries and beauties existing in nature are being unfolded and explored. Thus, in developing an aesthetic sense in students, science education plays an important role. It is as a result of this function performed by science education that scientists feel an intrinsic charm and pleasure in enjoying the aesthetic aspects of their discoveries.

iv. Morally:

Qualities of truthfulness and reasoning are considered to be desirable in all human beings, as such qualities an play important role in making one’s life worth living. However, in present day life, which is characterised by tremendous materialisation and greedy persons, such values have been eroded to considerable extent.

But, science education helps in developing such qualities to lot of extent. Through it, students become more eager to find out how and why of everything and through their search and investigation, try to find out of truth existing beyond the surface. Thus, science education plays an important role in making students morally more strong and developed.

If a man follows scientific methods in his pursuit of knowledge, then qualities of honesty of purpose, truth, justice and self confidence get automatically developed in him, which proves that science education plays an important role in making social life of human beings happy, comfortable and healthy.

v. Vocationally:

A number of vocations have been developed today in which no one can function or get entered without having knowledge of science. Thus it can be said that for various vocations, study of science is a primary requirement. Today, there is hardly any vocation which is not affected by the science or kind of valuable information it provides.

Today, society has affected to considerable extent by the advancement of technology, information technology and software developments taken place. As a result of such advancements, life has now become more faster and complex. Various specialized subject areas have now become available for studies.

It is an important reason that why experts consider it necessary to include science as a subject in educational curriculum of the institutions. In view of some experts, the dominating feature of the contemporary world is the intense cultivation of science on a wide scale and its application by which nation’s requirements can be met successfully. It is expected that vocational value of scientific information will be increased and it will become more important for majority of people to acquire its knowledge.

vi. Culturally:

As science forms an essential part of our social heritage, thus it affects our culture to considerable extent. One’s way of thinking and outlook gets changed to a lot of extent by information provided by study of science. Science students should appreciate the cultural aspect of this subject properly.

Through science, students get the information relating to the earth on which they live, the atmosphere and environment in which they exist. Such kinds of information help in developing the consciousness of students. Not only this, it also heightens intellectual discrimination of the students, as a result of which, students become more practical and emotionally more stable. As a result of such outcomes, students’ become mentally more refined and well-organised.

The need to develop such a situation in which science drives its nourishment from cultural and spiritual heritage have been realised by majority of educationists. A commission set up by Indian government provided the view that if science is to be pursued vigorously and zestfully, and has to become a mighty force in the Indian renaissance, then it is necessary that it gets nourished from cultural and spiritual values, and should not bypass them altogether.

It is necessary to create a situation in which science becomes an important part of cultural values and traditions. As said earlier that thinking and outlook of students get altered to a considerable and in positive way as a result of study of science, which in turn affects cultural values and systems altogether. Thus, science study has an important cultural value.

vii. Psychologically:

As said earlier that teaching of science plays an important role in developing scientific attitudes and scientific temperament among the students. It is on the basic principles and maxims of learning that learning of science is based. As science is an activity oriented subject, thus it helps in satisfying fundamental desire of knowing about truths of nature to a lot of extent.

It also help in satisfying the quality of creativeness existing among the human beings. When such instinct desires get developed in human beings, they become psychologically more developed and stable. Thus, as a result of scientific learning, students get developed psychologically more mature and their thinking pattern becomes more clear and definite.

viii. Democratically:

As known that democratic set up is being established in our nation, in which all the human beings are considered equal and are provided with equal rights. In our nation, people belonging to various religions and caste exist simultaneously. In such condition, atmosphere of peace can be maintained only when all the people or citizens of the nation respect each-other’s religions and other’s thinking.

Only that person can prove to be a good citizen in which quality of giving importance to other’s point of view exist. Not only this, various other qualities should be there in a person to make him or her good citizen. Majority of such essential qualities are being developed in human beings through teaching of science.

Some of the important lessons of science are capacity for clear thinking, intellectual integrity and receptivity to new ideas, which are also essential for making a person good citizen. It is improper that all those qualities get developed in human beings or students of science which exist in scientists, but such people prove to be more successful in their life as they learn to differentiate between wrong and right means of life.

ix. Maturity:

Information relating to different developments taking place in science make outlook and perspective of students more clear and developed. Such people begin to understand that there is solution of every problem and nothing happens in life without any logical reason.

Students of science become able to understand that although life is full of problems, but through proper and rational thinking, an end can be put on such problems. They do not give up their hope and efforts and try to lead a smooth and comfortable life by sorting out various problems. Thus, science learning helps in raising the mental level of human beings, by which they become more mature and become able to take logical decisions in their lives.

Not only this, today’s life is full of changes. Various kinds of changes take place in different spheres of life, as a result of which the conditions in which human beings live also gets changed. No one can lead a comfortable and peaceful life without making adjustment in accordance with the changed conditions.

Although it is not very easy to bring various kinds of changes in accordance with the changed conditions, but science learning makes students or human beings able to do such kind of changes. Through information obtained from science, they become better able to make adjustment in accordance with changed conditions, which make them successful in life and to obtain their set goals more effectively and efficiently.

Thus, we found that scientific development and progress made in this field has affected human being’s in a considerable extent. Almost all the aspects of life have got affected by science and technology. There is hardly any area left where effects of science cannot be seen.

As a result of such situation, manifold development has been taken in different areas, may it be agricultural sector, industrial sector or health sector. By making use of various equipments and apparatuses developed as a result of science and technology, multifold increase in production has been taken place, as a result of which, change in thinking pattern and life standard is evident.

Not only this, death rate has also declined as a result of such developments taken place in science, as now new techniques and medicines have been discovered by experts which can put an end on the various diseases which were earlier considered as incurable.

Through use of various scientific equipments, various drastic changes have taken place in different areas, as a result of which, such changes are sometimes termed as revolutions by experts. Generally, as a result of developments taken place in different areas, experts term the situation as globalization, and are of the view that no nation, and especially a developing nation like ours can develop without the help of science learning for which they are of the view that more important place should be provided to science in the school curriculum as through it, more mature and mentally more developed persons or students can be made.

It can be an important reason that why number of institutions imparting scientific and technological education are increasing day by day in our nation.