Scientific Literacy for Sustainability: Educating Citizens for the 21st Century

We are living through a time of exponential change in which science makes significant contributions in areas such as health, nutrition, agriculture, industry, transportation, communications and entertainment. In this contemporary context, scientific literacy is seen as a relevant and desired learning outcome from both compulsory and post compulsory education. Science is an essential tool for making sense of the world in which we live and contributes to the informed decisions needed for future development and lifestyles to be sustainable. Achieving a sustainable future requires input from communities who have an understanding of how science informs their thinking and empowers them to make informed decisions. Scientifically literate citizens would be empowered to think critically about the role of science in society and use it as a tool for informed decision making and problem solving in a rapidly changing and developing world. This book provides an insight into the development of scientific literacy and challenges educators to re-think science teaching and learning.