Ranking the Scientific-Technology Literacy Indexes of Students from the Viwepoint of Faculty Members

Abstract

Background: Increasing scientific-technology literacy is a major educational purpose around the world. This concept is an umbrella that covers everything related to science and knowledge. The aim of this research is its scientific ranking - technological literacy indicators of students from the viewpoint of faculty members of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Unit. Methods: The research method is descriptive and survey. The population consisted of all faculty members of the Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, which included 350 people in 2015. The sample size was estimated according to the Cochran formula. A total of, 186 individuals were selected by using the stratified random sampling. The measuring tool includes a Researcher questionnaire of scientific - IT literacy Miller (2006) (10 components and 40 questions); its validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was assessed by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient to 0.81 values. Data were analyzed with SPSS 18 software. Results: Data analysis showed that the viewpoints of faculty members and scientific literacy indicators have a significant difference between the students (χ2 = 127.5; P = 0.00). The maximum rank was related to basic knowledge as well as foresight indexes and the lowest was related to the creativity index, however, no significant difference was found between the students for technology indexes (χ2 = 2.667; P = 0.264). Conclusions: The students are in high rank in terms of basic and theoretical knowledge, which is a requisite for scientific literacy, however, in terms of creativity and curiosity, thinking manners (tendency to act) is ranked lower. Attention to critical thinking development and knowledge application in performance and real-life was recommended