Study commissioned by: Malaysian Science and Technology Information Center (MASTIC), Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE). The decline in interest in S&T may be due more to a lack of information than to the lack of qualifications required and the academic approach used in teaching S&T. The level of general understanding of science and technology terms and concepts among Malaysians, as indicated by the percentage of correct answers from respondents, has dropped to less than 50%.
The study level of S&T knowledge among Americans was found to gradually increase over the years, while the opposite was true for Malaysians.
I NTRODUCTION
Objectives of Study
Research Strategy
In order to ensure the quality and credibility of the questionnaire, a pilot study was conducted, in which correct sampling procedures and data collection methods were ascertained in order to obtain a sample that is representative of the population. This was achieved through analysis of some selected variables such as age groups, gender, ethnicity and locality, that in the opinion of the researchers there was no significant difference between sample and population distribution. However, there was a slight difference when the actual sample was compared to the proposed sample.
The results of the survey on public awareness of science and technology in Malaysia for the year 2002 are as follows:.
Perceived Knowledge of General and S&T Issues
F INDINGS
East of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak zones fell behind in average perceived knowledge in all issues studied. Respondents of primary school education level showed a significantly low level of perceived knowledge (Figure 4). Overall mean for perceived knowledge among Malaysians decreased to 2.18 from 2.29 from year 1996 to year 2000, but improved to 2.30 in year 2002 – The latest increase in perceived knowledge was observed in all categories.
There was a slightly higher score for the men than the women, and urban than rural. The level of perceived knowledge correlated strongly with the level of education – the higher the level, the higher the level of perceived knowledge.
Perceived Interest in General and S&T Issues
The level of education in science and financial status are therefore the most important factors influencing interest and knowledge in S&T issues. However, in all issues except environmental pollution, the year 2002 has managed to significantly reduce the “disinterested group” compared to previous years, although interest is still low. Only the group of lower educated people retained the same interest as that of 1998.
Comparing the level of knowledge and interest, the level of knowledge is always lower (2.30) than the level of interest (2.38).
Attitudes Towards S&T
The overall findings of the study show that 56.8% of respondents acknowledged the positive contribution of S&T. A growing number of the Malaysian public has been found to be more skeptical about the impact of S&T, especially regarding the idea that new inventions will counteract the harmful consequences of technological development and scientists should research for health even if it causes pain. for animals. Young people and adults showed a more positive opinion about the effects of S&T on the quality of life compared to children.
Regarding the impact of S&T research, 62% agreed that it causes more positive than negative effects. 56.5% have heard or were aware of genetic engineering and cloning (Figure 15) – 16% agreed that genetic engineering should be carried out (Figure 13). Rural Urban Central East North Sabah & Labuan Sarawak South Primary Secondary Tertiary Science Non-Science Professional Management Office Sales Service Others.
Adult Male Female Rural Urban Middle East North Sabah & Labuan Sarawak South Primary Secondary Tertiary Science Non-Scientific Professional Management Clerkship Sales Service Other. The findings therefore show that Malaysians in general do not want defense or the welfare of the people to be neglected at the expense of the growth and development of science and technology. Children Youth Adults Male Female Rural Urban Middle East North Sabah & Labuan Sarawak South Primary Secondary Tertiary Science Non-Science Professional Management Clerk Sales Services Other.
Limited employment opportunities Not all jobs require knowledge of S&T. Lack of awareness of the importance of S&T. Lack of qualification. Educational approach for S&T is too academic. Others. This finding shows that a majority of the public believed in the positive contribution of S&T to the material physical dimension of life, but not to the human-social dimension of life.
Perception on Government Policies
Understanding Terms and Concepts
Correlation analysis shows that the level of knowledge of scientific terms and concepts for the age group for 2002 was highest among adolescents (49.1%), followed by children (44.6%) and then adults (42.7%). The connection between scientific and technical knowledge and level of education is strong, namely, the higher the level of education, the higher the percentage of correct answers. UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS In this work, the importance of understanding is taken at two levels: subjective, when the respondents perceive or estimate that they know or understand the subject matter, and objective, when they are able to give actual answers to the questions asked.
Findings from previous years and 2002 showed that the environmental terms and concepts most understood by the public were the ozone layer and acid rain. This pattern of subjective understanding, which was always higher than that of objective understanding, was consistent across the last three studies. The finding shows that the public apparently has a better understanding of environmental terms and concepts than in understanding S&T terms and concepts.
The significant increase in percentages of public subjective and objective understanding of environmental terms and concepts can be attributed to the media. The level of public understanding of environmental terms and concepts was derived from the respondents' answers to five environmental phenomena. The study found that the trend of percentage score for the public's level of understanding in this category increased as the following shows:.
The study in 2002 showed an increase in the number of correct answers regarding environmental pollution compared to the study in previous years. The respondents' level of understanding of environmental issues showed that the percentage of them giving correct answers to the statement "holes in the ozone layer will cause skin cancer" was the highest with 57.4%.
Sources of Information
The percentage of those who read S&T magazines has more or less stabilized at:. Percentages of news consumption were higher among adults, those with tertiary education, professional and managerial staff, and those with high household incomes. Most of the documentary viewers were those from Sabah and Labuan, professionals and those with high household incomes.
The news is mainly followed by adults, professionals and management personnel, as well as those with high family incomes. The choice of reading politics, business, economy or S&T news depended a lot on the background of the respondents. The percentage for business was high among high family incomes, those in the management and sales categories.
Those who read about politics were mature men, those in management and those with very high household incomes. The use of radio as a source of entertainment has been at an all-time high since 1998 and the percentage has been steadily increasing. Overall, the present study found an increase in the percentage of respondents using the Internet, i.e.
However, the overall percentage of respondents who had visited these places was only about 30% (Figure 50). Because of the distance, it is understandable why visits to these places were strongly related to family income.
Infrastructure and Facilities
More than 80% agreed that science centers and museums were far from residential areas (Figure 51).
S&T Programmes
International Comparisons
However, among those who participated in these programs, 50-65% of them agreed that these programs were really effective in making them aware of S&T. As such, the results of the analysis provide some indication of S&T awareness in Malaysia compared to these countries. Thus, the understanding of S&T among the people of these developed countries can be said to be comparable among themselves.
The continents we are on have changed location over the past few million years and will continue to move in the future (true). The scores obtained by individuals in Malaysia and Europe in comparative frequency distribution of S&T are summarized in Figure 54. For the temporal trend of public understanding of S&T terms and concepts, data are available only for the US and Malaysia.
Another parameter that can be used to describe public understanding of S&T is the perception of knowledge and interest. It was clear from the figure that fewer Malaysians than Americans and Japanese were interested in the selected issues. Compared to Europe, there were more Malaysians than Europeans interested in the selected topics.
What can be questioned is why the difference between the level of S&T perceived knowledge and interest among Malaysians appears to be relatively smaller than the differences experienced by the other countries. Is it the difference in the two values rather than the absolute values of perceived knowledge and interest that characterizes development in a given country.
Overall Findings
C ONCLUSION
Internationally, Malaysians' general knowledge of S&T terms and concepts was generally lower than that of the US, Europe and Japan. The level of science and technology knowledge among Americans showed a slight but gradual increase, while Malaysians in this study showed a marked decline in science and technology knowledge compared to that found in previous studies. Malaysians had about the same level of knowledge and interest, but not among Americans, Europeans and Japanese, where the level of interest was significantly higher than the level of knowledge.
The pattern of selection of the most watched programs is the same between Europeans and Malaysians, with Malaysia having more viewers than Europe. PAGE Figure 1: Actual sample compared to target sample size by group 11 Figure 2: Distribution of samples for 2002 compared to 2000 12 Figure 3: Perceived knowledge of the public on various general and S&T issues – 13.
L IST OF F IGURES AND T ABLE
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PUBLIC AWARENESS OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MALAYSIA
MASTIC
