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From Flavr Savr Tomatoes to Stem Cell Therapy: Young People’s Understandings of Gene Technology, 15 Years on

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Abstract

This paper explores knowledge and understanding of basic genetics and gene technologies in school students who have been taught to a ‘science for all’ National Curriculum and compares 482 students in 1995 (gene technology was a new and rapidly developing area of science with potential to impact on everyday life; the first cohort of students had been taught to the National Curriculum for Science) with 154 students in 2011 (genomics had replaced gene technology as a rapidly developing area of science with potential to impact on everyday life; science as a core subject within the National Curriculum was well established). These studies used the same questions, with the same age group (14–16) across the same (full) ability range; in addition the 2011 sample were asked about stem cells, stem cell technology and epigenetics. Students in 2011 showed: better knowledge of basic genetics but continuing difficulty in developing coherent explanatory frameworks; a good understanding of the nature of stem cells but no understanding of the process by which such cells become specialised; better understanding of different genetic technologies but also a wider range of misunderstandings and confusions (both between different genetic technologies and with other biological processes); continuing difficulty in evaluating potential veracity of short ‘news’ items but greater awareness of ethical issues and the range of factors (including knowledge of genetics) which could be drawn on when justifying a view or coming to a decision. Implications for a ‘science for all’ curriculum are considered.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the support and direction of the original project team (Ros Driver, Colin Wood-Robinson and John Leach), the advice of Ed Wood and the initial funding from the Wellcome Trust. Without all of this the initial study would never have taken place. I would also like to thank all the teachers who gave their (and their students) time very willingly—even in the current, exam orientated environment; the University of Leeds for providing the funds which enabled me to revisit students’ ideas, 15 years on; and Matt Homer for the statistical analysis.

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  1. Centre for Studies in Science and Mathematics Education, ECS level 10, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    Jenny Lewis

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  1. Jenny Lewis
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Correspondence to Jenny Lewis.

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Lewis, J. From Flavr Savr Tomatoes to Stem Cell Therapy: Young People’s Understandings of Gene Technology, 15 Years on. Sci & Educ 23, 361–379 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9523-z

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