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Natural science surpasses social science in prestige Science and engineering seem to enjoy a higher prestige than social studies in China, though citizens' literacy rate in social sciences has topped that in natural sciences, according to a survey carried out in the eastern Zhejiang Province. The survey, sponsored by the provincial federation for scientists and conducted by Zhejiang University's Institute for Human Studies, has found 7.5 percent of citizens are basically literate in social sciences. They gave the right answers to 18 out of 24 multiple choice questions concerning literature, history, philosophy, law, education, economics and administration, mostly about simple factssuch as which school of thought Confucius -- a great thinker, philosopher and educator in China's history -- represents, and what GDP stands for. The survey tracked 1,920 residents aged between 18 and 69 over the past year, and was the first to test the residents' literacy in social sciences. The literacy rate among male respondents was 7.8 percent, slightly higher than the 7.1 percent for females. But the gap between urban and rural citizens was wider, as 11.1percent of the city respondents passed the test, as against 3.8 percent in the rural group. About 41 percent of the respondents listed scientists and research fellows as the most respected people, 39.9 percent chose public servants and 39.7 percent, doctors. Coming next on the list were teachers, engineers, lawyers, self-employed businessmen, business executives, private entrepreneurs, journalists, actresses and singers, certified public accountants, peasants and blue-collar workers. Medicine, science and engineering were also the top three professions most respondents hoped their own children would follow,while literature, history and philosophy were considered as the last choices. Meanwhile, 66.6 percent of the respondents said they were keen on the more practical branches of social sciences, such as economics and law, whereas only six percent showed interest in history and literature, and 5.7 percent in art and aesthetics. On the other hand, 66.8 percent of the respondents said they learned social sciences in order to enhance their capacity for personal development, whereas only 18.4 percent aimed to improve their own aesthetic sentiment. Lian Xiaoming, vice chairman of the provincial federation for scientists, said the public's preferences for certain disciplines were closely related to the employment opportunities and incomes these professions promised. "That's why many people prefer law, administration and economics to other branches of social sciences," said Lian, who expressed concerns the trend would degrade China's research capacities in basic social science studies such as literature, history and philosophy. It was particularly noteworthy that 68.4 percent of the respondents never visited a museum or exhibition over the past year, 58.4 percent never went to a library or reading room and 35.9 percent of them never entered a bookstore, said Lian. Television is the major source of information for the overwhelming majority of the respondents. While those who have completed college education tend to learn from books and newspapers, primary and middle school graduates largely rely on TVand radio broadcasts or chats with friends and families. A 2002 survey found 21 out of 1,000 residents in the province were "scientifically literate", which meant they had a basic understanding of scientific terms and concepts, scientific processes and the impact of science and technology on themselves and society. In its close neighbor Shanghai municipality, 69 out of every 1,000 residents were confirmed to be scientifically literate in 2002. The China Association for Science and Technology has conducted four nationwide surveys on the population's basic scientific literacy since 1992. The fourth survey, which was conducted in 2001 and covered 22 ethnic minorities, found the basic scientific literacy among Chinese citizens was 1.4 percent. |
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