At the Nexus of Science and Society: How First-Year Students Engage with Regional Issues in Health, Energy, and the Environment
The Pacific Northwest faces unprecedented scientific challenges that impact society across the region. Increasingly severe wildfires threaten communities, rapidly growing energy demands strain resources, and outbreaks of previously controlled diseases raise public health concerns. My research investigates how first-year university students engage with these complex and controversial issues. Undergraduates aren’t just students—they’re emerging voters, future professionals, and developing leaders who will soon be making consequential decisions about the issues in science affecting individuals, communities, and the broader region. Are these young adults prepared to navigate these complex challenges? And how do they engage with these issues? To answer these questions, I conducted a comprehensive survey at a regional university campus where scientific research and development drive the local economy. The study measured students’ scientific literacy—their ability to access, evaluate, and apply scientific information to make informed decisions. It also examined how students engage with three major scientific and social issues: nuclear power, vaccines, and climate change. The results revealed that scientific literacy strongly predicted how students engaged with these issues—those with higher literacy were more likely to support nuclear energy, receive routine vaccinations, and express concern about the impacts of climate change. This presents a compelling opportunity to transform undergraduate science education by incorporating real-world, locally relevant issues that connect directly to students’ lives. When students can apply scientific concepts to situations they genuinely care about, they develop the capacity to navigate these complex issues at the nexus of science and society.
Laurren Nirider is a Ph.D. candidate in the Language, Literacy, and Technology program at Washington State University. She holds a master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences. Her doctoral research focuses on first-year university students’ scientific literacy and engagement with socioscientific issues. Her dedication to social-ecological justice stems from lived experience being raised in a community impacted by an environmental and public health disaster caused by negligent and exploitative mining practices. She is the recipient of the College of Education’s Equity and Inclusion Grant and has recently represented WSU as a Clean Energy Ambassador at the IEEE conference where she presented plans for an innovative campus microgrid initiative that combines sustainability with educational opportunities. She aims to leverage her education and research to promote informed decision-making around critical social and scientific challenges.