In New Gallup Survey, U.S. College Students Believe Science and Technology Critical to the War on Terrorism

In a new Gallup survey commissioned by Bayer Corporation as part of its Making Science Make Sense initiative, a significant number of today’s college students report they are considering altering their career plans due to September 11. They believe that science literacy is important for average Americans to deal effectively with future terrorist threats and they overwhelmingly categorize themselves as science literate. They feel their generation has had sufficient preparation in math and science to succeed in homeland security fields that rely on sophisticated high-tech tools, but say the next generation needs a stronger preparation.

And, they believe their generation will produce the next Bill Gates, meaning a leader who will develop a new technology that will have a major impact on society.

In the Bayer Facts of Science Education VIII: College Students Look Ahead, three-quarters say the U.S. will face increasing threats from terrorists in the coming years. Almost all the students believe science, technology and their sophisticated tools are important in helping the U.S. meet future terrorist threats, with two-thirds calling them “very important.”

Most (seven in 10) say the country’s new focus on terrorism has made them more aware of the roles science, technology and their sophisticated tools play in U.S. military, intelligence and homeland security fields. In addition, seven in 10 affirm that new job opportunities will be created for them as a result of America’s new emphasis on homeland security. Of those, an average of one in 10 report seriously considering these new opportunities. When asked about their fellow students, they estimate an average of 12 percent of their classmates are seriously considering the possibility, too.

In fact, roughly one in five say last year’s attacks have prompted them to seriously consider changing their career plans or major, or, for the first time, think about joining the military or intelligence fields. They estimate, on average, that nearly l0 percent of their fellow classmates are rethinking their career plans as well. And, while making money will never go out of vogue (nearly eight in 10 say there will not be a shift away from careers that offer greater financial reward), two-thirds see a shift toward careers that benefit society and the public interest.

Science Education and Science Literacy

Is “Gen Y” (those born between 1979 and 1994) up to the task of succeeding in high-tech reliant homeland security fields? Eight in l0 say, yes, they’ve had the proper grounding in math and science that is necessary for success. However, four in 10 say they wish they’d had a stronger pre-college science and math education, and seven in 10 believe science and math education should be strengthened for the next generation of students.

“Despite the students’ overall optimism, it’s clear from a number of voices in the survey that much more work must be done nationally to improve pre-college science and math education so that young people graduating and entering the workforce are truly prepared for these new job opportunities,” said Dr. Mae C. Jemison, former astronaut and current science literacy spokesperson for Bayer Corporation’s Making Science Make Sense initiative. “Unfortunately, they’re not as prepared as they believe. Underperformance in math and science as seen in recent assessments of high school seniors, like the NAEP(1) and TIMSS(2) tests, coupled with the fact that the majority who go on to college fail to continue taking math and science courses, further underscore the need for improvement.”

Science literacy is also an important weapon in the fight against terrorism, say the students polled by Gallup. Almost all say it’s important for average Americans to be scientifically literate in order to understand and deal with terrorist threats, including bio-terrorism, nuclear weapons and cyber terrorism. Roughly six in l0 called it “very important.”

More than eight in l0 college students polled consider themselves science literate and nearly three-quarters believe science literacy is important for them given their career plans. However, more than one-third of non-science majors do not think science literacy is important for them in their jobs.

“While it’s gratifying to see that today’s students recognize how important it is for all Americans to be science literate in the face of our new realities, it’s somewhat disconcerting to learn that a significant number don’t recognize the importance it holds for them in the workplace,” said Rebecca Lucore, executive director of the Bayer Foundation and manager of Bayer Corporation’s Making Science Make Sense program. She cited previous Bayer Facts surveys of workplace managers who say science literacy and its associated skills — critical thinking, problem-solving and team working — are important for all types of workers, regardless of industry.

A Generation Y Bill Gates?

Optimism continued to prevail among the students when they were asked about the U.S.’s science and technology future. Three-quarters believe that the most important scientific and technological innovations in the next 20 years will come from the U.S. Indeed, eight in 10 say it is likely their generation will produce the next Bill Gates, meaning a leader who will develop a new technology that will have a major impact on society.

Could they be that person? One-quarter say, yes, it could be them, with males more confident than females. However, they say it more likely will be someone else, with two-thirds reporting they know someone who could be that person.

The Bayer Facts of Science Education survey series, part of an ongoing annual public opinion research project, is one component of Bayer’s companywide Making Science Make Sense initiative that advances science literacy across the United States through hands-on, inquiry-based science learning, employee volunteerism and public education.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Bayer Corporation had sales of $10.1 billion in 2001 and is one of Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies. The company employs 21,500 people. It is a member of the worldwide Bayer Group, a $27 billion international health care and chemicals group based in Leverkusen, Germany. The Bayer Group stock is a component of the DAX and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: BAY).

Results of the Bayer Facts VIII survey are based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 1,000 full-time college students attending four-year colleges. All interviewing was conducted by The Gallup Organization during March and April 2002. The sample was randomly drawn from the American Student Listing and statistically adjusted to represent all students from four-year colleges throughout the country. For results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls.

For a copy of the full report, please visit Bayer’s web site at http://www.bayerus.com/msms.

AT-A-GLANCE

Bayer Facts of Science Education VIII: College Students Look Ahead*

— Three-quarters of college students say the U.S. will face increasing threats from terrorists in the coming years.

— Almost all (nine in 10) believe science, technology and their sophisticated tools are important in helping the U.S. meet future terror threats, with two-thirds calling them “very important.”

— Most (seven in 10) say the country’s new focus on terrorism has made them more aware of the roles science, technology and their sophisticated tools play in U.S. military, intelligence and homeland security fields.

— Seven in 10 affirm that new job opportunities will be created for them as a result of America’s new emphasis on homeland security. Of those, an average of one in 10 report seriously considering these new opportunities.

— When asked about their fellow students, they estimate an average of 12 percent of their classmates are seriously considering the possibility, too.

— Roughly one in five say last year’s attacks have prompted them to seriously consider changing their career plans or major, or, for the first time, think about joining the military or intelligence fields.

— They estimate, on average, that nearly l0 percent of their fellow classmates are rethinking their career plans as well.

— Two-thirds see a shift toward careers that benefit society and the public interest.

— Eight in l0 say they’ve had the proper grounding in math and science that is necessary for success.

— Four in 10 say they wish they’d had a stronger pre-college science and math education.

— Seven in 10 believe science and math education should be strengthened for the next generation of students.

— Almost all say science literacy is important for average Americans to be scientifically literate in order to understand and deal with terrorist threats, including bio-terrorism, nuclear weapons and cyber terrorism. Roughly six in l0 called it “very important.”

— More than eight in l0 college students polled consider themselves science literate and nearly three-quarters believe science literacy is important for them given their career plans. However, more than one- third of non-science majors, do not think science literacy is important for them in their jobs.

— Three-quarters believe that the most important scientific and technological innovations in the next 20 years will come from the U.S.

— Eight in 10 say it is likely their generation will produce the next Bill Gates, meaning a leader who will develop a new technology that will have a major impact on society.

— One-quarter say, yes, it could be them, with males more confident than females.

— Two-thirds report that they know someone who could be that person.

*NOTE: The Bayer Facts of Science Education VIII was conducted by The Gallup Organization and commissioned by Bayer Corporation.

1. National Assessment of Educational Progress

2. Third International Math and Science Study