Scientific literacy and generative AI: embracing nature of science for social justice

This paper explores how generative AI (GenAI) can be leveraged in science education to cultivate a socially responsible form of scientific literacy. It argues for a social justice (SJ)-oriented praxis to help students critically engage with nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific issues (SSIs), thereby fostering scientific literacy essential for democratic participation. While GenAI, NOS, SSIs, and SJ have been explored in the literature, this paper uniquely examines their intersections within K-12 science education. The paper highlights why a science education praxis committed to SJ is of high importance in today’s era of GenAI expansion. It accomplishes this objective by analyzing the impact of GenAI on everyday life and showing how it generates a unique set of SSIs that raise SJ concerns. The paper also highlights how SJ as a framework can be utilised in K-12 science education for guiding learners to critically explore NOS and SSIs within the context of GenAI. The paper ends with a discussion of the contribution of the proposed ideas to a more critical, reflective and participatory form of scientific literacy, which aims to prepare students to critically explore science and its changing nature, deliberate access to science, and act responsibly in society.