It has been widely accepted in the science education research community that scientific literacy as a concept and phrase was introduced by Paul deHart Hurd in 1958. Recent research into the origins of the phrase, however, has shown this to be incorrect. Its first published use can be traced back, in fact, to 1945, and the phrase was frequently invoked in popular and research publications throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Exploring the historical circumstances of the phrase's introduction into popular discourse, it is argued, reveals that despite the rhetorical power and widespread adoption of the idea, scientific literacy (as others have pointed out) has proven to be little more than an empty slogan that offers no substantive guidance for thinking about the goals of science education. This essay argues that rather than continue to cling to the idea, the field of science education can more productively consider the most relevant and appropriate goals of science teaching by dispensing with the concept altogether.

中文翻译：

---

科学素养：其真实的起源故事及其在美国教育中的功能作用

科学教育研究界普遍认为，科学素养作为一个概念和短语是由保罗·德哈特·赫德 (Paul deHart Hurd) 于 1958 年提出的。然而，最近对该短语起源的研究表明这是不正确的。事实上，它的首次发表使用可以追溯到 1945 年，并且该短语在整个 20 世纪 40 年代和 1950 年代的流行和研究出版物中经常被引用。有人认为，探索该短语引入流行话语的历史环境表明，尽管这一概念具有修辞力量并被广泛采用，但科学素养（正如其他人指出的那样）已被证明只不过是一个空洞的口号，它提供了对于思考科学教育的目标没有实质性的指导。本文认为，科学教育领域可以通过完全放弃这个概念来更有效地考虑科学教学最相关和最合适的目标，而不是继续坚持这个想法。