Such stereotypes are problematic in that they can lead to undervaluing of both aspects, resulting
in arts-illiterate science students or science-illiterate arts students. Both of these positions are also
problematic to environmental education, because of the need for both dimensions in developing
a positive relationship with the environment that is based on informed motivation for action.
These stereotyped views can be characterised by contrasting views of science, which illustrate
how science can be interpreted in different ways with positive or negative implications to its
impact on the world. Thus, to its supporters, science can represent aesthetic beauty through the
harmonious relationships of ideas (Wolpert 1992), while scientific theories also hold intellectual
power to explain features of the universe (Hawking 1992) and political power through economic
and technological application (Appleyard 1992). However, to its critics, science can be dry,
abstract, devoid of beauty and lacking in human purpose (Wolpert 1992). Such negative views
represent science as essentially disconnected with the world, and appear to be reflected by the
views of many people. For example, a common activity on many initial teacher education courses
encourages students to reflect on their views about science, as represented by the instruction
‘draw a scientist doing something scientific’. The image produced by the majority of students,
which is also matched by views of school children (Driver et al. 1985), is one of the ‘egghead
scientist’, who is typically a lab-coated male, balding, often with spectacles and using test tubes,
bunsen burners and other school chemistry equipment (see Figure 1). A typical variation on this
image includes the ‘mad scientist’ with wild hair and involved in creating explosions or other
such dangerous activities.
Figure 1. A typical image of the ‘egghead scientist’ when asked to draw ‘a scientist doing something scientific’ (drawn by 10-year-old child). In discussions with students about the semiotics of the stereotypical image, a number of meanings
emerge from the various elements. These are shown in Table 1, which shows that the features
of the ‘egghead scientist’ point to a clinical, abstract, physical, unemotional and reductionist view
of science as practised by a clever, but eccentric and emotionally dysfunctional individual. Such
images can have the effect of producing negative attitudes to science in that science can be seen
to be male dominated, abstract and fragmenting knowledge in a way that is unrelated to life, as
well as being a difficult subject, which is hard to succeed in, and having some potentially sinister