The term “scientific literacy” has become a dominant educational slogan and a major goal for science education in many countries over the past two decades (Baram-Tsabari, & Yarden, 2005; Laugksch, 2000; Ministry of Education in Turkey (MEB), 2006; Millar, 2006). Because the world has been experiencing the impact of science and technology predominantly in the twenty first century, in order students to adapt in a rapidly changing world, towards a technological advancement, they require understanding science and technology (National Research Council, 1998). Similarly in Turkey, integration of scientific and technological literacy is the main goal of science education. The revised science and technology curriculum emphasizes scientific and technology literacy that are required to search and question, think critically, develop problem-solving and decision making abilities, be life-long learners, pursue the interest in their environment and the Earth, and their combination of attitudes towards, values about, understanding of and knowledge about science (MEB, 2006) Therefore, being scientifically literate or in other words scientific literacy can be thought as a requirement to responsibly and effectively function within society in a rapidly changing world (Kolsto, 2000; Holbrook, & Rannikmae, 2007). This idea recognizes the need for knowledge of science concepts, appreciation of nature of science, and reasoning ability in dealing with the issues of scientifically and technologically impacted society (Holbrook et al., 2007). Although scientifically literate society is an ultimate goal of science education in Turkey, as well as in other countries, there is not much information on scientific literacy levels even for people who deal with science first hand. Whether people dealing with science, such as scientists and science teachers, have adequate levels of scientific literacy is still open to investigation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the scientific literacy levels of students who are the nominees of future society as scientists or science teachers. The research questions that guided this study are: 1. What is the scientific literacy level of students enrolled in science and science education programs? 2. Is there a significant difference between students enrolled in science and science education programs in terms of scientific literacy levels? 3. Is there a significant difference between freshman and senior students enrolled in science and science education programs in terms of scientific literacy levels? 4. Is there a significant difference between genders in terms of scientific literacy levels?

The sample of the study (n=955) was selected randomly from public universities in Turkey. The sample includes 580 natural sciences department students and 371 science education department students. There are 593 female and 362 male in the sample. There are 580 students enrolled in their first year of graduate education while there are 325 students enrolled in their senior year of formal graduate education. The scientific literacy level of students was measured by Test of Basic Scientific Literacy (TBSL) (Laugksch, & Spargo, 1996). The dimensions in TBSL are the nature of science, science content knowledge, and the impact of science and technology on society. The reliability of the overall test was found to be 0.95. For the sample of this study, TBSL is adapted into Turkish by the researchers. Content validity of the instrument was assured by the review of experts in the area of science and science education.

The highest score that can be achieved in TBSL is 110. The scientific literacy level for science and science education students were found to be higher than half of the overall score (µ =62.23). Science education students (µ =68.03) achieved higher level of scientific literacy than science students (µ =58.56). There is a moderate difference in the mean scores on TBSL for science education students and science students (p<.05, eta squared=.07) (Cohen, 1988). There is no significant difference in the mean scores on TBSL for males and females (p>.05) but there is a significant difference in the mean TBSL scores for science education students and science students. The effect of grade on TBSL scores for programs is also significant, but the effect size is very small (.02). The results imply that the grade level and program are effective to determine the scientific literacy levels, whereas gender is not determinative.