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Latest revision as of 23:51, 18 September 2015
Human Practices
Synthetic Biology Awareness and Attitudes Among South African Youths: a Comparison of Socio-economic Influences
Project background
South Africa has a unique, turbulent and controversial political history of racial segregation, referred to as Apartheid. Prior to democracy in 1994, a white supremacist government forced non-white racial groups (black, indian and mixed race) to live in isolated townships on the outskirts of cities, and denied them access to quality education. 26 years after the advent of a free and fair democracy in South Africa, the vestiges of the Apartheid regime still persist in the form of historically segregated neighbourhoods, poverty, lack of basic health and sanitation services and compromised education in some previously disadvantaged areas.
Our Inspiration
With the recent advent of synthetic biology, we realized that high school learners in previously disadvantaged areas may not yet have heard about this cutting-edge field. In our Human Practices Project, we took the opportunity to both educate Grade 11 learners about synthetic biology as well as compare awareness, attitudes and consumer choice between learners from contrasting socio-economic circumstances.
The Survey
Approx. one hundred Grade 11 science learners from each school were asked 11 questions relating to (1) education, age and background, (2) general perception and (3) consumer choice regarding synthetic biology, as well as (4) their projections for the future of synthetic biology and (5) whether it will be relevant in the lives of South African citizens. We compared the results from learners at Lehlabile Secondary School and Pretoria Boys’ High School to identify statistically significant differences in the answers given. Statistical differences were assessed using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (age distributions) or a Fisher's Exact test for categorical multiple choice questions. We applied the Bonferroni correction of multiple testing, where P* = 0.05/11 = 0.0045 (since we performed 11 calculations)
(The survey administered can be viewed Here)
Lehlabile Secondary School = LSS; Pretoria Boys' High School = PBHS
Survey Results
We expected to see a significant difference in most answers, due to the fact that there is such a big social and economic gap between the two distinct samples we surveyed. The results do show significant differences, but external influences might have had an effect on the results, for instance the videos we showed during our presentation at Lehlabile Secondary School (LSS) which focused mainly on the positives of synthetic biology and it resulted that the LSS sample had a more positive mindset when answering the survey. Contrasting to that is the fact that the presentation with those specific videos were not shown to the Pretoria Boys’ High School (PBHS) sample, therefore it is possible that they only knew about mostly the negatives of synthetic biology (or rather genetic modification), as is generally communicated by the mainstream and non-scientific media.
Vast differences exist between age distributions, family education and previous exposure to synthetic biology
While the average age of Gr. 11 learners between schools was similar (17.6 in LSS and 16.9 in PBHS), LSS showed a broader distribution of ages. Possibly the biggest difference between the two samples are the qualification of the participants' parents. Qualification is generally much higher amongst the PBHS group. A large proportion of LSS students indicated that they do not know or prefer not to answer. Finally, a significant proportion of LSS learners had learned about synthetic biology for the first time through the iGEM survey. These results are consistent with known socio-economic differences between the sampled schools. All differences were statistically significant (P* < 0.05)
General perception of synthetic biology
LSS learners were, in general, more unsure about the future than PBHS, while PBHS showed a higher percentage of participants that were apathetic or even negative towards synthetic biology. Encouragingly, both groups felt that the public is insufficiently informed about synthetic biology, slightly more so among PHBS learners. All differences were statistically significant (P* < 0.05).
Consumer choice regarding synthetic biology
Despite mixed opinions and indecision regarding personal use of synthetic biology products in general, both groups were generally positive about the use of synthetic biology products when certain scenarios were mentioned. A greater proportion of PBHS learners responses positively to the specific examples despite being more hesitant about general synthetic biology products. All differences were statistically significant (P* < 0.05), aside from the example of a headache tablet.
Future projections for synthetic biology research
In this question, the LSS learners (previously disadvantaged background) wanted to focus synthetic biology research more on primary needs (agriculture and medicine), while the PBHS learners preferred to focus on environmental science. PBHS learners were also more inclined to reject the continuation of synthetic biology research. The difference between groups was statistically significant (P* < 0.05). We believe the generally post-material upbringing that most PBHS participants have experienced contribute to an inclination toward environmental concerns and pessimism regarding synthetic biology usefulness, compared to the LSS learners.
Relevance of synthetic biology
LSS participants were clearly excited about the future prospects of synthetic biology and its contributions to the lives of South African citizens. A generally positive but somewhat more skeptical response was observed for PBHS learners, a significant difference between the two schools (P* < 0.05).
What are the students' concerns?
Concerns about synthetic biology in LSS reflected issues relating to risk or abuse by people - deliberate attempts to create harmful viruses, in particular:
PBHS learners echoed the concerns of LSS students, particularly a bioterrorism concern, but were more likely to express religious objections (e.g. that synthetic biology is against the Divine order):
Survey conclusions
We were encouraged to record generally positive attitudes regarding synthetic biology and its future application among Grade 11 learners from both previously advantaged and disadvantaged socio-economic groups. As expected, learners from previously advantaged areas were more likely to have been exposed to synthetic biology principles prior to completing the survey, likely due to a higher exposure to television, the internet and social networks. Surprisingly, this exposure did not appear to increase acceptance of synthetic biology among PBHS learners relative to LSS learners. Presumably, learners from previously disadvantaged areas are more cognizant of its value in addressing primary needs (food production and medicine), whereas learners with a post-material background where these basic needs are met are more likely to see synthetic biology as unnecessary, dangerous and unnatural. Future investigation into the variation within previously advantaged and disadvantaged learner groups from different areas will be required to determine whether the trends observed in this survey can be generalised to other schools.