SCIENCE and engineer-ing seem to enjoy a higher prestige than social studies in China, according to a survey carried out in East China's Zhejiang Province, Xinhua News Agency has reported.
The survey, conducted by Zhejiang University's Institute for Human Studies, was the first in China to test Chinese society's literacy in the social sciences. More than 1,900 randomly selected citizens aged between 18 and 69 participated the survey conducted over the past year.
Only 7.5 per cent of citizens were basically literate in social sciences and managed to give the right answers to 18 out of 24 multiple choice questions covering literature, history, philosophy, law, education, economics and administration.
Most of the questions covered simple facts such as which school of thought Confucius - a great thinker, philosopher and educator in China's history - represented and what GDP meant.
The literacy rate among male respondents was 7.8 per cent, slightly higher than the 7.1 per cent for women. But the gap between urban and rural citizens was wider. Some 11.1 per cent of city respondents passed the test compared with 3.8 per cent in the rural group.
About 41 per cent of the respondents listed scientists and research fellows as the most respected people, 39.9 per cent chose public servants and 39.7 per cent went for doctors.
Following were teachers, engineers, lawyers, self-employed businessmen, business executives, private entrepreneurs, journalists, actors and singers, certified public accountants, peasants and blue-collar workers.
Medicine, science and engineering were also the top three professions most respondents hoped their children would follow, while literature, history and philosophy were considered as the last choices.
About 66.6 per cent of the respondents said they were interested in the more practical branches of social sciences, such as economics and law, while only 6 per cent said they were keen in history and literature, and 5.7 per cent in art and aesthetics.
Some 66.8 per cent of the respondents said they learned social sciences in order to enhance their capacity for personal development, and only 18.4 per cent aimed to improve their own aesthetic sensibilities.
"It shows that the public's preferences for certain disciplines were related to the employment opportunities and incomes these professions promised," the Xinhua story said quoting Lian Xiaoming, vice-chairman of the Provincial Federation for Scientists.
Lian worried that the trend would degrade China's research capacities in basic social science studies such as literature, history and philosophy.
An even more noteworthy aspect revealed by the survey was that 68.4 per cent of respondents had not visited a museum or exhibition over the past year, 58.4 per cent had not visited a library or reading room and 35.9 per cent had not entered a bookstore.
Television has become the major source of information for the overwhelming majority of respondents. The survey revealed some changes depending on one's educational experience. Those who had received a college or above education relied more on books and newspapers for information while primary and middle school graduates largely depended on TV and radio broadcasts or on chats with friends and family.
The survey, which was aimed at keeping a record of the social sciences literacy of citizens, will be conducted every five years in Zhejiang. (Star News)
