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When we think of literacy and school, we often default to equipping children and young people with the ability to read, write and count, and the need to teach subject specific knowledge. It was the reality for us during the 90s. Currently, some educational settings already understand literacy and school as nurturing the competencies needed to manage one’s life, including knowing how to understand, use and communicate information throughout our lives.  

But in today’s world – one shaped by rapid change, global challenges and technological innovations – we must widen our definition further. Scientific literacy and the ability to think scientifically should be considered a basic skill. Not only because it’s crucial for understanding the modern world, but because it holds particular power in addressing educational disadvantages. 

Scientific thinking isn’t just a tool for future scientists or engineers. It’s a way of thinking, questioning and making sense of the world. It builds curiosity, resilience and confidence. And for many children and young people, scientific thinking can be a gateway to being able to spot and create new opportunities, contribute to diminishing social inequities, promote well-being and make life more meaningful. 

Cultivating curiosity and experimentation 

According to the OECD report (2025), the quality of teaching is a strong predictor of students’ academic success and five core principles and 20 practices underpin high-quality teaching.  

Of these, at least 12 practices are deeply rooted in the scientific mindset. This emphasises the importance of schools to shift beyond the promotion of literacy to the promoting of scientific literacy, which entails:   

• thinking critically 
• asking questions  
• exploring ideas 
• interpreting evidence 
• participating in scientific processes 
• being able to approach problems or complexity  
• making informed decisions.  

When we cultivate curiosity and experimentation, across all subjects, learners explore, test, discuss and reflect, and they’re not just learning science - they’re learning how to think.  

Real understanding comes when pupils engage actively with ideas and connect learning to their own lives. Therefore, less focus on racing through the curriculum and more time for learners to explore their own questions can foster scientific thinking and lead to academic success particularly in contexts marked by a disadvantaged background.  

When creating more space for curiosity and experimentation in schools, science becomes a way to understand the world, not just a subject in school. 

Everyone can contribute 

It’s easy to assume that big change has to come from above. But the truth is: transformation starts in each of us. We don’t need to wait for a school directive or a new national programme to foster science as a basic skill. Scientific thinking can be built from the ground up by: 

• a teacher who creates space for pupils to investigate 
• a scientist who visits a classroom to share their experience 
• a parent who asks ‘Why do you think that happened?’ at the dinner table 
• a school that centres their practice around curiosity and experimentation 

������Ƶer-led projects, community-based programmes and school exchanges can be powerful tools. With over 10 years of experience and 30,000+ connections between children and scientists in grassroots initiatives that promote scientific literacy and reduce inequalities, our own initiatives have worked across different regions in Europe to broaden pupils’ horizons, build confidence and foster curiosity.  

These are not one-size-fits-all interventions – they’re rooted in each local context. They expose pupils to meaningful, culturally-relevant interactions with science and scientists, sometimes even in the pupils’ heritage languages, fostering multilingualism, role modelling and a perception of science as ‘theirs’ and ‘for them’.  

We’ve seen children and youth speak more confidently and express more positive attitudes towards science and their future. We’ve seen teachers re-engage with their purpose and being more open to new pedagogies. For Tiago Alves, a 15-year-old pupil participating in one of our programmes in London, the opportunity to interact closely with four scientists of the same Portuguese-speaking migrant background gave him the confidence to believe that graduating in physics was a viable possibility for him. Fast forward 10 years, Tiago is currently a PhD physics student at Imperial College London and the first university graduate in his family.  

Science can offer rich, shared experiences that help build cultural capital – visiting a local pond to study ecosystems, watching a chemical reaction in class, exploring the phases of the moon – and pass an important message to every learner: your ideas matter. Through curiosity and experimentation, pupils learn that getting things wrong is not failure – it’s part of the process. This builds resilience and understanding of the world, providing a strong foundation for other subjects and lifelong learning. 

Towards open schools and open minds 

The future needs thinkers, questioners, solvers – and we have them in every classroom. What we need are schools and teaching that nurture those qualities. Educators that value curiosity and experimentation and that see scientific thinking not as optional, but essential. When children are empowered to explore and think critically, they don’t just learn about the world – they learn how to shape it. 

And this is an invitation. We invite you to stop keeping science locked inside textbooks or teaching inside schools. There is a persistent image of scientists working in ivory towers. But aren’t teachers and pupils also working in their ivory towers? Let’s break down the walls. Let’s open the doors. To nature, to community, to collaboration. Let’s teach science as a living, breathing practice that belongs to everyone. Because scientific thinking, just as multilingualism, is an investment for life and a life skill.