50 years ago today we were treated to the continuous "beep-beep" of the first artificial Earth satellite. Sputnik ("traveling companion") was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. [Listen to it here.]It was an exciting time. I remember the thrill of realizing that the space age had truly begun and like many others I tried, unsuccessfully, to find Sputnik in my telescope.
For some, the launch was a traumatic event for another reason. It signaled to the entire world that the Soviet Union was a technologically advanced country. Many interpreted this to mean that science (not technology) education in the Soviet Union was ahead of that in the West. This was not an unreasonable assumption, as it turns out, but not because of Sputnick.
Some improvements in science education were made and, according to popular belief, our students in the West rapidly caught up with those in other countries, only to fall behind again in the 1980's. The truth is certainly more complicated.
Does anyone know of a reliable study of science education in various countries over the past 50 years? What was the real effect of Sputnik in the short term and in the long term?
[Photo credit: Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 4, 2007.]
[See Bad Astronomy for more information and links about Sputnik I.
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