Kapitał naukowy uczniów jako przedmiot analiz teoretycznych i empirycznych

The article is aimed at presenting the category of science capital as a new category in the field of pedagogical research. Science capital as a construct was proposed in the second decade of the 21st century by the team of Louise Archer from King’s College. This category consists of: (1) scientific forms of cultural capital, (2) behavior and practices related to science, and (3) scientific forms of social capital. The text presents the development of this concept together with a discussion of its elements and their meaning. Scientific capital can be one of the greatest wealth of society, and its use depends on the future development of not only individual units, but also the country and the possibility of high achievements in the fields of science. This is a very current issue, therefore it is important to better understand the shaping of the science capital of young people. The text also reviews the previous empirical studies devoted to the analyzed category. On this basis, it was concluded that scientific capital as an educational variable is still subjected to reconceptualization, requires refinement and further exploration.