Examining Youth Participation and Agency With Environmental Science in Ongoing Museum-Led Citizen Science Programs

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: New Directions in Informal Learning Environments Research: Families, Communities, and Careers

Abstract

In a research-practitioner partnership, we study youth participation in Community and Citizen Science (CCS) programs led by three Natural History Museums in the US and the UK. We analyse the features of the learning settings in long-term monitoring projects that foster or hinder youth participation and science learning, specifically contribution to the development of environmental science agency (ESA). We qualitatively analyzed observations, interviews and surveys (N= 50). We found youth were more likely to develop ESA through field-based experience, authentic science practices and discovery in contexts where educators framed activities as “real” science. Findings suggest youth understanding of the CCS and how their work contributes to scientific research open up opportunities for the ESA development as they experience meaningful roles.

Authors

• Maryam Ghadiri, University of California, Davis

• Heidi Ballard, University of California - Davis

• Julia Lorke, Natural History Museum in London

• Lucy Robinson, Natural History Museum, London

• Jessie Jennewein, Natural history museum of Los Angeles

• Annie Miller, California Academy of Sciences

• Sasha Pratt-Taweh, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

• Lila Higgins, Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County

• Rebecca Johnson, California Academy of Sciences

• Alison Young, California Academy of Sciences