European Journal of Health and Biology Education

European Journal of Health and Biology Education, 2013 - Volume 2 Issue 1, pp. 1-16
https://doi.org/10.20897/lectito.201301

Published Online: 15 Aug 2013

Views: 820 | Downloads: 382

Citizen science allows professional scientists and interested volunteers the opportunity to collaborate in scientific research efforts. While much attention has been paid to the credibility of the information that comes from these collaborative efforts, there has been less focus on the impact citizen science programs (CSPs) have on the volunteer participants. The purpose of this study was to measure the impact citizen science programs have on the attitudes of high school students with regards to their sense of self-efficacy regarding marine conservation. Self-efficacy or a person’s sense of “I can” is thought to be a strong predictor of a person’s willingness to participate in conservation actions. Access to marine habitats may be related to high school students’ feelings of self-efficacy regarding marine conservation. This study sought to assess the potential of CSPs to improve student self-efficacy with regards to marine conservation by providing “virtual” access to marine habitats for students in landlocked Ohio. The study also compared the impacts of different forms of participation in citizen science. One group of participants acted solely as data collectors for a CSP, while another was tasked with constructing their own scientific inquiry using data from different CSPs. Results suggest citizen science, as implemented in this study, has little impact on students’ sense of self-efficacy regarding conservation, regardless of the form of participation.

citizen science conservation attitudes conservation self-efficacy science attitudes

• Axelrod, L., & Lehman, D. (1993). Responding to environmental concerns- what factors guide individual action. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13(2), 149-159.
• Bonney, R., Cooper, C. B., Dickinson, J., Kelling, S., Phillips, T., Rosenberg, K. V., & Shirk, J. (2009). Citizen Science: A developing tool for expanding science knowledge and scientific literacy. BioScience, 59(11). 977. doi:10.1525/bio.2009.59.11.9.
• Brossard, D., Lewenstein, B., & Bonney, R. (2005). Scientific knowledge and attitude change: The impact of a citizen science project. International Journal of Science Education, 27(9), 1099-1121.
• Chiang, T. C., Yang, S. H., & Gwo-Jen, H. (2014). Students' online interactive patterns in augmented reality-based inquiry activities. Computers & Education, 7897-108. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2014.05.006
• Crall, A., Jordan, R., Holfelder, K., Newman, G., Graham, J., & Waller, D. (2013). The impacts of an invasive species citizen science training program on participant attitudes, behavior, and science literacy. Public Understanding of Science, 22(6), 745-764.
• Dickinson, J. L., Shirk, J., Bonter, D., Bonney, R., Crain, R. L., Martin, J., & Purcell, K. (2012). The current state of citizen science as a tool for ecological research and public engagement. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 10(6), 291-297 doi:10.1890/110236.
• Jenkins, L. L. (2011). Using citizen science beyond teaching science content: A strategy for making science relevant to students' lives. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(2), 501-508.
• Jordan, R. J., Crall, A., Gray, S., Phillips, T., & Mellor, D. (2015). Citizen science as a distinct field of inquiry. Bioscience, 65(2), 208-211.
• Jordan, R. C., Gray, S. A., Howe, D. V., Brooks, W. R., & Ehrenfeld, J. G. (2011). Knowledge gain and behavioral change in citizen-science programs. Conservation Biology, 25(6), 1148-1154. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01745.x
• Ketpichainarong, W., Panijpan, B., & Ruenwongsa, P. (2010). Enhanced learning of biotechnology students by an inquiry-based cellulose laboratory. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 5(2), 169-187.
• McGrath, A. L. (2014). Just checking in: The effect of an office hour meeting and learning reflection in an introductory statistics course. Teaching of Psychology,41(1), 83-87.
• Mueller, M., Tippins, D., & Bryan, L. (2012). The future of citizen science. Democracy and Education, 20, 1–12.
• Nganyi, J., Akrofi, J., & Farmer, T., (Eds.). (2010, April, 7). UN atlas of the oceans. Retrieved from http://www.oceansatlas.org/servlet/CDSServlet?status=ND0xODc3JjY9ZW4mMzM 9KiYzNz1rb3M~.
• Ornstein, A (2006). The frequency of hands-on experimentation and student attitudes toward science: A statistically significant relation. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 15(3), 285-297. doi 10.1007/s10956-006-9015-5
• Price, C., & Lee, H. (2013). Changes in participants' scientific attitudes and epistemological beliefs during an astronomical citizen science project. Journal of Research In Science Teaching, 50(7), 773-801
• Riley, A. (2013). Ocean conservation in a landlocked state: Evaluating the attitudes of Ohio high school students. Unpublished manuscript, Global Field Program, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
• Schindler, F. H. (1999). Development of the survey of environmental issue attitudes. Journal of Environmental Education, 30(3), 12.
• Tabernero, C., & Hernández, B. (2012). A motivational model for environmentally responsible behavior. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 15(2), 648-658. doi:10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n2.38876
• Toomey, A. H., & Domroese, M. C. (2013). Can citizen science lead to positive conservation attitudes and behaviors? Human Ecology Review, 20(1), 50-62.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.