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

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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

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