Lerarenopleidingen Science en Wiskunde/Rekenen

Proefschrift Michiel van Harskamp – Ask, find out and act

Michiel van Harskamp

Utrecht: Utrecht University

Ask, find out, and act. Fostering environmental citizenship through science education

Publication Number FI Scientific Library 118

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Sustainability issues are complex, and have scientific, personal, and societal impact. Equipping citizens with the competences to form opinions on sustainability issues, to make decisions, and take corresponding action is an important task of (science) education. Education for Environmental Citizenship (EC) therefore plays an important role in the transition from current unsustainable processes towards a greener future. However, implementing EC aspects such as sustainable opinion-forming, decision-making, and action-taking in science education practice remains challenging for science teachers. This dissertation describes how Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning (SSIBL) was tested for its potential to foster EC through science education at lower secondary level.
This dissertation contains five main chapters which describe the empirical work that we did towards operationalizing EC through SSIBL in science education. These chapters work towards reaching the three main aims of this dissertation. First, we aim to describe current EC practice, and views and experiences of science teachers (chapter 2) and lower secondary students (chapter 3) regarding EC. With this, we set the scene for the other studies. The second aim of this dissertation is to develop and validate an assessment instrument that focusses on EC opinion-forming (chapter 4), a previously uncovered area of assessment. Finally, the third aim of this dissertation is exploring the potential of SSIBL to foster EC through science education at lower secondary level through Lesson Study (chapters 5 and 6).
SSIBL’s three phases of Ask, Find out, and Act offer students an experience during which they can practice their EC competences in the context of science education. This dissertation thereby forms a valuable knowledge base for science teachers and teacher educators who wish to incorporate EC in their teaching practice, for (science) education researchers with an interest in the workings of EC in educational practice, and for policy makers who want to adjust, update, fortify, or expand EC’s current place on the educational agenda. The insights and findings from the work described in this dissertation provide directions for how to foster Environmental Citizenship through science education at lower secondary level.

Chapter 1 – General introduction
Chapter 2 – Secondary science teachers’ views on environmental citizenship in the Netherlands
Chapter 3 – Dutch lower secondary students’ environmental citizenship
Chapter 4 – The environmental citizenship opinions questionnaire: a self-assessment tool for secondary students
Chapter 5 – Sustainability issues in lower secondary science education: a socio-scientific, inquiry-based approach
Chapter 6 – Socio-scientific inquiry-based learning for environmental citizenship
Chapter 7 – General discussion

Verwijzingen

  • Ariza, M. R., Christodoulou, A., Van Harskamp, M., Knippels, M. C. P. J., Kyza, E. A., Levinson, R. and Agesilaou, A. (2021). Socio‐scientific inquiry‐based learning as a means toward environmental citizenship Sustainability, 13(20), 1–22. doi:10.3390/su132011509 .
  • Knippels, M. C. P. J., van Dam, F. and Van Harskamp, M. (Eds.). (2017). Socio-Scientific Inquiry-Based Learning: connecting formal and informal science education with society (PDF). Utrecht: Utrecht University / Parrise.
  • Knippels, M. C. P. J. and van Harskamp, M. (2018). An educational sequence for implementing socio-scientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL) (PDF) School Science Review, 100(371), 46-52. .
  • Van Harskamp, M., Knippels, M. C. P. J. and Van Joolingen, W. R. (2021). Secondary science teachers’ views on environmental citizenship in the Netherlands Sustainability, 13(14), 1-22. doi:10.3390/su13147963 .
  • Van Harskamp, M., Knippels, M. C. P. J. and Van Joolingen, W. R. (2022). Sustainability issues in lower secondary science education: a socioscientific, inquiry-based approach. In Y.-S. Hsu, R. Tytler and W. P. J. (Eds.), Innovative approaches to socioscientific issues and sustainability education : linking research to practice (pp. 181–198). Singapore: Springer.
  • Van Harskamp, M., Knippels, M. C. P. J., Boeve-De Pauw, J. N. and Van Joolingen, W. R. (2023). The environmental citizenship opinions questionnaire: a self-assessment tool for secondary students Frontiers in Education, 2023(8), 1-12. doi:10.3389/feduc.2023.1182824 .

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