Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study investigated the informal science education (ISE) field to determine whether it currently functions as an effective community of practice. Research questions included: How do professionals describe and self-identify their practice, including what missions, goals and motivating factors influence their professional work? What challenges do they face and how are these resolved? Is participation in ISE activities perceived as core or peripheral to their work? Open-ended interviews were conducted with high-level representatives of 17 different ISE sub-communities; results were analyzed qualitatively. Findings showed this broad assortment of ISE sub-communities as not currently functioning as a cohesive community of practice. Although examples of shared practice and ways of talking were found, evidence of widespread, active relationship-building over time and coalescence around issues of common concern were absent. A current “map” of the ISE community is proposed and thoughts about how this map could alter in the future are suggested.

Keywords

community of practice informal science education popularization of science public understanding of science science education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bell

Lewenstein

Shouse

Feder

(2009) “Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits.” Washington, DC: Committee on Learning Science in Informal Environments; National Research Council.

Bernard

Ryan

(1998) Qualitative and quantitative methods of text analysis. In: Bernard

(ed.) Handbook of Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 595–646.

Falk

Dierking

(2010) The 95% solution: School is not where most Americans learn most of their science. American Scientist 98: 486–493.

Falk

Storksdieck

Dierking

(2007) Investigating public science interest and understanding: Evidence for the importance of free-choice learning. Public Understanding of Science 16(4): 455–469.

Goodwin

Horowitz

(2002) The methodological strengths and dilemmas of qualitative sociology. Qualitative Sociology 25(1): 33–47.

Lave

Wenger

(1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Sturgis

Allum

(2004) Science in society: Re-evaluating the deficit model of public attitudes. Public Understanding of Science 13: 55–74.

Turner

(2008) School science and its controversies; or, whatever happened to scientific literacy? Public Understanding of Science 17: 55–72.

Wagner

(2007) Vernacular science knowledge: Its role in everyday life communication. Public Understanding of Science 16: 7–22.

10.

Wenger

(1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

11.

Wenger

McDermott

Snyder

(2002) Cultivating Communities of Practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.42 MB

Mapping the informal science education landscape: An exploratory study

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material