Learning and the transformative potential of citizen science |
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Authors: | Györgyi Bela Taru Peltola Juliette C Young Bálint Balázs Isabelle Arpin György Pataki Jennifer Hauck Eszter Kelemen Leena Kopperoinen Ann Van Herzele Hans Keune Susanne Hecker Monika Su?kevi?s Helen E Roy Pekka Itkonen Mart Külvik Miklós László Corina Basnou Joan Pino Aletta Bonn |
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Institution: | 1. Environmental Social Science Research Group, Budapest, Hungary;2. Université Grenoble Alpes, Irstea, St‐Martin‐d'Hères, France;3. Finnish Environment Institute, Joensuu, Finland;4. NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh, U.K.;5. Department of Decision Science, Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary;6. Department Ecosystem Services, UFZ‐ Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany;7. German Center for integrative Bioidversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;8. Mechelininkatu 34a, 00251 Helsinki, Finland;9. Research Institute for Nature and Forest, Brussels, Brussels, Belgium;10. Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia;11. NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, U.K.;12. Technical University in Zvolen/Institute of Landscape Ecology of SAS, Bratislava, Slovak Republic;13. CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain;14. Univ Autònoma Barcelonas, Spain;15. Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany |
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Abstract: | The number of collaborative initiatives between scientists and volunteers (i.e., citizen science) is increasing across many research fields. The promise of societal transformation together with scientific breakthroughs contributes to the current popularity of citizen science (CS) in the policy domain. We examined the transformative capacity of citizen science in particular learning through environmental CS as conservation tool. We reviewed the CS and social‐learning literature and examined 14 conservation projects across Europe that involved collaborative CS. We also developed a template that can be used to explore learning arrangements (i.e., learning events and materials) in CS projects and to explain how the desired outcomes can be achieved through CS learning. We found that recent studies aiming to define CS for analytical purposes often fail to improve the conceptual clarity of CS; CS programs may have transformative potential, especially for the development of individual skills, but such transformation is not necessarily occurring at the organizational and institutional levels; empirical evidence on simple learning outcomes, but the assertion of transformative effects of CS learning is often based on assumptions rather than empirical observation; and it is unanimous that learning in CS is considered important, but in practice it often goes unreported or unevaluated. In conclusion, we point to the need for reliable and transparent measurement of transformative effects for democratization of knowledge production. |
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Keywords: | biodiversity collaborative assessment participation science– society– policy interactions transformative learning aprendizaje transformador biodiversidad interacciones participació n polí tica ciencia‐sociedad valoració n colaborativa |
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