This study examined empirical research on CCS projects that lead to environmental education outcomes, focusing on studies published through 2018. They found compelling evidence that participating in citizen science positively impacts learning for both individuals and the community.
CCS projects in the review involved a diverse range of environmental topics, from biodiversity monitoring to environmental health. While data collection was the most common activity (81 studies), many projects also involved participants in data analysis (33 studies), reporting results (25 studies), and project planning (18 studies).
The authors found that the more aspects of scientific research that participants were involved in, the more likely they were to demonstrate positive learning outcomes. Projects that included participants in all phases of research (planning, data collection, analysis, and reporting) were particularly effective at promoting environmental behavior change and stewardship.
The review identified several limitations in the existing research, including a heavy reliance on self-reporting rather than objective measurements of learning, a focus on case studies rather than comparative designs, and the potential publication bias toward positive outcomes.
The authors conclude that CCS approaches can be effective strategies for environmental education that tackle both scientific literacy and environmental stewardship, particularly when they involve participants in multiple aspects of the scientific process beyond data collection.
Environmental educators can use this research to design more effective CCS programs by:
- Involving participants in multiple phases of the scientific process, not just data collection. This can include helping define research questions, analyzing the data collected, and sharing findings with others.
- Creating opportunities for collective planning and group discussions that support community connectedness and social learning, which were shown to enhance environmental behavior outcomes.
- Designing projects around local environmental issues of concern to participants, as community-driven projects showed particularly strong outcomes for environmental stewardship.
- Incorporating reflection activities that allow participants to make connections between their CCS participation and environmental actions they can take.
- Including explicit instruction on scientific methods and nature of science concepts, as these outcomes showed mixed results in the studies reviewed.
- Developing more robust assessment methods beyond self-reporting to evaluate learning outcomes, such as embedded assessments, observation protocols, and quality control checks.
The systematic review provides evidence that CCS can be a powerful approach for environmental education that connects scientific understanding with environmental action and stewardship.
The Bottom Line
This systematic review examined 100 empirical studies to identify the environmental education (EE) outcomes of community and citizen science (CCS) projects. The researchers found that CCS approaches to environmental education result in positive learning outcomes for both adults and youth. Key positive outcomes included gains in science content knowledge (56 studies), science inquiry skills (32 studies), community connectedness and cooperation (30 studies), environmental behavior and stewardship (29 studies), and positive attitudes toward science and the environment (16 studies). The review highlights how CCS programs may be particularly effective when involving participants in multiple aspects of environmental research beyond just data collection, such as planning, analysis, and reporting results. The study concludes that participation in environmental science can lead to important EE learning outcomes and provides recommendations for CCS project design.