Environmental Citizen Science in Schools: Impacts on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviour

Abstract

Schools are important places for citizen science (CS) as they can be valuable in ensuring that participation better represents the broader population, and they provide opportunities for students to experience authentic science practices. We present results from a study in eight Hong Kong schools with 187 secondary students (ages 11–19) who participated in CS activities in the 2020–2021 academic year. An adapted behaviour psychology framework underpinned the construction of the survey instrument, and a pretest-posttest research design was used to examine the effects of environmental CS activities on student values, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours. We find that short one-time experiences of nature-based environmental CS projects have a small positive effect on knowledge, and the frequency and range of pro-environmental behaviours, while also having a small negative effect on preservation values and confidence in one’s self-efficacy. After CS project experiences, the environmental behaviour psychology factors that most influence pro-environmental behaviours are: (i) time in nature and environmental centres, (ii) nature preservation values, (iii) household environmental actions, (iv) exposure to positive news about environmental actions, and (v) values about nature as a resource. We argue that providing opportunities for students to engage in nature-based citizen science-embedded experiential education can lead to greater frequency and range of pro-environmental actions. We share practical implications for educators and CS project organisers who want to apply citizen science approaches as part of their school environmental education programme.