scholarly journals Science Education for Sustainability: Strengthening Children’s Science Engagement through Climate Change Learning and Action

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlie D. Trott ◽  
Andrea E. Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Science ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
After School ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Science Engagement ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
After School Program

Scientists and sustainability scholars continue to make urgent calls for rapid societal transformation to sustainability. Science education is a key venue for this transformation. In this manuscript, we argue that by positioning children as critical actors for sustainability in science education contexts, they may begin to reimagine what science means to them and to society. This multi-site, mixed-methods study examined how children’s climate change learning and action influenced their science engagement along cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. For fifteen weeks, ten- to twelve-year-olds participated in an after-school program that combined on-site interactive educational activities (e.g., greenhouse gas tag) with off-site digital photography (i.e., photovoice process), and culminated in youth-led climate action in family and community settings. Participants were 55 children (M = 11.1 years), the majority from groups underrepresented in science (52.7% girls; 43.6% youth of color; 61.8% low-income). Combined survey and focus group analyses showed that, after the program, science became more relevant to children’s lives, and their attitudes towards science (i.e., in school, careers, and in society) improved significantly. Children explained that understanding the scientific and social dimensions of climate change expanded their views of science: Who does it, how, and why—that it is more than scientists inside laboratories. Perhaps most notably, the urgency of climate change solutions made science more interesting and important to children, and many reported greater confidence, participation, and achievement in school science. The vast majority of the children (88.5%) reported that the program helped them to like science more, and following the program, more than half (52.7%) aspired to a STEM career. Lastly, more than a third (37%) reported improved grades in school science, which many attributed to their program participation. Towards strengthening children’s science engagement, the importance of climate change learning and action—particularly place-based, participatory, and action-focused pedagogies—are discussed.

scholarly journals Youth-Led Climate Change Action: Multi-Level Effects on Children, Families, and Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12355
Author(s):  
Carlie D. Trott
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
After School ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
After School Program ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Empirical studies of children’s climate change action are rare, especially beyond the formal classroom and among pre-teen youth. This mixed-methods study examined the multi-level impacts of climate action by ten- to twelve-year-olds following an after-school program that used participatory methods to encourage children’s action at household and community levels. Through surveys and focus groups, children reported engaging in a variety of climate-protective actions to reduce their energy use and waste, with some children becoming more physically active as they left behind electronics to play outdoors. Children also provided abundant examples of sharing their climate change knowledge and inspiring action among family and friends, as well as being influential in school and community settings. Findings of the present study shed light on the importance of action opportunities in climate change educational settings, not only for children’s mental and physical health, but for its transformative potential through children’s intra- and intergenerational influence.

Expanding after School Program Access for Vulnerable Students: Examining the Efficacy of Federal Policy and Funding

2021 ◽  
pp. 001312452110045
Author(s):  
Susan K. Klumpner ◽  
Michael E. Woolley
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
After School Programs ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
After School ◽  
School Program ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
School Programs ◽  
After School Program ◽  
Low Income Families

After school programs provide low income students and students of color with learning opportunities across both academic and non-academic domains that such students would otherwise not get. In this study, we examined the intersection of school characteristics (e.g., enrollment size, percent minority enrolled, and percent eligible for FARM) and the types of after school programming schools offered (e.g., fee-based, 21st CCLC, and other types) using binary logistic regression models. I n a sample of schools ( n = 1,601) surveyed by the National Center on Education Statistics 2008 FRSS, we found that under-resourced schools had lower odds of having a 21st CCLC program and higher odds of having a fee-based after school program (than schools with a lower percentage of students receiving FARM). That is counter to the stated goals of the 21st CCLC program. These findings highlight the need for a re-prioritization of 21st CCLC funding such that financial assistance provided to schools to support after school programs is allocated to schools serving students from low income families and communities.

scholarly journals Investigating the Effects of an Energy Drink on Flatworms

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 430-434
Author(s):  
Rhea Miles ◽  
Tonya Little
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Average Velocity ◽  
Energy Drink ◽  
Spring Water ◽  
After School ◽  
School Program ◽  
School Students ◽  
Student Knowledge ◽  
After School Program

One of the goals of the Science Education Against Drug Abuse Partnership (SEADAP) is to increase student knowledge about drugs through the implementation of an inquiry-based curriculum. A science teacher who was a participant in the SEADAP program served as a facilitator for middle school students participating in an after-school program to assist them with designing their own experiment using planarians (flatworms) exposed to caffeine, sugar, and an energy drink. Results indicated that the average velocity of the planarians in 1 mM caffeine, 1 mM sucrose, and 0.1% Monster Energy drink increased in comparison to their behavior in spring water. The students also learned that substances such as energy drinks can be lethal to planarians.

scholarly journals Vertical Gardens: Sustainability, Youth Participation, and the Promotion of Change in a Socio-Economically Vulnerable Community in Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Waleska Carolina do Valle Santos ◽  
Diandra Singh ◽  
Livia Delgado Leandro da Cruz ◽  
Luis Paulo de Carvalho Piassi ◽  
Giuliano Reis
Keyword(s):  
Science Education ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
School Science ◽  
Youth Participation ◽  
After School ◽  
Science Program ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
Vulnerable Community ◽  
Field Notes

This article is situated within the intersection of education for social transformation (EST) and ecojustice education (EJE). We have described the benefits of youth participation in an after-school science program offered to socio-economically vulnerable populations in São Paulo (Brazil). More specifically, we explored participants’ changing views of sustainability as they engaged in a 24-week project of their choice: The cultivation of a vertical herb garden. The analysis of our discussions and extensive field notes revealed that during the time participants cared for the garden, they developed: (a) A more accurate (refined) conceptualization of sustainability, (b) an appreciation for alternative and viable ways of producing food in urban settings, and (c) a stronger relationship with one another. In the end, involvement in the vertical garden project proved to be a powerful example of how science education can transform the livelihood of youth by expanding their views on human interconnectedness with all forms of life.

Early Adolescent Critical Consciousness Development in the Age of Trump

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-308
Author(s):  
Heather Kennedy ◽  
Savahanna Matyasic ◽  
Lynn Schofield Clark ◽  
Corey Engle ◽  
Yolanda Anyon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Early Adolescent ◽  
After School ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Consciousness Development ◽  
Political Events ◽  
After School Program ◽  
Critical Action

Political elections have been shown to influence youth civic development. The election of Donald Trump is historic and has elevated precarity for people of color and immigrants, yet we know little about how young people with these identities experienced this potentially catalytic event. Using ethnographic methods, we examined youth and adult discussions that occurred during youth participatory action research in four sites of one after-school program between October 2016 and May 2017, to investigate how the development of critical consciousness occurs among early adolescent youth of color in the context of catalyzing political events. We identified emergent patterns in how young people (a) engaged in critical reflection, (b) weighed political efficacy, and (c) considered engagement in critical action in the wake of Trump’s election. The data revealed that young people’s critical consciousness development ranged from basic to advanced levels. This research highlights the ways that politically catalytic events shape critical consciousness development among early adolescents of color.

scholarly journals Correlation and Wear-Time Compliance of the Wrist-Worn SQORD Activity Monitor Compared to the Actigraph 3TGX in Measuring Free-Living Physical Activity in Low SES Elementary Youth

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
Kelsey McAlister ◽  
Koren Fisher ◽  
Kathleen Wilson ◽  
Risto Marttinen
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
After School ◽  
Wear Time ◽  
Actigraph Accelerometer ◽  
Body Strength ◽  
After School Program ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative

Background and Purpose: Activity trackers have grown increasingly popular, yet research grade accelerometers, like Actigraph, are still very expensive and must be worn on the waist. This study correlated the low-cost wrist-worn SQORD band to the Actigraph accelerometer to assess physical activity (PA) in youth from a low-income area. Methods: Forty-one participants (22:19 male:female; mean age= 10.7 years) in an after-school program participated. Participants wore a waist-worn Actigraph accelerometer and a wrist-worn SQORD for seven days. Abdominal, upper and lower body strength and endurance, and aerobic capacity were assessed through FITNESSGRAM tests. Bivariate correlations were used to analyze the relationship between moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) via the Actigraph and SQORD and to examine relationships between physical fitness and MVPA. Results: At 8- and 10-hour wear-time, compliance with wearing the devices was higher with the SQORD than the Actigraph. A correlation was found between MVPA via SQORD and Actigraph (r=0.651). Neither the SQORD or Actigraph was associated with any fitness measures (r = -0.061; – 0.817). Conclusion: The SQORD appears to be successful in tracking MVPA in youth and was worn more than the Actigraph. Wrist-worn, consumer-grade devices may be a cost-effective alternative to traditional accelerometers for physical education programs and research in low-income populations.

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