Advancing civic science through university students’ service-learning with youth

Abstract

Drawing upon Dewey’s centering of science as a tool for democracy, the emerging field of civic science aims to strengthen the ties between science, citizenship, and democracy. In the study detailed in this article, the authors sought to understand whether and how university students who are aspiring scientists and science teachers develop civic-minded dispositions and competencies related to civic science. The study employed a qualitative research design that was exploratory yet conceptually rooted in civic development theory and emergent civic science approaches. Using prompted reflections focusing on the intersection of scientific and civic realms, this study explored the ways in which university students who participated in a two-semester service-learning course facilitating science outreach for youth made meaning of the connections between scientific and civic skills and dispositions, and how the service-learning experience influenced their civic identities. The study findings revealed varying levels of sophistication in students' understanding of the relationship between democracy and science; a spectrum of awareness about the ways inequity impacts younger students’ relationship to science and about the implications for democracy and science; and important insights into the ways university students integrate their learning through applied science teaching into their personal civic identities. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for well-designed service-learning opportunities in the sciences.