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ABSTRACT
Citizen science programs, which engage volunteers in varied aspeicts of scientific research projects, have been widely touted as a promising avenue for enhancing public scientific literacy and scientific civic engagement. The meanings volunteers make of citizen science experiences can influence the ways that scientific information is translated into action. This paper develops a conceptual framework for understanding scientific literacy in terms of personal and civic engagement with science. The framework is explored through a case study of citizen scientists’ reflections on their experiences in an ecologically focused citizen science program. Findings describe ways that participants drew on their citizen science experiences to use and produce science in and for personal and civic contexts. Implications for enhancing connections between citizen science and personal and civic engagement are discussed.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their appreciation for several research assistants that contributed to the case study, as well as staff and volunteer participants at the UEC, whose perspectives were essential to our work.
Ethics statement
This project was conducted under the approval of and in compliance with Marquette University’s Office of Research Compliance human subjects review, reference number HR-2293.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.