- Title
- Mapping epistemic cultures and learning potential of participants in citizen science projects
- Creator
- Vallabh, Priya, Lotz-Sisitka, Heila, O'Donoghue, Rob B, Schudel, Ingrid J
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/128939
- Identifier
- vital:36192
- Identifier
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12701
- Description
- The ever-widening scope and range of global change and interconnected systemic risks arising from people–environment relationships (social‐ecological risks) appears to be increasing concern among, and involvement of, citizens in an increasingly diversified number of citizen science projects responding to these risks. We examined the relationship between epistemic cultures in citizen science projects and learning potential related to matters of concern. We then developed a typology of purposes and a citizen science epistemic‐cultures heuristic and mapped 56 projects in southern Africa using this framework. The purpose typology represents the range of knowledge‐production purposes, ranging from laboratory science to social learning, whereas the epistemic‐cultures typology is a relational representation of scientist and citizen participation and their approach to knowledge production. Results showed an iterative relationship between matters of fact and matters of concern across the projects; the nexus of citizens’ engagement in knowledge‐production activities varied. The knowledge‐production purposes informed and shaped the epistemic cultures of all the sampled citizen science projects, which in turn influenced the potential for learning within each project. Through a historical review of 3 phases in a long‐term river health‐monitoring project, we found that it is possible to evolve the learning curve of citizen science projects. This evolution involved the development of scientific water monitoring tools, the parallel development of pedagogic practices supporting monitoring activities, and situated engagement around matters of concern within social activism leading to learning‐led change. We conclude that such evolutionary processes serve to increase potential for learning and are necessary if citizen science is to contribute to wider restructuring of the epistemic culture of science under conditions of expanding social-ecological risk.
- Format
- 16 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Conservation Biology, Vallabh, P., Lotz-Sisitka, H., O'Donoghue, R. and Schudel, I., 2016. Mapping epistemic cultures and learning potential of participants in citizen science projects. Conservation Biology, 30(3), pp.540-549., Conservation Biology number 30 number 3 540 549 2016 1523-1739
- Rights
- Phytochemistry letters
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor & Francis Online Terms & Conditionas statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)
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Vallabh, Priya (Ms)
Schudel, Ingrid Joan(Assoc Prof)
O'Donoghue, Rob B (Prof)
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Global Change Social Learning Systems Development: Transformative Learning and Green Skills Learning (ELRC)
Lotz-Sisitka, Heila (Distinguished Professor)
RU Department of Education
SDG 04. Quality Education
SDG 15. Life On Land
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