Social controversy belongs in the climate science classroom

Walsh, Elizabeth M.; Tsurusaki, Blakely K.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2143

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Echoing calls for an emphasis on preparation for science-related civic engagement (Levy, Oliveira and Harris 2021 ), this study makes the case specifically for leveraging civic disagreement as a potential learning opportunity. Building on prior work on classroom learning and contentious issues (e.g., Walsh and Tsurusaki 2014 ), I argue that greater attention to civic disagreement in the classroom could help prepare youth to navigate the divisive sociopolitical terrain of the twenty-first century in ways that adults have not. Echoing others (McAvoy and Hess 2013 ), this study calls on educators to embrace disagreement—something that is inherently difficult but critically important, as it could mirror the challenges that youth will face as they try to figure out what to do in a volatile civic world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Similarly, other areas of scholarship have argued for engaging students in learning through controversial issues. While much of this work has studied non-science classrooms (e.g., McAvoy and Hess 2013 ), scholars have called for the integration of such issues into science class, with some evidence demonstrating the possibility of learning scientific concepts and practices through confronting controversial issues in the science classroom (Walsh and Tsursaki 2014 ).…”

Section: Background and Motivation: Disagreement In And For Science L...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disagreement as context for science-civic learning: an analysis of discursive resources brought to bear by high school science students

Zummo

2022

Cult Stud of Sci Educ

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Amid a broader sociopolitical milieu of division, disagreement, and uncivil debate, this study investigates instances of disagreement among students in a high school science classroom as they attempt to answer the civic question of what should we do about climate change, a long contentious topic in the USA. Using a theoretical framework that frames relational practices and ideological positions as discursive resources, this study analyzes the resources youth bring to bear within disagreement. Through discourse analysis and qualitative coding of naturalistic moments of disagreement, this study shows that youth leverage diverse constellations of discursive resources when disagreeing over science-civic matters. From this analysis, I suggest paths forward in terms of research and practice in efforts to prepare young people for science-civic participation that will inevitably involve disagreement with others in one’s community.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Background and Motivation: Disagreement In And For Science L...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Disagreement as context for science-civic learning: an analysis of discursive resources brought to bear by high school science students

Zummo

2022

Cult Stud of Sci Educ

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“…A rationale for the moderating role of climate awareness in the relationship between environmental adversity and information needs can be found in studies that claim that concern about climate change is preceded by awareness of its consequences (Arvai et al 2012, Walsh andTsurusaki 2014), such as identifying connections between climate change and health impacts (Yang et al 2018). The experience of adverse climate conditions knowing about the risk may raise concerns greater than the experience of adverse conditions without knowing much about the risk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Climate awareness brings an understanding of the negative effects of climate change and allows for identifying connections between climate change and health impacts (Yang et al 2018). Therefore, the concern about climate change is said to be preceded by knowledge of its consequences (Arvai et al 2012, Walsh andTsurusaki 2014).…”

Section: Environmental Adversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived need for climate information

Tamang

2024

Environ. Res. Commun.

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Understanding that human activities primarily cause climate change is fundamental to driving behavioral change. However, a significant gap exists regarding its anthropogenic nature, with public understanding often lagging behind the scientific consensus. This underscores that previous efforts to bridge this gap have not been effective, highlighting that the reception of information is a complex process influenced by individual perspectives, biases, and preconceptions. Therefore, an individual’s information behavior is crucial in the interrelationship between climate science and the public. This study investigated the factors explaining individuals’ perceived information needs to form a firm opinion about climate change. It explored the roles of information gaps, climate anxiety, and environmental adversity in shaping these needs. The study’s analysis is based on the 2021 Climate Change Opinion Survey (N = 76,328) from Meta’s Data for Good Program. The survey was conducted on Facebook, inviting active users aged 18 and above to participate through their news feeds. It was administered across 31 countries. For the analysis, multinomial logistic regression was employed. The results showed that a high climate information gap and anxiety are positively associated with information needs. Environmental adversity is also positively correlated with climate information needs, but one’s awareness of climate change moderated the association.

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“…It is worth noting that comparable research on information effects in environmental policy-making, which focuses mostly on climate change (Walsh and Tsurusaki 2014; 1 These figures are from a pre-treatment wave of the Swiss Environmental Panel survey whose data we use for the empirical analysis in this paper (Rudolph et al 2021). Malka, Krosnick and Langer 2009), arrives at inconclusive findings on this matter.…”

Section: Theoretical Arguments and Expected Empirical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Could Closing the Knowledge Gap Help in Reducing Global Environmental Impacts of Local Consumption?

et al. 2022

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Social controversy belongs in the climate science classroom

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

Disagreement as context for science-civic learning: an analysis of discursive resources brought to bear by high school science students

Disagreement as context for science-civic learning: an analysis of discursive resources brought to bear by high school science students

Perceived need for climate information

Could Closing the Knowledge Gap Help in Reducing Global Environmental Impacts of Local Consumption?

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