Place-Based Environmental Civic Science: Urban Students Using STEM for Public Good

In the United States, Black and Latinx students are underrepresented in STEM courses and careers due to a dearth of culturally relevant opportunities, which in turn are connected to broader issues of social justice. Place-based environmental civic science offers potential for addressing these issues by enabling students to apply their STEM learning to mitigate local environmental problems. By civic science we refer to science in which all citizens, not just experts, engage for the public good. In this paper, we report on a study in which we followed middle-and high-school science and math classes in urban schools serving racial/ethnic minoritized students as they engaged in an innovative contextualized curriculum—a place-based civic science model in which students work with STEM community partners to address an environmental issue in their community. We draw from students’ open-ended reflections on what they learned from participating in place-based environmental civic science projects that could help their communities. Thematic analyses of reflections collected from 291 students point to beliefs in the usefulness of science to effect community change. Students articulated the science they learned or used in the project and how it could affect their community; they made references to real world applications of science in their project work and made links between STEM and civic contributions. In their own words, the majority of students noted ways that STEM was relevant to their communities now or in the future; in addition, a subset of students expressed changes in their thinking about how they personally could apply science to positively impact their communities and the ties between STEM and social justice. Analyses also point to a sense of confidence and purpose students gained from using STEM learning for their goals of community contribution. Results of this study suggest that focusing on local place as a foundation for students’ STEM learning and linking that learning to the civic contributions they can make, cultivates students’ perceptions of how they can use science to benefit their communities. Findings also suggest that engaging students in place-based civic science work provides effective foundations for nurturing STEM interest and addressing the underrepresentation of youth of color in STEM.

Identification of Needs of Community Schools of Kavre, Nepal for Educational Improvement

Needs assessment is a method to find out the current needs of the school that can be considered for providing quality education to the students. This paper presents the needs of five community schools intending to bring changes in the school community. Thus, this paper aims to identify the needs of the five community schools of Kavre, Nepal, and recommend possible interventions. In-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders provided rich data for this study. School-specific needs were identified from the data based on which recommendations are made for intervention, which are: Teacher professional development, contextualized curriculum, use of technology, and development of school gardening and urine diverting toilet, which would ultimately help to improve education fulfilling the fourth goal of sustainable development.

Currículo contextualizado em escolas do campo: relatos de uma experiência

RESUMOEste trabalho apresenta um recorte de uma discussão sobre contextualização a partir da pesquisa intitulada: “Currículo contextualizado: trilhando caminhos para a valorização da identidade campesina”, cujo objetivo foi analisar como o processo de contextualização curricular contribui para a valorização da realidade do campo. A abordagem metodológica utilizada foi qualitativa do tipo estudo de caso; como instrumento de coleta de dados, utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada realizada com nove profissionais da educação do campo de uma instituição escolar da zona rural, localizada no município de Bananeiras/PB. Os dados foram analisados por meio da Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin (2011); foram organizadas quatro categorias: currículo, contextualização, identidade e educação do campo. Apresenta-se aqui a categoria Contextualização, enfatizando como o contexto campesino pode contribuir para que o ensino seja significativo. Constatou-se que a contextualização reforça a valorização da identidade campesina, da escola e do local em que a mesma está inserida.Contextualização. Currículo. Educação do Campo.Contextualized curriculum in country schools: reports of an experience ABSTRACT This paper presents a clipping of a discussion about contextualization from the research entitled: “Contextualized Curriculum: Walking Paths for the Appreciation of Peasant Identity”, whose objective was to analyze how the process of curricular contextualization contributes to the appreciation of the reality of the field. The methodological approach used was a qualitative case study, as a data collection instrument was used the semi-structured interview conducted with nine field education professionals from a rural school institution located in Bananeiras/PB. Data were analyzed using Bardin's Content Analysis (2011), four categories were organized: curriculum, contextualization, identity and field education. The category Contextualization is presented here, emphasizing how the peasant context can contribute to meaningful teaching. It was found that the contextualization reinforces the appreciation of the peasant identity, the school and the place where it is inserted. Contextualization. Curriculum. Field Education. Curriculum contestualizzato ne le scuole de le aree rurali: il raconto di un vissuto RIASSUNTO Questo lavoro espone una discussione sulla contestualizzazione basata sulla ricerca dal titolo: "Curriculum contestualizzato: la via per la valorizzazione dell'identità rurale", il cui obiettivo é analizzare come il processo ha contribuito ne la valutazione del le persone che vivono ne le aree rurali. Un approccio metodologico utilizzato per il tipo qualitativo di studio, come strumento per la raccolta di dati utilizzati in un'intervista semi-strutturata condotta con il nove maestri di un istituto scolastico dell'area rurale nella cittá di Bananeiras/PB. Per le analisi é stata scelta na teoria de Bardin (2011) o datto sono stati organizzati in quattro categorie: curriculum, contestualizzazione, identità e educazione rurale. È presentato qui nella categoria Contextualização, sottolineando come o il contesto contadino può contribuire in modo che non sia significativo. La conclusione fa pensare che contextualizare contribuisce per la valorizzazione dell'identità contadina.Contestualizzazione. Curriculum. Educazione Rurale. Plan de estudios contextualizado en escuelas rurales: informes de una experiencia RESUMEN Este artículo presenta un recorte de una discusión sobre la contextualización de la investigación titulada: “Currículum contextualizado: senderos para la apreciación de la identidad campesina”, cuyo objetivo era analizar cómo el proceso de contextualización curricular contribuye a la apreciación de la realidad del campo. El enfoque metodológico utilizado fue un estudio de caso cualitativo; Como instrumento de recolección de datos, utilizamos una entrevista semiestructurada con nueve profesionales de educación rural de una institución escolar rural, ubicada en el municipio de Bananeiras / PB. Los datos se analizaron utilizando Bardin Content Analysis (2011); Se organizaron cuatro categorías: currículum, contextualización, identidad y educación sobre el terreno. La categoría Contextualización se presenta aquí, enfatizando cómo el contexto campesino puede contribuir a una enseñanza significativa. Se encontró que la contextualización refuerza la apreciación de la identidad campesina, la escuela y el lugar donde se inserta. Contextualización. Plan de estúdios. Educación de campo.