ERIC Number: EJ1462961
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2576-6767
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Learning and Belonging in a Museum-School Environmental Stewardship Partnership
Joanna K. Garner; Mel Kuhn; Andrea M. Rocchio; Grace Friedenreich
Journal of STEM Outreach, v8 n1 2025
Students in urban, low-income communities can lack access to environmental science outreach in natural settings. As a result, they may face barriers to applying course content to real-world contexts and developing an agentic, hopeful stance towards environmental stewardship. In this paper, we describe a partnership between a maritime museum and park, an urban school district, and ecology experts. The project aimed to increase students' knowledge of aquatic ecosystems, develop awareness of stewardship-related actions and career pathways, and support a sense of belonging to the museum. Activities included classroom visits by experts, field trips to plant classroom-grown grasses in the museum's lake, and teacher professional development. A single-group, pre-test/posttest design investigated changes in N=148 high school students' knowledge, along with post-program environmental stewardship attitudes and sense of belonging to the site. A paired t-test revealed a significant increase in knowledge scores. Changes were evident in students' ability to identify environmental problems and solutions. Post-program, environmental hope was significantly correlated with scientific knowledge and sense of belonging. Open-ended responses revealed elaborative processing of STEM content, students' sense of agency towards environmental action, and self-perceptions as an environmental steward. Implications for the conceptualization and design of field-based STEM outreach are discussed.
Descriptors: Museums, Urban Schools, Partnerships in Education, Ecology, Water, Consciousness Raising, Career Pathways, Sense of Belonging, Learning Activities, Field Trips, Faculty Development, Secondary School Science, High School Students, Biology, Environmental Education, Disadvantaged, Water Pollution
Journal of STEM Outreach. PMB 0367, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203. e-mail: jstemoutreach@vanderbilt.edu; Web site: https://www.jstemoutreach.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A