Social Activism in Elementary Science Education: A science, technology, and society approach to teach global warming

Abstract As part of a large‐scale instructional intervention research, this study examined elementary students' science knowledge and awareness of social activism with regard to an increased greenhouse effect and global warming. The study involved fifth‐grade students from five elementary schools of varying demographic makeup in a large urban school district in the United States. The study was based on the analysis of students' responses to a writing prompt addressing an increased greenhouse effect and global warming at the beginning of and at the completion of instruction over the school year. The results indicate that students with adequate science knowledge tended to express activism more frequently, and that their expression of activism increased as they gained better science knowledge after the instruction. The results highlight the importance of effective instruction of this contemporary and controversial issue with K‐12 students, so that they come to be aware of this societal problem, take action in solving the problem, and become socially responsible youth and adults. Acknowledgements This work is supported by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Institute of Health (Grant No. REC‐0089231). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position, policy, or endorsement of the funding agencies. The authors acknowledge the valuable feedback from Cory Buxton, Peggy Cuevas, and Jane Sinagub. Notes 1. All the writing samples are presented verbatim.