Abstract:

In recent years, there has been an increase in the use of Citizen Science (CS) in formal education due to its potential to foster scientific literacy. However, to ensure that the use of CS in formal education contributes to the achievement of the expected student learning outcomes (LO), a systematic and rigorous evaluation of these outcomes is necessary. Without it, any conclusions about the impact of CS activities on students would be premature. This study presents a systematic review of the literature to examine whether students' LO from participating in CS projects in formal compulsory education are evaluated.

The analysis of the identified studies reveals a notable increase in the implementation of CS projects in compulsory education, particularly since 2016, reflecting a growing interest in integrating authentic scientific practices into school contexts. Despite this expansion, a significant proportion of the studies make no mention of students’ LO, and many of those that do refer to them only in a theoretical or hypothetical manner, without empirical validation.

Among the studies that do include evaluation, there is a clear predominance of cognitive LO, especially those related to content knowledge and awareness of the topic under study. Attitudinal aspects, such as interest in science, are also evaluated, albeit to a lesser extent. In contrast, more complex LO, including scientific inquiry skills, under-standing of the nature of science or behavioural changes, are rarely addressed. This imbalance points to a limited and superficial approach to assessment, focused on easily measurable outcomes rather than on deeper dimensions of scientific literacy.

These results indicate a lack of systematic evaluation of the LO of participation in CS projects, with the benefits of the use of CS in compulsory education appearing to be more assumption than evidence.

Keywords:

Citizen science, learning outcomes, evaluation, compulsory education.