A visit to a science museum or planetarium during high school may do more than spark a moment of curiosity. New research suggests that these informal learning experiences are associated with a stronger sense of scientific identity by the end of eleventh grade, even after accounting for students’ prior attitudes toward science, academic preparation, demographic characteristics and school environments. The study, based on a nationally representative U.S. dataset, found that students who visited a science museum or planetarium between ninth and eleventh grade scored about 0.07 standard deviations higher on a measure of science identity than comparable students who did not. The effect was modest, but it remained statistically significant after extensive adjustment for differences between visitors and nonvisitors. The findings offer large-scale evidence that informal science settings can influence how teenagers understand their place in the scientific world, while also exposing stark inequalities in who gets access to those experiences and who benefits most from them.

The study analyzed data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, a federal survey that began with approximately 23,000 ninth-grade students and followed them through high school and beyond. The analysis focused on 7,290 students attending 935 high schools, using information collected in ninth grade and again at the end of eleventh grade. Of the students included, 2,956, or 40.5 percent, reported visiting a science museum or planetarium during the intervening years. The outcome was a standardized science-identity score developed by the National Center for Education Statistics from two questions: whether students saw themselves as “a science person” and whether they believed others saw them that way. The measure captures an important dimension of identity known as recognition—the feeling that science belongs to one’s self-concept and that this identity is acknowledged by other people. It is not the same as a test score or a direct measure of scientific knowledge, but researchers consider it a significant predictor of persistence in STEM education and careers.

Because students are not randomly assigned to visit museums, the researchers used statistical methods designed to reduce the effects of self-selection. Students who visit museums may already be more interested in science, have greater academic confidence or come from families with more resources. Any of those factors could independently increase their science identity. To address this problem, the study first estimated each student’s probability of visiting a museum based on a broad set of ninth-grade characteristics. These included socioeconomic status, gender, race and ethnicity, school location, school-sponsored STEM programs, mathematics achievement, science-class interest, educational aspirations, course-taking, participation in science clubs and the frequency of using the internet for science and technology information. The researchers then applied inverse probability of treatment weighting, which gives greater statistical weight to students whose actual participation differs from what would have been predicted from their background. After weighting, the visitor and nonvisitor groups were closely balanced on all observed characteristics.

The analysis then used a doubly robust estimator, combining the statistical weighting with a regression model that included the same baseline variables. This approach is called “doubly robust” because the estimate remains reliable if either the model predicting museum visits or the model predicting science identity is correctly specified. The researchers also incorporated the survey’s longitudinal weights to account for the study’s complex sampling design and used robust standard errors to reduce the influence of unequal variance and other design effects. Extreme cases with very low or high predicted probabilities of visitation were removed to ensure that the comparison involved students from overlapping opportunity environments. The estimated association between museum visitation and later science identity remained stable as additional groups of variables were introduced. In the fully adjusted model, museum visitors had a coefficient of 0.069, with a standardized effect size of 0.036 and a probability value below 0.001. That translates to roughly seven hundredths of a standard deviation on the identity scale.

The researchers interpret the result through two complementary theories. Science identity theory describes scientific identity as involving competence, performance, interest and recognition. A museum can potentially contribute to all four: interactive exhibits may help students understand scientific ideas, hands-on activities can let them perform scientific practices, self-directed exploration may reinforce interest, and interactions with peers, family members or educators may provide recognition. Situated expectancy-value theory adds a motivational explanation. It proposes that students’ choices depend partly on whether they expect to succeed and whether they value an activity as enjoyable, useful or important to who they are becoming. Unlike a classroom lesson constrained by grades and a fixed curriculum, a museum allows visitors to choose what to examine, how long to stay and how to engage. That autonomy may make scientific activity feel personally meaningful. The study did not directly measure these mechanisms, however, so it cannot establish whether the effect came from exhibit design, social interaction, teacher preparation, role models, family conversations or some combination of factors.

The results also reveal that access to science museums is distributed along a steep socioeconomic gradient. Compared with students in the lowest socioeconomic quintile, students in the third quintile had 1.421 times the odds of visiting, those in the fourth had 1.746 times the odds, and those in the highest had 2.276 times the odds. Among museum visitors, students from the highest socioeconomic group made up 36.4 percent of the sample, compared with 23.8 percent of nonvisitors before statistical adjustment. The gradient likely reflects more than admission prices. Transportation, distance, parents’ work schedules, knowledge of enrichment opportunities and the ability to organize activities all shape whether a museum visit is feasible. Students in suburban schools were also more likely to visit than those in rural schools. The findings suggest that museums may be powerful educational resources, but their benefits are often placed behind economic and geographic barriers. A resource that is nominally open to everyone can remain functionally inaccessible to many families.

Participation patterns by gender and ethnicity produced an especially striking paradox. Female students were more likely than male students to report visiting a science museum or planetarium, with 1.345 times the odds of visitation. Latino students were also more likely to visit than the broader comparison group, while Black students were less likely. Yet female students reported significantly lower science identity than male students, and Latino students also reported lower identity than the overall population. In the fully adjusted outcome model, being female was associated with a science-identity coefficient of −0.092, while the coefficient for Latino students was −0.078. These differences persisted even after accounting for prior identity, achievement, interest and learning experiences. The pattern indicates that exposure alone does not guarantee that students will feel recognized as scientists. Museum environments may not represent diverse scientists sufficiently, may offer unequal opportunities for participation, or may fail to connect an engaging visit with sustained encouragement and support. The same experience can therefore produce different identity gains depending on how students are positioned socially and how others respond to them.

Other factors in the study reinforced the importance of early confidence and sustained engagement. Ninth-grade science identity was the strongest predictor of eleventh-grade identity, with a coefficient of 0.351 in the weighted model. Mathematics achievement and science-class interest were also significant predictors, as were expectations of earning a master’s or doctoral degree. Students who participated in a science club in ninth grade had stronger later science identities, and those who more frequently used the internet for science and technology information were also more likely to identify with science. By contrast, participation in a math or science camp and reading science books or magazines did not reach statistical significance in the fully adjusted model. These differences suggest that the social and active dimensions of science engagement may matter as much as exposure to information. A club, museum or other setting that lets young people discuss ideas, manipulate objects, receive feedback and imagine a future role may affect identity differently from a more solitary encounter with scientific content.

The researchers caution that the results should not be treated as definitive proof that museum visits cause stronger science identities. Although the longitudinal design establishes that visits occurred before the eleventh-grade outcome, unmeasured factors such as parental involvement, intrinsic curiosity, neighborhood proximity to museums and the quality of the visit could still influence both participation and identity. The study measured whether students had made any visit between ninth and eleventh grade, not how often they went, how long they stayed, whether the visit was organized by a school or family, or what kind of museum they attended. The data were collected from 2009 to 2012, before the widespread adoption of many digital and technology-mediated forms of informal STEM learning. The identity measure also captured recognition but not all aspects of competence, performance and interest. Even so, a sensitivity analysis found that an unobserved factor would need to explain at least 3.97 percent of the remaining variation in both visitation and science identity to eliminate the estimated association entirely, using prior science identity as a benchmark. The evidence therefore supports a robust relationship, while leaving the precise causal pathway open.

For schools and museums, the findings point toward a strategy more ambitious than simply increasing attendance. School-organized trips, transportation partnerships, subsidized admission and targeted outreach could help reduce the economic barriers that shape who enters informal science spaces. But equitable access should be paired with equitable design. Museums could feature scientists from a wider range of racial, ethnic and gender backgrounds, provide structured opportunities for students to collaborate and experiment, and train educators to offer affirming feedback that helps visitors see scientific activity as something they can do. Pre-visit preparation and post-visit classroom work may also transform a one-day excursion into a continuing identity-building experience. Future research will need to determine which kinds of visits are most effective, whether benefits differ across student groups and whether stronger science identity eventually translates into STEM majors, persistence in STEM programs or entry into scientific careers. The central message is both encouraging and urgent: science museums can help teenagers imagine themselves as scientists, but the institutions and systems around those visits will determine who gets the opportunity, who feels that invitation is meant for them and whether the spark survives after the exhibits disappear.

The study centers on a professional development initiative linked to the Community Action Projects for the Environment (CAPE) curriculum, a framework rooted in Earth Force’s Environmental Action Civics model. CAPE empowers youth aged 11 to 18 by providing a structured pathway to identify local environmental problems, conduct in-depth research on their root causes, engage meaningfully with policymakers and community decision-makers, and advocate for impactful change. This curriculum represents a nuanced pedagogical approach aimed at transforming young learners into active agents of environmental stewardship within their communities.

Central to the research was the interrogation of informal educators’ confidence in guiding these civic projects. Such educators—found in museums, science centers, zoos, and other informal educational settings—are uniquely positioned at the intersection of science communication and community engagement. Nevertheless, their own preparedness and self-efficacy in facilitating advocacy-focused civic engagement, which demands competencies distinct from traditional environmental education, have been largely underexamined until now. The study thus fills a critical gap by assessing the confidence levels of those educators expected to catalyze youth-led environmental movements.

Methodologically, the research engaged 79 informal educators who partook in CAPE workshops designed to enhance their capabilities for leading civic action projects. Utilizing a pre- and post-workshop survey format, participants rated their confidence across dimensions such as fostering civic engagement, employing inclusive learning strategies, and supporting youth-driven environmental interventions. The survey deployed a 16-item Likert scale to capture nuanced shifts in self-efficacy, complemented by qualitative responses to understand educators’ resource needs. Despite logistical challenges in securing full survey participation, the data collected provided a robust foundation for evaluating changes in educators’ self-perceptions.

One of the study’s most compelling and unexpected findings was a slight but non-significant decrease in educator confidence following the workshops. This counterintuitive result points to an intricate dynamic: many educators initially conflated civic engagement with service learning, where projects tend to emphasize short-term, individual hands-on activities. However, CAPE’s advocacy-based framework requires long-term commitment, strategic policymaker engagement, and community organizing skills. As educators recalibrated their understanding of what civic engagement entails, a momentary dip in self-efficacy surfaced, possibly reflecting heightened awareness of the challenges inherent in these complex projects.

Despite this apparent drop in self-assurance, the findings underscore an enduring enthusiasm among informal educators for facilitating youth-led civic action. Their belief in young people’s potential to drive substantive environmental reforms remains robust. Participants articulated a strong sense of mission about the importance of empowering youth to engage with pressing ecological concerns in their communities. This enduring commitment is a promising indicator that, with targeted support, educators can overcome initial uncertainties to become effective facilitators of environmental advocacy.

However, the study also illuminated substantial barriers that educators face in the implementation of such civic engagement curricula. Key obstacles identified include insufficient time within existing program structures, lack of adequate resources tailored for diverse learner needs, and the absence of comprehensive strategies to foster equitable participation. Addressing these roadblocks is essential to realize the full potential of community-centered environmental education programs like CAPE. The insights gathered point to systemic challenges that extend beyond individual educator confidence to institutional and structural dimensions.

In response to these findings, the research team has emphasized the necessity of refining and enhancing professional development programs to better equip informal educators for their pivotal roles. This entails not only deepening educators’ conceptual understanding of environmental civic engagement but also providing practical strategies for creating inclusive, supportive learning environments. Workshops and training modules must incorporate methodologies that reinforce educators’ abilities to guide students in advocacy efforts, from effective communication techniques to strategic community engagement practices.

At the core of these enhanced training efforts lies a focus on dismantling misconceptions about civic engagement and differentiating it clearly from related but distinct educational approaches like service learning. By fostering clarity, educators can develop realistic self-assessments of their skills and, consequently, targeted professional growth plans. The research advocates for ongoing mentorship and peer support networks to sustain educator motivation and confidence as they navigate the demanding terrain of environmental civic facilitation.

This research contributes crucial empirical data to the growing discourse on environmental education, particularly within informal settings that often provide innovative avenues for science learning outside traditional classrooms. It highlights the significance of educator self-efficacy as a determinant of successful youth engagement in civic action and environmental problem-solving. By understanding the psychological and practical challenges informal educators face, institutions can tailor support mechanisms that enable sustained youth involvement and amplified community impact.

Moreover, the study’s revelations regarding the cognitive recalibration that educators undergo when confronted with the authentic demands of civic action projects have implications for curriculum design, educator recruitment, and evaluation metrics. Realistic expectations and ongoing capacity building emerge as critical factors for fostering durable educator participation and efficacy in facilitating youth advocacy on environmental issues. The work thus provides a blueprint for aligning educational frameworks with the evolving landscape of environmental challenges and civic engagement strategies.

In sum, this investigation presents a nuanced portrait of informal educators’ journeys as they grapple with their evolving roles as civic facilitators amidst an environmental urgency. While initial confidence may ebb as deeper insights emerge, commitment to youth empowerment and environmental stewardship remains a galvanizing force. By integrating research-informed training enhancements and systemic resource support, the informal education sector can reinforce its vital function in nurturing the next generation of environmentally engaged citizens prepared to enact lasting, community-driven change.

The ongoing collaboration between the Florida Museum of Natural History and supporting entities such as the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the ee360+ program signals a promising trajectory for advancing education models that marry science learning with civic activism. The study’s outcomes not only inform these initiatives but also offer transferable lessons for similar programs nationwide and globally. Empowering informal educators thus stands as a critical leverage point in confronting the climate crisis through informed, action-oriented youth participation.

As environmental challenges mount, fostering educator readiness is paramount to enable science communication that transcends awareness and fuels tangible community engagement. This study’s insights invite deeper dialogue, investment, and innovation in the informal science education arena. They signal that successful implementation of civic action curricula demands an ecosystem of informed educators, resource availability, and systemic support to catalyze empowered youth voices shaping a sustainable future.

Subject of Research: Self-efficacy of informal educators facilitating youth civic engagement projects focused on environmental issues.

Article Title: Informal Educators’ Self-Efficacy for Facilitating Youth Civic Engagement for the Environment

News Publication Date: 27-May-2025

Web References:
10.1080/10598650.2025.2466227

Image Credits: Florida Museum of Natural History

Keywords: Climate change, Museums, Education, Education research, Teacher training, Science teaching