140
Therefore, education represents a key element in counteracting low levels of civic
engagement among young people, namely, through the promotion of democratic
activism (Hodson 2014).
9.2 The Concept of Activism
Activism is a problematic concept, often associated with the social imaginaries of
(a) radical and sometimes violent actions of fanatical groups, (b) practices of indoctrination that don’t respect different points of view (Alsop and Bencze 2009) and (c)
the spectacle of police and protesters clashing in public spaces (Calabrese Barton
and Tan 2010). In some academic contexts (under the influence of Paulo Freire), the
term ‘activism’ is associated with practice devoid of theory – or action without
reflection (Freire 1970/1987). In Freire’s opinion, the world’s transformation
requires a dialectical process between practice and theory (between action and
reflection): theory devoid of practice consists of simple verbalism; and practice
devoid of theory results in blind activism. However, in this chapter, the ‘activism’
refers to a process of collective, democratic, research-informed and negotiated
problem-solving action on socio-environmental problems.
Community research-informed action is frequently considered to be a major
aspect of scientific literacy (Hodson 1998), empowering students as critics and producers of knowledge, instead of placing them in the role of consumers of knowledge
as school science practices often appear to encourage (Colucci-Gray and Camino
2014; Reis 2014; Bencze and Sperling 2012). This broader concept of scientific
literacy includes students’ development as a ‘capacity and commitment to take
appropriate, responsible and effective action on matters of social, economic, environmental and moral-ethical concern’ (Hodson 2003, p. 658). It involves the exercise of students’ environmental rights and duties, as well as the identification of the
underlying structural causes of environmental degradation and environmental problems, developing the willingness and the competences for critical and active engagement and civic participation to address those structural causes, acting individually
and collectively within democratic means and taking into account the inter- and
intra-generational justice (ENEC 2018). Current social and environmental problems
can only be solved through science curricula oriented towards sociopolitical action
in order to ‘produce activists: people who will fight for what is right, good and just;
people who will work to re-fashion society along more socially just lines; people
who will work vigorously in the best interests of the biosphere’ (Hodson 2003,
p. 645). During the last 15 years, several authors have contributed to the development of this purpose, including Larry Bencze (2008), Jean and Laurence Simonneaux
(2012), Steve Alsop and Larry Bencze (2014), Wolff-Michael Roth and Angela
Calabrese Barton (2004) and Deborah Tippins et al. (2010).
Activism is frequently associated with a specific type of citizen science initiatives. The term citizen science has been used for decades to describe the participation of the general public in authentic scientific studies (Mueller and Tippins 2015)
P. Reis
Therefore, education represents a key element in counteracting low levels of civic
engagement among young people, namely, through the promotion of democratic
activism (Hodson 2014).
9.2 The Concept of Activism
Activism is a problematic concept, often associated with the social imaginaries of
(a) radical and sometimes violent actions of fanatical groups, (b) practices of indoctrination that don’t respect different points of view (Alsop and Bencze 2009) and (c)
the spectacle of police and protesters clashing in public spaces (Calabrese Barton
and Tan 2010). In some academic contexts (under the influence of Paulo Freire), the
term ‘activism’ is associated with practice devoid of theory – or action without
reflection (Freire 1970/1987). In Freire’s opinion, the world’s transformation
requires a dialectical process between practice and theory (between action and
reflection): theory devoid of practice consists of simple verbalism; and practice
devoid of theory results in blind activism. However, in this chapter, the ‘activism’
refers to a process of collective, democratic, research-informed and negotiated
problem-solving action on socio-environmental problems.
Community research-informed action is frequently considered to be a major
aspect of scientific literacy (Hodson 1998), empowering students as critics and producers of knowledge, instead of placing them in the role of consumers of knowledge
as school science practices often appear to encourage (Colucci-Gray and Camino
2014; Reis 2014; Bencze and Sperling 2012). This broader concept of scientific
literacy includes students’ development as a ‘capacity and commitment to take
appropriate, responsible and effective action on matters of social, economic, environmental and moral-ethical concern’ (Hodson 2003, p. 658). It involves the exercise of students’ environmental rights and duties, as well as the identification of the
underlying structural causes of environmental degradation and environmental problems, developing the willingness and the competences for critical and active engagement and civic participation to address those structural causes, acting individually
and collectively within democratic means and taking into account the inter- and
intra-generational justice (ENEC 2018). Current social and environmental problems
can only be solved through science curricula oriented towards sociopolitical action
in order to ‘produce activists: people who will fight for what is right, good and just;
people who will work to re-fashion society along more socially just lines; people
who will work vigorously in the best interests of the biosphere’ (Hodson 2003,
p. 645). During the last 15 years, several authors have contributed to the development of this purpose, including Larry Bencze (2008), Jean and Laurence Simonneaux
(2012), Steve Alsop and Larry Bencze (2014), Wolff-Michael Roth and Angela
Calabrese Barton (2004) and Deborah Tippins et al. (2010).
Activism is frequently associated with a specific type of citizen science initiatives. The term citizen science has been used for decades to describe the participation of the general public in authentic scientific studies (Mueller and Tippins 2015)
P. Reis