The Earth Is Out There: Attitudes Of Irish Secondary Students Towards Earth Science

The world is facing a future where geoscience issues with significant social impact are increasingly central, including climate change, clean water, energy and resource management (e.g. mining, fracking), and natural disasters. The disposition of the next generation of citizens, as future voters and as future scientists, is vital if the world is to meet the challenges of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and rising incidences of natural disasters. This paper arises from ongoing educational research undertaken in Irish secondary schools, examining student engagement with and understanding of geoscientific topics. Earth Science is included in the new Science syllabus in Ireland for 12 - 15 year old students (lower secondary level), but so far, no one has studied Irish students’ attitudes towards Earth Science. This is a mixed-methods study involving a survey of secondary schools in Ireland, including urban and rural, and mixed- and single-gender schools. Students representative in age and demographics of the participants are included as consultant voices at multiple stages in the study. Preliminary results from this study will be discussed in detail, focusing on student attitudes towards Earth Science as global and Irish citizens; how they conceptualise human interdependence with and on the planet; and how they consider themselves in different ways connected to or independent from the Earth, the study of Earth Science, and students or children their age elsewhere on the planet facing similar challenges in the era of climate change.