When ranked and compared to students in other countries, students in the United States of America consistently rank below their peers in science knowledge. Among the many recommendations for increasing the science knowledge of students is a merge of informal science education (ISE) and public and private science classrooms. There is limited research focused on (1) the historical trends of research conducted in informal science education including the methodologies employed and pedagogical practices revealed and (2) the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of formal science educators, who hold dual positions in the classroom and in an informal science setting. This dissertation includes two studies which are written as articles: (1): the completion of a content analysis of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2006-2021 and one book (Preparing Informal Educators) and (2): a qualitative exploratory case study using photo-elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended questionnaire. The results from Article 1 (the content analysis) revealed that informal science educators are often not equipped to implement the needed hands-on active educational methods, creative experiences, and memorable experiences to reach young learners. Article II (a qualitative exploratory case study) examined the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of 10 science educators working at a local science museum. This two-article dissertation revealed harmonized pedagogical and epistemological beliefs between formal science educators and informal science educators using CoPs.
","abstract_html":"<p>When ranked and compared to students in other countries, students in the United States of America consistently rank below their peers in science knowledge. Among the many recommendations for increasing the science knowledge of students is a merge of informal science education (ISE) and public and private science classrooms. There is limited research focused on (1) the historical trends of research conducted in informal science education including the methodologies employed and pedagogical practices revealed and (2) the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of formal science educators, who hold dual positions in the classroom and in an informal science setting. This dissertation includes two studies which are written as articles: (1): the completion of a content analysis of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2006-2021 and one book (Preparing Informal Educators) and (2): a qualitative exploratory case study using photo-elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended questionnaire. The results from Article 1 (the content analysis) revealed that informal science educators are often not equipped to implement the needed hands-on active educational methods, creative experiences, and memorable experiences to reach young learners. Article II (a qualitative exploratory case study) examined the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of 10 science educators working at a local science museum. This two-article dissertation revealed harmonized pedagogical and epistemological beliefs between formal science educators and informal science educators using CoPs.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lester, Monique Andrea"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Counseling, Foundations & Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Patricia Patrick","Dr. Michael Dentzau","Dr. Deborah Gober"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-04-07T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-04-07T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:45:08Z","subjects":["Informal Science Education","ISE","Epistemological and Pedagogical Beliefs","Informal Science Educators","CoPs","Curriculum and Instruction","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Science and Mathematics Education"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/463","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Patricia Patrick","Dr. Michael Dentzau","Dr. Deborah Gober"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lester, Monique Andrea"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-04-25T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Counseling, Foundations & Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Informal Science Education","ISE","Epistemological and Pedagogical Beliefs","Informal Science Educators","CoPs","Curriculum and Instruction","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Science and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/463"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["When ranked and compared to students in other countries, students in the United States of America consistently rank below their peers in science knowledge. Among the many recommendations for increasing the science knowledge of students is a merge of informal science education (ISE) and public and private science classrooms. There is limited research focused on (1) the historical trends of research conducted in informal science education including the methodologies employed and pedagogical practices revealed and (2) the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of formal science educators, who hold dual positions in the classroom and in an informal science setting. This dissertation includes two studies which are written as articles: (1): the completion of a content analysis of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2006-2021 and one book (Preparing Informal Educators) and (2): a qualitative exploratory case study using photo-elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended questionnaire. The results from Article 1 (the content analysis) revealed that informal science educators are often not equipped to implement the needed hands-on active educational methods, creative experiences, and memorable experiences to reach young learners. Article II (a qualitative exploratory case study) examined the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of 10 science educators working at a local science museum. This two-article dissertation revealed harmonized pedagogical and epistemological beliefs between formal science educators and informal science educators using CoPs.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Using the Community of Practice Framework to Examine Informal Science Educators' Epistemological and Pedagogical Beliefs in Informal Science"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Patricia Patrick","Dr. Michael Dentzau","Dr. Deborah Gober"],"dc:creator":["Lester, Monique Andrea"],"dc:date.available":["2022-04-25T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["When ranked and compared to students in other countries, students in the United States of America consistently rank below their peers in science knowledge. Among the many recommendations for increasing the science knowledge of students is a merge of informal science education (ISE) and public and private science classrooms. There is limited research focused on (1) the historical trends of research conducted in informal science education including the methodologies employed and pedagogical practices revealed and (2) the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of formal science educators, who hold dual positions in the classroom and in an informal science setting. This dissertation includes two studies which are written as articles: (1): the completion of a content analysis of 30 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2006-2021 and one book (Preparing Informal Educators) and (2): a qualitative exploratory case study using photo-elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and an open-ended questionnaire. The results from Article 1 (the content analysis) revealed that informal science educators are often not equipped to implement the needed hands-on active educational methods, creative experiences, and memorable experiences to reach young learners. Article II (a qualitative exploratory case study) examined the epistemological and pedagogical beliefs of 10 science educators working at a local science museum. This two-article dissertation revealed harmonized pedagogical and epistemological beliefs between formal science educators and informal science educators using CoPs.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/463"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Informal Science Education","ISE","Epistemological and Pedagogical Beliefs","Informal Science Educators","CoPs","Curriculum and Instruction","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Science and Mathematics Education"],"dc:title":["Using the Community of Practice Framework to Examine Informal Science Educators' Epistemological and Pedagogical Beliefs in Informal Science"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Counseling, Foundations & Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:45:08Z"}