Building the Bridge to a Participatory Citizenship: Curricular Integration of Communal Environmental Issues in School Projects Supported by the Internet of Things

Abstract

Generally, there is much to praise about the rise in acknowledging the need for young citizens to exercise their rights and duties, but the belief remains that this is not yet entrenched in young citizens’ overall democratic involvement. A lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues was revealed by a recent study conducted by the authors in a secondary school from the outskirts of Aveiro, Portugal, during the 2019/2020 school year. Under the umbrella of a Design-Based Research methodological framework, citizen science strategies were implemented in the context of teaching, learning, and assessment, and at the service of the educational project of the target school, in a STEAM approach, and under Domains of Curricular Autonomy activities. The study’s findings suggest that to build the bridge for participatory citizenship, teachers should engage students in collecting and analyzing data regarding communal environmental issues in a Citizen Science approach supported by the Internet of Things. The new pedagogies addressing the lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues promoted students’ involvement at school and in the community, contributed to inform municipal education policies, and promoted dialogue and communication between local actors.