Why impact evaluation matters in science and environmental education

Science and environmental education experiences really matter to the lives of children and young people. But not every experience is equally beneficial, nor necessarily even positive. Educational institutions need to know what is working and why in order to improve their practices and impacts. Impact evaluation provides an empirical guide to learning practitioners, lighting the way to such improvements. High quality evaluation and audience research that is skillfully conducted enables practitioners to discover what aspects of an experience are working, in what ways, with which types of audiences. This presentation shows a diverse set of case studies highlighting the value of impact evaluation in identifying where science and environmental education is effective, and where it needs to be changed. Examples include evaluation in zoos, museums, science festivals and with arts-based approaches to science education (see PERFORM project website for more information: perform-research.eu). Eric Jensen (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick) is a social scientist specializing in innovative methods of impact evaluation research in informal learning and science engagement contexts. He is co-Principal Investigator of the PERFORM project. His PhD is in sociology from the University of Cambridge.