Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Students’ attitudes towards the environment and marine litter in the context of a coastal water quality educational citizen science project

Middle school students who participated in a citizen science project monitoring coastal water quality and microplastic pollution showed significantly more positive environmental attitudes afterward compared to a control group. The study suggests that hands-on engagement with real microplastic research can be an effective way to build environmental awareness in young people.

2023 Australian Journal of Environmental Education 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Desenvolvimento da literacia química de alunos do ensino básico

A Portuguese citizen-science project engaged over 500 middle-school students in testing coastal water quality and learning about microplastic pollution through hands-on chemistry investigations. The program significantly improved students' attitudes toward chemistry and their conceptual understanding of water parameters and polymers compared to a control group, demonstrating that microplastic science can be an effective hook for building broader scientific literacy in young people.

2024 Educación Química 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Student participation in a coastal water quality citizen science project and its contribution to the conceptual and procedural learning of chemistry

Researchers developed a citizen science project involving students in monitoring coastal water quality parameters and detecting microplastics, finding that participation improved both conceptual understanding of chemistry and procedural laboratory skills. The study demonstrates the value of citizen science as a formal chemistry learning tool at the secondary level.

2021 Chemistry Education Research and Practice 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Citizen Science as a Pedagogical Tool in Chemistry Education: Students’ Attitudes and Teachers’ Perceptions

This study explored student attitudes toward chemistry and the effects of participating in a citizen science project on those attitudes. Citizen science is highlighted as a potential tool for building chemistry literacy and environmental engagement in young students.

2022 Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

A three-month citizen science project in the Netherlands studied how participating in microfiber laundry bag monitoring influenced residents' environmental awareness and washing behaviors, finding that hands-on engagement with pollution measurement can shift consumer attitudes.

2025 Environmental Science Advances
Article Tier 2

Longitudinal Study of Motivation, Attitude, and Knowledge of Citizen Scientists Monitoring Plastic Pollution On Dutch Riverbanks

Researchers conducted a longitudinal study of 403 citizen scientists participating in the Dutch Clean Rivers riverbank plastic monitoring project between 2017 and 2021, finding that project action and environmental motivations increased significantly within the first year while knowledge of scientific research methods also improved.

2024 Citizen Science Theory and Practice
Article Tier 2

Psychological outcomes from a citizen science study on microplastics from household clothes washing

Researchers reported on the psychological outcomes for participants in a citizen science project studying household microplastic sources, finding that engagement with microplastic research increased environmental awareness and motivated behavior change around plastic use.

2025
Article Tier 2

Citizen observation of plastic pollution in coastal ecosystems to address data gaps in marine litter distribution

Researchers launched the COLLECT citizen science project in seven African and Asian countries, training 15-18 year-old students to sample and analyze macro-, meso-, and microplastics in beach sediments using standardized scientific protocols, while simultaneously measuring shifts in ocean literacy and pro-environmental behavior to quantify the educational impact of the intervention.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Systematic Review Tier 1

Citizen Science Project's Contribution to Science Learning Outcome: Systematic Literature Review

This systematic review identified 19 types of citizen science projects that contribute to science learning at school and university levels, finding that six key learning outcomes are most commonly achieved, including content knowledge and scientific inquiry skills. This study is not related to microplastics but was included due to its systematic review methodology.

2023 EDUSAINS 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Can we investigate microplastic pollution with school students? Experiences from eight years of citizen science research

Researchers reported on eight years of citizen science microplastic research conducted with school students through the Plastic Pirates program, sharing methodological experiences and lessons learned from involving more than 24,000 participants across Germany and other European countries in rigorous environmental monitoring.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Creative-Motivated Citizen Science After-School STEAM Programme for Motivating Actions Related to the Oceanic Microplastics Problem

Researchers designed and evaluated a nine-week citizen science STEAM after-school programme for primary school children focused on microplastic sampling and local ocean pollution solutions, finding that creative and motivational activities sustained family engagement for at least 10 months beyond the programme's conclusion.

2025 Citizen Science Theory and Practice
Article Tier 2

Schools against plastics: Schooling environmentally conscious students and supporting research on marine litter and microplastics

A citizen science initiative engaged Greek students in monitoring plastic pollution on two coastal beaches, finding macrolitter densities of 0.6 to 5.9 items per square meter and microplastic concentrations of 4.6 to 102.5 particles per kilogram of sand. Single-use plastics, especially bottle caps and cigarette butts, made up over 25% of collected items, and microplastics were also found inside sea urchins at both sites. The project demonstrates that student participation can generate scientifically valuable pollution data while building environmental awareness.

2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Citizen_Labs – conception and evaluation of a course on plastic waste and microplastic in adult education

Researchers conceived and evaluated a citizen science laboratory course on plastic waste and microplastics for adult education, examining how experiential learning formats can raise environmental awareness and scientific literacy about plastic pollution among non-specialist participants.

2022 CHEMKON 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Observing Microplastics in the Environment through Citizen-Science-Inspired Laboratory Investigations

This paper describes three hands-on laboratory activities developed for high school students to extract, count, and identify microplastics from personal care products, water, and sediment samples, inspired by citizen science methods. The activities aim to increase students' environmental literacy and motivate engagement with the microplastics problem through direct experimentation. Engaging young people in microplastics science is important for building the next generation of environmentally aware citizens and researchers.

2023 Journal of Chemical Education 14 citations
Article Tier 2

A self‐reported instrument to measure and foster students' science connection to life with the CARE‐KNOW‐DO model and open schooling for sustainability

Researchers developed and validated a self-reported instrument to measure students' connection to science using the CARE-KNOW-DO model combined with an open schooling approach for sustainability. The study involved students working on real-world environmental problems including microplastic pollution alongside families and scientists. Evidence indicates that this approach can strengthen young people's engagement with science and sustainability topics.

2024 Journal of Research in Science Teaching 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Science Literacy Profile of High School Students: Implications of PBL Didactic Design on the Topic of Microplastics

This education research paper is not primarily about microplastic risks; it studies Indonesian high school students' scientific literacy after a problem-based learning curriculum using microplastics as a teaching topic, assessing students' ability to explain phenomena, evaluate investigations, and interpret data within the PISA framework.

2026 Hydrogen Jurnal Kependidikan Kimia
Article Tier 2

A new deal between Science and Society through Citizen Science: the case study of sea-surface microplastics research

Researchers explored the role of citizen science in sea-surface microplastic monitoring, arguing it can help bridge the trust gap between scientific institutions and the public. The study used a Mediterranean microplastics monitoring program as a case study showing how citizen participation improved data coverage and community engagement.

2025 Frontiers in Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Effect of Design Thinking to Develop Marine and Coastal Environmental Attitudes

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it evaluates a design thinking educational approach for improving marine and coastal environmental awareness among students, focused on teaching sustainability concepts.

2023 Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine litter education: From awareness to action

An educational intervention on marine litter designed for students from primary to high school level, incorporating lab work and a beach clean-up, significantly changed participants knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intentions as measured by pre- and post-questionnaires.

2023 Marine Pollution Bulletin 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploratory Work with the Classroom Community: "assessment of the Pollution of the Sventoji River" in the Citizen Science Project "plastic Pirates"

This Lithuanian classroom report describes second-grade students and their parents participating in the European Plastic Pirates citizen science project by assessing plastic pollution in the Sventoji River. The activity aimed to build scientific literacy and environmental awareness about plastic pollution in waterways.

2023 Natural Science Education in a Comprehensive School (NSECS)