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Astronomy Education Review / Volume 11 / Issue 1 / RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS

2012, AER, 11 (1), 010109, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011040

Factors Contributing to Amateur Astronomers’ Involvement in Education and Public Outreach

Published 13 August 2012

Victor Yocco and Eric C Jones

Institute for Learning Innovation, Edgewater, Maryland 21037

Martin Storksdieck

National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC 20001

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Amateur astronomers play a critical role engaging the general public in astronomy. The role of individual and club-related factors is explored using data from two surveys (Survey 1 N = 1142; Survey 2 N = 1242) of amateur astronomers. Analysis suggests that formal or informal training in astronomy, age, club membership, length of club membership, and participation in club service are factors that contribute to the likelihood of an amateur engaging in education and public outreach. Sex (male or female) and club service were found to influence the level of outreach amateurs engage in. Interventions designed to increase amateur involvement in education and public outreach should consider these factors.

© 2012 The American Astronomical Society

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

astronomy, physics education, societies

PACS

  • 95.90.+v

    Historical astronomy and archaeoastronomy; and other topics in fundamental astronomy and astrophysics; instrumentation, techniques, and astronomical observations

  • 01.75.+m

    Science and society

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

1539-1515 (online)

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef The American Astronomical Society

ARTICLE DATA

History
Received 21 December 2011
Accepted 25 June 2012
Published online 13 August 2012
Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/AER2011040

    References

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Figures (1) Tables (5)

Figures (click on thumbnails to view enlargements)

FIG.1
Model of statistically significant relationships between study variables, and proposed directionality of those relationships

FIG.1 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

Tables

Table I. Independent and dependent variables examined

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Table II. Individual variables for involvement in education and public outreach

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Table III. Club-related variables for involvement in education and public outreach

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Table IV. Examination of individual level variables from 2002 study potentially contributing to the amount of education and public outreach amateur astronomers participate in

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Table V. Club-related variables for amount of education and public outreach (2002)

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