Communicating astronomy with the public: perspectives of an international community of practice

Abstract

Communities of practice in science communication can make important contributions to public engagement with science but are under-researched. In this article, we look at the perspectives of a community of practice in astronomy communication regarding (relations with) their public(s). Most participants in this study consider that public(s) have several deficits and vulnerabilities. Moreover, practitioners have little to no contact with (and therefore make no use of) academic research on science communication. We argue that collaboration between science communication researchers and practitioners could benefit the science-public relationship and that communities of practice may be critical to that purpose.

Bringing society inside the walls of scientific facilities

“…The persistence of the deficit model amongst science communicators [Anjos, Russo & Carvalho, 2021;Entradas & Bauer, 2019], recently identified as the number one challenge for our field [Scheufele, 2022], makes it difficult to reach the people who might benefit most from science dialogue and engagement. More training in communication theory and skills is needed and that means that institute and university administrators need to realise that simply because a scientist can talk, doesn't necessarily mean they can communicate effectively with non-expert audiences, I explained in my conference contribution.…”