Science communication in higher education: global perspectives on the teaching of science communication

Abstract

This special issue focuses on the global landscape of teaching science communication in higher education. Following an open call, we selected seven papers with topics including the geographical distribution of science communication programmes, indicators of quality, programme analysis, self-reporting tools, interdisciplinarity, sustainability, and competencies. Collectively, these contributions highlight how the field has grown and increased in complexity, and highlights challenges faced by educators and the significance of addressing them within local and global contexts.

GlobalSCAPE: successes and failures in connecting with science communicators around the world

“…A 10 ECTS (academic credits) university module was developed and offered in Trinity College Dublin; the first time the oldest university in Ireland offered a science communication course in its 430-year history [McAteer, Roche & Kelly, 2023]. The project also included a global study of science communication university programmes [Massarani et al, 2023] which led to a special issue of the Journal of Science Communication dedicated to science communication teaching in higher education [Roche, Land-Zandstra, Lewenstein & Massarani, 2023]. This followed previous special issues in the Journal of Science Communication that had focused on some of the other SwafS-19 Projects including RETHINK, CONCISE, and QUEST [Kupper et al, 2021;Achiam, Kupper & Roche, 2022].…”