Public engagement of underserved students with open civic data

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Today, various non-governmental organizations proclaim the need for public engagement of citizens, a concept that is integrated into the notion of global citizenship. However, much of the mathematics that students fnd in the primary school curriculum falls short to support that need. This lack of curriculum alignment with global needs has implications for the development of communities, but they are much more severe for students from underserved populations who systematically sufer diferent types of exclusions that increase their social disadvantages. This study explores the traits of global citizenship that students from underserved populations exhibit as they progress through a learning experience with open civic data on a global issue (climate change). The learning experience was used as the basis for an individual interview with fve participants (9–10 years old) from public schools in low-income neighborhoods of a metropolitan area in northern Colombia. Participants were ofered a dataset (data) ready to use and they were asked to undertake data handling actions (data-ing) using freely available web-based software. Participants were asked “What does this dataset say?” and their verbal statements were analyzed. The main fndings suggest that in data and data-ing on open civic data refecting global issues, participants exhibited understanding, belonging and action which are traits of global citizenship. In terms of understanding, participants described the behavior of the variables, suggested informal inferences, and made associations between variables. In terms of belonging and action, participants’ statements suggested including themselves as part of the community, taking responsibility, and proposing transformative actions.