A Mixed‐Methods Study of a Short‐Term Professional Development as an Entry Point to School‐Based Participatory Science

ABSTRACT School‐based participatory science (SBPS) connects school science with authentic research practices; however, adoption in formal schooling depends on how teachers interpret SBPS and appraise its feasibility under institutional constraints. This study examined an entry‐point professional development (PD) delivered as a single short‐term workshop for secondary‐school science teachers with no prior SBPS experience. The PD followed a sequenced learning design that included conceptual clarification, simulated participation in an SBPS project, collaborative reflection, and context‐sensitive lesson design. Twenty teachers completed pre–post surveys measuring participatory science understanding, perceptions of data trustworthiness, selected affective indicators related to SBPS teaching, and science teaching self‐efficacy. Additional surveys captured teachers’ PD needs, quality ratings, and perceived implementation barriers. Qualitative data included lesson‐design worksheets produced during the PD and follow‐up interviews, which were thematically analyzed and integrated with quantitative patterns. The results indicate that the PD supported participants’ understanding of participatory science and strengthened trust‐related perceptions of participatory‐science data, alongside improvements in science‐teaching self‐efficacy. Participants described the PD as well‐organized and practically relevant, and they identified simulations and lesson‐design tasks as helpful for envisioning classroom application. However, feasibility appraisals were strongly shaped by contextual constraints, including limited instructional time, safety and responsibility concerns for field‐based activities, and restricted access to localized project information and materials in teachers’ first language. Overall, the PD served as an entry point for teachers’ sensemaking and feasibility appraisal. The study did not assess subsequent classroom enactment, and broader implementation of SBPS is likely to require sustained, job‐embedded supports that extend beyond entry‐point learning.