Social Aspects Of Science Research Articles

Eliciting students’ understanding of nature of science with text-based tasks: insights from new Korean high school textbooks

ABSTRACT Research on nature of science (NOS) has confirmed that students’ understanding of NOS is best achieved by explicitly considering NOS a cognitive learning expectation and providing opportunities to reflect on it. However, little has been discussed on how to design and use tasks enhancing students’ NOS understanding. In an attempt to fill this gap, we analysed the way NOS tasks are used in seven textbooks for a new subject ‘scientific inquiry and experimentation’ in Korea. The analysis of 84 tasks led to three categories being identified: guiding to NOS ideas, expanding NOS understanding and thinking critically about NOS. Whereas the majority of the textbook tasks were used as guides to declarative NOS ideas, few tasks invited students to think critically about controversial aspects of NOS. Most tasks were pointed at the epistemic aspects related to scientific methods or knowledge, while the social aspects of science were seldom addressed. Besides, the number and diversity of NOS tasks varied significantly across different publishers. Based on these findings, we call for more strategic and systemic use of NOS tasks in science textbooks, including the use of diverse tasks in proper manners and sequences, as a crucial step to successful NOS instruction in schools.

An Origin of Citations: Darwin's Collaborators and Their Contributions to the Origin of Species.

In the first edition of the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin apologized for not correctly referencing all the works cited in his magnum opus. More than 150years later we have catalogued these citations and analyzed the resultant data. Looking for a complete selection of collaborators, a flexible interpretation of the term citation was necessary; we define it as any reference made to a third party, independently of its form or function. Following the same idea, the sixth edition of the Origin, originally published in 1872 and reprinted with minor additions and corrections in 1876, was chosen for the research because it represents the end of a long debate between Darwin and his peers. It naturally is the edition with the greatest number of citations and collaborators. Through a diverse theoretical analysis, we aim to present a new perspective for the study of the Origin of Species: a bibliographic approach that provides the tools needed to understand the history of the book as a physical and cultural object. Bibliometrics provides a theory of citations as well as a quantitative analysis; science studies highlights the profound social aspects of science in the making. The analysis resulted in 639 citations to 298 collaborators and provided a new perspective of the rhetorical structure of the Origin, even though these results are only the tip of the iceberg of the potential of all the data gathered in this study.

Eduards Volters and the Institutionalization of Book Science in the Early 20th Century

Eduardas Volteris (1856‒1941) is one of the first book theorists in the Eastern European region and developer of the most important memory and higher education institutions of independent Lithuania. This article analyzes the early 20th c. phenomenon of the institutionalization of book science. It attempts to answer the question of how Eduardas Volteris contributed to establishing the very first Eastern European societies of book researchers, to consolidating the sciences of bibliography, bibliology and book science within the realm of academia, and to professionalising of book scholarship. The sources for examination of the social aspects of book science are: documents belonging to the Russian Society of Bibliology, which was active in St. Petersburg in 1899–1931, materials in scholarly serial publications on book science of the early 20th c., theoretical papers published by E. Volteris, and the results of the historical studies on the history of European book science.

La educación tecnocientífica en América Latina

En América Latina y el Caribe el siglo XXI se configura como la era donde las innovaciones tecnológicas arropan todos los ámbitos en los que se desarrolla la sociedad, tales como la filosofía, política, ciencias sociales, ciencias básicas entre otros. Al respecto, la educación tecnocientífica (ETCS), es conocida como el conjunto de disciplinas que interactúan para estudiar los aspectos sociales de la ciencia y la tecnología con relación al ámbito educativo en pro de la sociedad. En este sentido, existen organizaciones que promueven una educación para todos como un derecho, tal como lo establece la UNESCO, sin embargo, la educación tecnocientífica ha abierto el debate pedagógico al inferir que la desigualdad de las clases sociales se corresponde a una precondición para su accesibilidad. Esto significaque, las clases sociales pudieran determinar el éxito de que una sociedad aplique o no una cultura tecnológica. No obstante, es asunto de los entes gubernamentales que dirigen un país hacer cumplir políticas que puedan garantizar a sus ciudadanos una educación con calidad, equidad social y el respeto a los derechos humanos haciendo uso de perspectivas, modelos y teorías educativas que propongana la educación tecnocientífica como una adquisición de saberes interdisciplinares y de fácil acceso.

Collaborative Learning Tools To Foster Inclusive Participation and Sense of Belonging in a Microbiology Outreach Partnership

For secondary outreach programs to meet the goals of enhancing science education and attracting future scientists from underrepresented populations, we need an inclusive approach that integrates students’ knowledge and experiences in the process of doing science. I present three pedagogical tools designed by developing equitable, inclusive collaboration among microbiologist outreach mentors and high school biology students. These activities aim to foster a sense of belonging in a scientific community and serve as an entry point to the practice of inclusion. Over a one-semester course at an alternative high school, ten secondary students and their scientist mentors met weekly to design and conduct microbiology experiments together. This group of students and scientists participated in structured collaborative learning activities to: i) understand each other’s ideas about science; ii) collectively analyze their research findings; and iii) offer peer feedback. I modified the following three learning tools for use in my secondary science classroom from protocols of the National School Reform Faculty: 1) the Quotes Introduction Activity set the stage for equitable discourse between high school students and scientist mentors, while initiating important conversations about the process of biological research; 2) the Data Analysis Protocol allowed both students and mentors to contribute to the scientific process; and 3) the Feedback Carousel Activity engaged students and scientists alike in reviewing and refining poster presentations. This inclusive engagement in the social aspects of learning science can help students feel a sense of belonging and imagine their futures in the scientific community, key steps towards inclusion. The supportive system of structured feedback in these collaborative learning activities created a safe, inclusive space for secondary students to try on the role of microbiology expert, and for scientist volunteers to practice inclusive mentorship. Drawing from inclusive pedagogical tools in secondary education will help expand our capacity for inclusive science outreach and bring us closer to the goals of improving biology education and attracting future biologists at the university level.

Solar Geoengineering: Social Science, Legal, Ethical, and Economic Frameworks

Solar geoengineering research in the social sciences and humanities has largely evolved in parallel with research in the natural sciences. In this article, we review the current state of the literature on the ethical, legal, economic, and social science aspects of this emerging area. We discuss issues regarding the framing and futures of solar geoengineering, empirical social science on public views and public engagement, the evolution of ethical concerns regarding research and deployment, and the current legal and economic frameworks and emerging proposals for the regulation and governance of solar geoengineering.

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) and regional innovation studies (RIS) – reflecting on the normative aspects

ABSTRACTThe European approach of responsible research and innovation (RRI) placed the normative aspect of social science on the agenda of academic discussion. From a strategic viewpoint, RRI is an attempt to integrate quality criteria in the rising field of applied science. The point of reference is the societal impact that contributes to cope with the grand societal challenges. In this paper, RRI is discussed against the background of experience in applied research. The focus is on the substantial and procedural aspects of the normative base of regional innovation studies (RIS). Further on, the relationship between basic research and applied research is discussed and illustrated by a case study. In thematic terms the paper addresses a specific research topic (RIS), a certain societal background (strengthening the regional level in politics and economy), and a mode of applied research in social science that produces knowledge hand in hand with contractors and/or societal actors.

지역사회 연계 모의의회 참여 고등학생의 SSI(Socio-Scientific Issues) 논증활동 분석

The Socio-Scientific Issues (SSI) education is a process centered on controversial topics that reveal the social and ethical aspects of science, and aims to cultivate the knowledge as a citizen through the recognition and moral development of students. This study sought the possibility of using SSI education based on the agenda submitted by high school students who participated in the high school simulated assembly contest held by the Jeju Special Selfgoverning Council and the discussion data. The simulated council contest is held from the first convention in 2013 to the 6th convention in 2018, and a total of 132 agendas were submitted during this period. Among them, 40 SSI-related items accounted for 30% of the total, and a wide range of items such as the activation of electric vehicles for carbonfree islands, the protection of Jeju intertidal zone and the regulation of landfill of shared waterfront, the installation of companion animal crematoriums, and the ordinance on the acceptance of refugees in Jeju were submitted. In particular, 23 SSI-related issues were extracted from 2016 to 2018 in the last three years, and the argumentation activities on these agendas were analyzed through discourse elements and discourse cluster analysis framework focusing on how the argumentation activities in the SSI context unfolded. In the analysis of discourse elements, students were exchanging opinions on agenda through reasoning based on evidence in the structure of approval and opposition, and they were arguing in the direction of collecting opinions from each other and strengthening opinions so that agendas could be passed in a better direction. High school students’ argumentation about social issues related to science in the actual community is meaningful in that they have the experience of understanding the problems of the community themselves and deriving a plan for solving the problems. If the program related to the community is used more actively in connection with SSI education in the future, students will be able to directly experience the process of understanding various issues of the region and collecting opinions through discussions.

A Study on the Social Educational Significance of Dasan’s Theory of Xiuji-Zhire

수기치인의 본질과 원리를 체계적으로 정립한 다산의 사상은 사회적 기능중심 사회교육학의 정립에 중요한 기초가 될 수 있다. 다산의 수기는 효(孝), 제(弟), 자(慈)를 갖추고 구체적인 대상을 위한 인륜을 지향한다는 점에서 기존의 성리학보다 사회지향적인 성격이 강하다. 다산의 치인은 수기에 의해서 저절로 이루어지는 것이 아니라 목민과 예약형정을 위한 전문적이고 종합적인 실천이다. 다산의 수기치인론에 따르면 원칙적으로 수기를 전제로 치인을 추구하되, 현실적으로 수기의 완성 이후로 치인을 미루지 않는다. 일상생활 속에서 끊임없이 수기와 치인을 해 나가되 높은 수준의 치인을 위해서는 이보다 높은 수준의 수기가 선행되어야 한다. 다산의 수기치인론에 비추어 볼 때 사회교육은 성숙한 인격을 갖추고 사회문제를 해결하고 건전한 사회공동체를 형성해 나갈 사회지도자를 양성하는 수기치인의 실천이다. 수기치인의 관점에서 볼 때 사회교육학은 윤리학적 차원, 사회과학적 차원, 교육학적 차원에서 수기와 치인에 관한 논의를 다룬다. 사회교육자는 공식적인 사회교육의 장에서 학습자의 수기치인이 체계적으로 이루어지도록 교육적으로 기획해야 하지만, 일반적인 교육현장에서도 학습자의 수기치인이 구현될 수 있도록 유도해야 한다. 일반적인 교육자로서 사회교육자는 배움으로써 수기하고 가르침으로써 치인하며, 사회지도자로서 사회교육자는 목민지도로 수기하고 교정(敎政)을 통해 치인한다. 사회적 기능중심 사회교육학의 이론적 기초를 정립하고 사회교육 실천의 이념적 전통을 계승하기 위해 다산의 사상에 대한 다각적이고 심층적인 연구가 필요하다.The philosophy of Dasan(Chong Yak-yong), who systematically organized the definitions and practical principles of Xiuji(self-cultivating) and Zhiren(people-governing), can be an important basis of social education which pursues social changes through education. His thought on Xiuji is much more social-oriented than that of Sung Confucianism. As to Zhiren, it is made through the specialized and comprehensive practice for people and society rather than naturally occurs by Xiuji. According to Dasan, we basically pursue Zhiren on the premise of Xiuji, but in reality, it does not hold off Zhiren until the accomplishment of Xiuji. With continuous practice of Xiuji and Zhiren in everyday life, Xiuji of much higher level needs to be preceded in order to have a higher level of Zhiren. When it comes to Dasan’s Xiuji-Zhiren, social education can be explained as a practice of fostering social leaders who will formulate mature character, solve social problems and form sound social communities. In addition, from the point of view of Xiuji-Zhiren, the social education covers all discussions regarding Xiuji and Zhiren in aspects of ethics, social science and education. Moreover, not only should the social educators develop an educative plan so that learners can proceed with a systematic Xiuji-Zhiren in formal social education, but also they should lead learners to realize Xiuji-Zhiren in ordinary education. General social educators conduct Xiuji by learning in advance and fulfill Zhiren in teaching learners. Social educators as a leader of society perform Xiuji through the principle of governing the people and accomplish Zhiren with the help of educational politics. To establish a theological and practical basis for social education, we need multilateral and profound study on the thought of Dasan.

Three Aspects of the Phenomenon of Science: In Search for Unity among Sociologists

Introduction. In today’s globalising world, science acquires a crucial importance: integrating humanity within the framework of solving global problems, it becomes one of the leading factors in social development, facilitating work and diversifying leisure time, as well as serving as an instrument of transformations in the political sphere. Undoubtedly, the social aspects of contemporary science are capturing the attention of a huge number of researchers. However, it is not clear that all areas of the sociology of science treat the object of their study in the same way.Aim. A lack of reflection on the unity or otherwise in the understanding of the essence of science in the various fields of sociological research makes it difficult to compare different theories of the institutional, cultural, social and communicative contexts of scientific development. An urgent methodological task therefore consists in developing an understanding of the various definitions of the concept of “science” used in the framework of contemporary sociological analysis of this phenomenon.Results and scientific novelty. In this paper, two dominant sociological views on science – as an experimental-mathematical approach to cognising the world and as a system of representations in general – are compared. We conclude that while researchers studying institutional aspects of science tend to interpret it in terms of the “heritage” of post-Enlightenment European rationalism, constructionist and communicatively-oriented researchers tend to approach science as the system of knowledge and cognition that is formed in any human society, having its own specific sociocultural features in each respective case. While each of these two approaches undoubtedly has its own methodological potential, in order to provide such a diverse field of studies with a common ground, it would be necessary to balance them with a third aspect. We argue that this balancing role, since both common for all mankind and unique for every culture, could be played by Heidegger’s conceptualisation of science as “the theory of the real”.Practical significance. In order to avoid a pluralism of incompatible theories, it is important to continually pose the question “what is the object of study when conducting a sociological study of various scientific phenomena?” – as well as to understand the “limits of applicability” of the particular interpretation of science on which basis sociological analysis proceeds.

Supporting elementary teachers’ enactment of nature of science instruction: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACTThis embedded mixed method study used a randomised controlled⁠ trial design to examine two cohorts of upper (grades 4–6) elementary teachers’ classroom implementation of nature of science (NOS) instruction following their participation in a statewide professional development (PD). The treatment group (n = 145) was compared to a control group (n = 90), which received no PD. The PD included a summer institute that situated explicit NOS instruction within the context of problem-based learning (PBL). Data sources included videotaped classroom observations across four time points and teacher-generated descriptions of lessons preceding and following the observed lesson including learning objectives. Data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics and analysed qualitatively for trends in participants’ explicit NOS instruction. Results indicated the majority of treatment teachers (n = 97; 66.9%) accurately taught explicit NOS during the academic year following the summer institute compared to control teachers (n = 2; 2.2%). Participants most often taught about the empirical (69%) and social (63%) aspects of science. Participants’ strategies for integrating NOS varied in temporal placement within the lesson, connectedness to lesson activities, and extent of student-centeredness. These results demonstrate that situated PD that contextualises explicit NOS instruction within PBL facilitated teachers’ explicit NOS instruction compared to teachers who did not receive such instruction.

Promoting Collaborative Classrooms: The Impacts of Interdependent Cooperative Learning on Undergraduate Interactions and Achievement.

Collaboration is an important career skill and vital to student understanding of the social aspects of science, but less is known about relationships among collaborative-learning strategies, classroom climate, and student learning. We sought to increase the collaborative character of introductory undergraduate laboratory classrooms by analyzing a 9-week intervention in 10 classrooms (n = 251) that participated in cooperative-learning modules (promoting interdependence via a modified jigsaw technique). Students in an additional 10 classrooms (n = 232) completed the same material in an unstructured format representative of common educational practice. Results showed that, when between-class variance was controlled for, intervention students did not score higher on weekly quizzes, but science interest and prior science experience had a reduced relationship to quiz performance in intervention classrooms. Also, intervention classrooms showed increased collaborative engagement at both whole-class and individual levels (24 students at three time points), but the intervention was only one of several factors found to account for late-intervention classroom collaborative engagement (prosocial behavior and discussion practices). Taken together, findings suggest that integrating interdependence-based tasks may foster collaborative engagement at both small-group and whole-classroom levels, but by itself may not be enough to promote increased student achievement.

Using the Discovery of the Structure of DNA to Illustrate Cultural Aspects of Science

DNA is a central topic in biology courses because it is crucial to an understanding of modern genetics. Many instructors introduce the topic by means of a sanitized retelling of the history of the discovery of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick. Historical research since 1968 has revealed that Rosalind Franklin's contributions were more significant than they are usually depicted. In light of this, we developed a two-class lesson plan that draws attention to Rosalind Franklin's role in the discovery and to the social and cultural aspects of science. The first class provides background information regarding what led scientists to recognize that DNA was the molecule of heredity. Students watch a documentary video that includes interviews with some of the surviving protagonists. Students (working in groups) are then asked to debate Franklin's role to refine their awareness of how social and cultural factors affected both the process of science and how it has been recounted. The second class has students work in groups to build a structural model of DNA through hands-on activities. The essay concludes by drawing attention to how the two-day lesson plan, developed for a college-level biology course, can be adapted for use in other settings.

Development and dissemination of a teaching learning sequence on nanoscience and nanotechnology in a context of communities of learners

Introducing Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (NST) topics into school science curricula is considered useful for an in-depth understanding of the content, processes and nature of science and technology, and also for negotiating the social aspects of science. This study examines (a) the development of an inquiry-based Teaching–Learning Sequence (TLS) on NST topics, which incorporates socio-scientific issues and out-of-school learning environments and (b) the dissemination of the developed TLS through the training of further teachers. In both cases, a participatory design, in particular Communities of Learners (CoLs), was established, consisting of teachers, science researchers, science education researchers and science museum experts. As a theoretical framework for the TLS development, the Model of Educational Reconstruction is used. The qualitative analysis of the obtained data highlights that teachers’ interactions with colleagues in the CoL on issues regarding the educational reconstruction of the different aspects of the TLS impact the process of its development. Regarding the dissemination of the TLS, the findings indicate that teachers modified several elements of the TLS and particularly the included activities, influenced by their mentors’ prior experience and their own rich contextual knowledge. Finally, guidelines for the development and dissemination of a TLS are discussed.

Authorship in science: A critical analysis from a Foucauldian perspective

This article aims to contribute to the discussion on authorship in contemporary science from Foucauldian and Kuhnian perspectives, highlighting the social aspects of science and the role of authorship in scientific revolutions. Thus, it describes the functions of the ‘author’ discussed by Foucault that can assist to reveal the characteristics of the scientific practice and examples of how theories are materialized. As a result, it identifies the ways in which modern science is developed and how knowledge is construed by multiple authors, group authors, the merit that is attributed by citations, etc. This article highlights the complexity of authorship attribution and the need to rethink generalized bibliometric techniques to evaluate science considering other aspects that go beyond the mere listing of the authors.

Between the Social and the Technical: Negotiation of Human-Centered Robotics Design in a Middle School Classroom

This paper presents a middle school human-centered robotics (HCR) learning experience and the ways in which it supported students’ orientation to technical and social aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The interdisciplinary project associated with this analysis aims to engage diverse students in authentic STEM practices by creating robotic technologies that can assist people in their school, and connect with remote peers. The goal of this project is to increase student interest in and knowledge of STEM topics, and to help students recognize STEM as relevant to their daily lives and broader societal issues. The human-centered focus of the curriculum encouraged thinking from multiple perspectives (e.g. design, social science, programming) and allowed for diverse STEM exploration. We present samples from student work and classroom interactions. These samples show challenges and successes in engaging students with STEM as a combination of social and technical questions and skills. We trace the trajectory of one group’s work to highlight moments in which students navigated an engineering design cycle, analyzed and designed social environments, and crossed disciplinary domains through HCR design—using a phenomena, mechanisms, components framework (PMC) to explore systems thinking. Phenomena refers to attention to the function of the robotic technology in the classroom environment. Components included a focus on single parts of the robot, while mechanism addressed how parts of the robot worked together. This qualitative case study demonstrates the capacity social robotics and inquiry-based learning experiences hold for broadening notions of STEM as a social and multidisciplinary learning domain.

Ash resuspension related to the 2011–2012 Cordón Caulle eruption, Chile, in a rural community of Patagonia, Argentina

The 2011–2012 Cordón Caulle eruption emitted about 1km3 of rhyodacitic tephra. Dominant westerly winds in the region caused most of the primary tephra to deposit in neighboring Argentina. In addition to the impact of widespread dispersal and fallout of primary tephra during the eruption, Argentina was also significantly affected by remobilization of the primary ash even several years after the climactic phase of the eruption. In this mixed methods study, we combine aspects of natural and social sciences to characterize the ash resuspension events associated with the 2011–2012 Cordón Caulle deposits and assess the impacts on the Argentinian farming community of Ingeniero Jacobacci in the Patagonian Steppe.Our findings show the primary importance of wind, rainfall and ash availability in controlling the occurrence and persistence of ash resuspension events. The role played by these variables was also reflected in the seasonal distribution of events observed. Regarding the impacts, our results complement those of earlier studies and demonstrate that ash resuspension events can exacerbate the negative impact of primary tephra fallout events from the time of deposition to many years after the eruption. Only after five years has the environment and the farming community begun to show signs of recovery. Our findings also highlight the importance of assessing ash resuspension events in multi-hazard scenarios involving volcanic and hydrometeorologic hazards.

When technology, science and culture meet: insights from ancient Chinese technology

This paper draws together two important agendas in science education. The first is making science education more inclusive such that students from non-Western or indigenous cultures can benefit from culturally relevant curricula. The second is integrating technology into the curriculum under the umbrella of Science–Technology–Society (STS) education to embrace the social aspects of science, with technology serving as a bridge. The advancement of the first agenda is hindered by the pursuance by both Western and non-Western societies of narrow cultural and practical goals without considering the development of science and technology from a cross-cultural perspective. The second agenda is limited by the misconception that technology is applied science, leading to the exclusion from STS discussions of pre-science or indigenous technologies developed by non-Western cultures. Through selected case studies of the evolution of Chinese traditional technologies and their interaction with science, this paper offers a perspective from the Far East, and argues for situating culturally responsive science education in broader historical and cross-cultural contexts to acknowledge the multi-cultural contributions to science and technology. A form of cross-cultural STS education is advanced, encompassing the cultural basis of technological developments, technology diffusion, interactions of traditional technology with science, and the potential development of traditional or indigenous technologies. This approach provides a bridge between the existing universal science education paradigm promoted in the West and the different forms of multi-cultural education advocated by indigenous science educators. To translate theory into practice, a conceptual framework is proposed in which the essential transdisciplinary knowledge base, curricular goals, and pedagogical approaches are embedded.

Critical realism, psychology and the legacies of psychoanalysis

ABSTRACTThe discipline of psychology has been poorly represented in critical realist texts to date. This is despite Bhaskar’s use of psychoanalytical concepts to underpin his concept of the dialectic. By comparison, other aspects of social science, such as sociology and economics, have a well-established body of critical realist texts. The original approach to psychoanalysis was analogous to the critical realist ontological-axiological chain. It moved from an ontological problem (what is) to an axiological solution (talking cure). Freud’s eagerness to reframe psychoanalysis within a scientistic, objective framework was perhaps due in part to the difficulties that he faced as European Jew in the fin-de-siècle. The application of the critical realist explanatory critique can contribute to our understanding of how and why the fragmentation of Freud’s legacies emerged. Critical realists should avoid the assumption that psychoanalysis is a unitary body of knowledge; as such, they should consider its various legacies separately.

Maximizing farm-level uptake and diffusion of biological control innovations in today’s digital era

When anthropologists interviewed Honduran and Nepali smallholders in the mid-1990s, they were told that “Insects are a terrible mistake in God’s creation” and “There’s nothing that kills them, except for insecticides”. Even growers who maintained a close bond with nature were either entirely unaware of natural pest control, or expressed doubt about the actual value of these services on their farm. Farmers’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards pests and natural enemies are of paramount importance to the practice of biological control, but are all too often disregarded. In this study, we conduct a retrospective analysis of the extent to which social science facets have been incorporated into biological control research over the past 25 years. Next, we critically examine various biological control forms, concepts and technologies using a ‘diffusion of innovations’ framework, and identify elements that hamper their diffusion and farm-level uptake. Lastly, we introduce effective observation-based learning strategies, such as farmer field schools to promote biological control, and list how those participatory approaches can be further enriched with information and communication technologies (ICT). Although biological control scientists have made substantial technological progress and generate nearly 1000 papers annually, only a fraction (1.4%) of those address social science or technology transfer aspects. To ease obstacles to enhanced farmer learning about biological control, we describe ways to communicate biological control concepts and technologies for four divergent agricultural knowledge systems (as identified within a matrix built around ‘cultural importance’ and ‘ease of observation’). Furthermore, we describe how biological control innovations suffer a number of notable shortcomings that hamper their farm-level adoption and subsequent diffusion, and point at ways to remediate those by tactical communication campaigns or customized, (ICT-based) adult education programs. Amongst others, we outline how video, smart phones, or tablets can be used to convey key ecological concepts and biocontrol technologies, and facilitate social learning. In today’s digital era, cross-disciplinary science and deliberate multi-stakeholder engagement will provide biocontrol advocates the necessary means to bolster farmer adoption rates, counter-act surging insecticide use, and restore public trust in one of nature’s prime services.