Editorial: Learning science in out-of-school settings

Science learning outside of school or university extends beyond traditional science content and curriculum and contributes to life-long learning. Most people's learning takes place outside of school (Falk and Dierking, 2010) and can be self-directed or facilitated. Transformative and satisfying experiences can be provided through out-of-school science education (Bell et al., 2009) and life-long learning (Rennie et al., 2019).

This Research Topic collected papers about science learning in diverse programs. The articles share insights about program delivery. They document who benefits from those programs, what benefits accrue and how those benefits are assessed.

The Koru Model (Figure 1) provides a framework for lifelong learning and is used to provide an overview of this Research Topic. The Topic includes 19 articles that involve a range of communication avenues, discuss support for learning in out-of-school settings, and address learners' perceived control and impact of learning opportunities on learners' science identities. Innovative evaluation tools are described that provide evidence of outcomes, including longer term impact in some studies.