Communicating astronomy with the public: perspectives of an international community of practice

TL;DR

This paper explores the perspectives of an international astronomy communication community of practice, highlighting gaps in public engagement and the need for collaboration with academic research to improve science-public relationships.

Contribution

It provides insights into the perceptions of astronomy communicators and advocates for increased collaboration between practitioners and researchers.

Findings

Practitioners see publics as having deficits and vulnerabilities.

There is minimal contact between practitioners and academic research.

Communities of practice could facilitate better science-public engagement.

Abstract

Communities of practice in science communication can make important contributions to public engagement with science but are under-researched. In this article, we look at the perspectives of a community of practice in astronomy communication regarding (relations with) their public(s). Most participants in this study consider that public(s) have several deficits and vulnerabilities. Moreover, practitioners have little to no contact with (and therefore make no use of) academic research on science communication. We argue that collaboration between science communication researchers and practitioners could benefit the science-public relationship and that communities of practice may be critical to that purpose.