Social studies education and sustainable living: teaching the responsibilities of air pollution

Purpose This paper discusses how the responsibilities of air quality were taught through a lens of citizen science and civic action-taking. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study examined how one secondary social studies teacher guided a social action project around responsibilities for local air quality. Findings Findings involved three topics: (1) Students saw their community's air quality as a subject worthy of their investigation, (2) Students gathered authentic data through community experts and their own photojournalism and (3) Students produced authentic social action projects that recommended action to mitigate air pollution or adapt to it. Originality/value This study offers insights into how schools can become places of transformative thinking. It also models how students can experiment with becoming public intellectuals. It provides understanding about the role of cognitive load theory when integrating new technologies into the classroom. It also offers insights about how students can make decisions about topics (like air pollution) that call for global citizenship thinking.