Exploring practitioner values in Inclusive Science Communication: An Australian perspective

Even as the values of inclusive practice gain recognition in some contexts, they are contested and unevenly supported in others. Inclusive Science Communication (ISC) has developed in response to calls for increased diversity, equity, reflexivity and ethicality in research and practice. In Australia, the centring of First Nations knowledge systems in government policy affirms the worth of Indigenous perspectives but risks assimilationism or tokenism. We explored the values of Australia-based ISC practitioners to reflect on existing and emerging traditions of science communication and to consider how science communicators can engage with new traditions of authentic inclusion.

Values influence motivations, methodologies and outcomes, yet the values of ISC practitioners are under-studied, particularly in Australia. We conducted a thematic review of values embedded in the work of Australian-based ISC practitioners via 15 peer-reviewed articles. Asking how inclusion is positioned in Australian science communication traditions, we inductively analysed statements of motivation, practice and positionality to identify practitioner values and their potential to shape traditions.

ISC is not uniformly defined, yet its practitioners share common values: cultural sensitivity, collaboration, environmental concern, empowerment, advocacy, reflexivity, equity and the centring of marginalized, Indigenous and non-Western knowledge systems. Those values perform multiple functions, reflecting a reconfiguration of existing traditions, challenging epistemic and structural assumptions or inspiring emergent traditions grounded in relationality, social justice, care and reciprocity.

ISC disrupts traditional boundaries. Our findings suggest that Australian ISC practitioners are co-creating new traditions across disciplinary boundaries and institutional constraints, embodying pluralism, justice and cultural transformation. Their values invite critical reflection on which traditions we inherit, reproduce or reimagine, and how science communication traditions can become more authentically inclusive through intentional, values-driven practice, rather than uncontested ‘tradition’.