A System Dynamics Approach to Increasing Ocean Literacy

Connecting to the oceans: supporting ocean literacy and public engagement

“…Building ocean literacy amongst communities or groups of individuals is an approach to encourage responsible public behaviour towards the ocean and its resources (Fielding et al 2019). The 'goal' of ocean literacy initiatives is to enable behaviour change, whereby citizens engage in sustainable actions to achieve solutions to marine issues (Ashley et al 2019). In contrast, a lack of ocean literacy presents a significant obstacle to engaging society in environmentally sustainable behaviours (McCauley et al 2019).…”

“…Whilst these technological solutions are well-intended to reduce pollution in the ocean, they distract from the root cause of this pollution; over-reliance on (and poor disposal of) plastic-packaged products, and environmentally-damaging fishing practices (Li et al 2016). Addressing this problem of plastic pollution, and other wicked problems such as climate change, demands major changes to human behaviour (Principle 7) (Eagle et al 2016), (which can be supported by improving ocean literacy to inform and encourage (more realistic) oceanfriendly behaviours (Principle 6) (Cash et al 2003;Ashley et al 2019;Fernández Otero et al 2019).…”

“…Ocean literacy is a broader expansion of the traditional notion of ‘literacy’ (UNESCO 2006 ) and is based on seven key principles (see Box 1 ). It is not just a measure of what people know, but is also an indication of their attitudes, behaviours, and ability to communicate about ocean issues (Brennan et al 2019 ). Building ocean literacy amongst communities or groups of individuals is an approach to encourage responsible public behaviour towards the ocean and its resources (Fielding et al 2019 ).…”

Impact of an inquiry-based science activity about climate change on development of primary students’ investigation skills and conceptual knowledge

“…Therefore, education systems must also react to this compelling need by defining relevant learning objectives and content and by introducing ocean pedagogies that empower learners (Santoro, Santin, Scowcroft, Fauville, & Tuddenham, 2017). As emphasised by Brennan, Ashley and Molloy (2019), ocean literacy includes several aspects, from knowledge about how the oceans work and our impact on them, to attitudes toward topics such as sustainable development.…”

A system dynamics approach to sustainability education

“…The pilot study was conducted in December 2018 at the National University of Ireland, Galway (Brennan, Ashley, & Molloy, 2019). Fifteen adults participated in the study, and effectiveness was evaluated using the results of presurvey and postsurvey questionnaires, facilitator observations and semistructured interviews.…”