Marine ecology as a framework for preparing the next generation of scientific leaders

Abstract

Across the United States there is increasing concern about the dwindling scientific workforce and the lack of students prepared for careers in the sciences. To build future leadership in this arena, we must employ innovative approaches that generate young peoples’ interest and develop their capabilities so that an increased number will pursue and be prepared for careers in scientific fields. Marine ecology is an ideal platform to engage young people in the sciences, develop their skills across multiple disciplines, and prepare them to face the complex challenges that lie ahead. In response, Ocean Discovery Institute, a non‐profit organization, has developed Ocean Leaders, a model program to empower young people to become tomorrow’s scientific leaders. Using evaluation data that span the 5 years of the program, we asked how this model can affect participants’ interest and performance in science and how it can contribute directly to the field of marine ecology. Content assessments, surveys, interviews, and tracking data reveal that 73% of Ocean Leader students during this period have declared majors in science and conservation fields, scored higher on standardized science tests relative to their peers, and contributed to ecological research through 10 publications and more than 30 scientific presentations. Using a framework analogous to adaptive management strategies, key components of the program (including in‐depth interactions with scientists and rigorous college readiness coursework) have been identified, resulting in an increased number of students who are interested in and ready to pursue science careers. Critical to this model is the partnership between scientists and a non‐profit organization. Although this model may not easily be replicated in its entirety, aspects of this collaboration and the strategies employed can help to simultaneously advance the field of marine ecology and scientific leadership and understanding.

Normative Characteristics of Perceived Self-Efficacy

“…If this contextualisation leads to the need for a partial reconstruction of SEP in the face of a new task, it also means that SEP is more accessible to educational interventions than global beliefs (Galand and Vandele 2004, p. 97). It also appears that, while differentiated, beliefs of efficacy within various domains contribute to a general perceived self-efficacy (Bong 2001;Marsh 1990;Talley et al 2011;Kulviwat et al 2014). Bandura (Bandura 1977a(Bandura , 1977b(Bandura , 1982a(Bandura , 1982b emphasizes that SEP can be examined in terms of three dimensions: amplitude (which corresponds to the level of difficulty of the tasks one feels capable of facing), force (which refers to the degree of conviction regarding the probability of success), but also generability (i.e., the scope of the tasks at which one feels efficient).…”

The Measurement of Personal Self-Efficacy in Preparing for a Hurricane and Its Role in Modeling the Likelihood of Evacuation

“…The sense of personal self-efficacy is highly specific to the realm of activity a person is trying to learn; efficacy is not a general or global characteristic that people possess. For example, researchers discussed and examined efficacy within the contexts of: (1) engineering design [34]; (2) scientific leadership in marine ecology [35]; (3) technology adoption [36]; (4) teaching science in the K-12 grades [37]; and (5) coping with the psychological aftermath of a hurricane [38], among many others.…”