Multilevel Effects of Student and School Factors on Senior High School Students’ Ocean Literacy

Abstract

This study explored the variance in ocean literacy accounted for by student and school levels and examined the influence of these two predictors on senior high school students’ ocean literacy using a hierarchical linear model. Data were collected from 1944 students from 99 schools and used to construct the two-level hierarchical linear model. The results indicated that the variance in ocean literacy accounted for by students was larger than that accounted for by schools; approximately a quarter of the total variance in ocean literacy was accounted for by schools. At the student level, attitude toward the ocean and frequency of reading ocean-themed books or magazines were predictors of ocean literacy, whereas at the school level, school region and location were significant influential factors. This study’s results have significance for policy-making regarding ocean literacy improvement.

The Beginning of Marine Sustainability: Preliminary Results of Measuring Students’ Marine Knowledge and Ocean Literacy

“…Students' sources of ocean knowledge indicated that mass communication channels are crucial for them to acquire ocean knowledge. International surveys on the sources of ocean literacy have revealed that popular science sources (e.g., reading magazines and books) and media applications (e.g., television media and online education) are key factors in enhancing students' ocean knowledge and literacy [18,62].…”

“…Therefore, students from coastal schools had significantly higher degrees of ocean literacy than did noncoastal schools [44]. The results of a study in which Taiwanese scholars constructed an ocean literacy scale for high school students revealed that school location is a key factor [13,18]. However, this result differed from that of a US survey on Virginian students [23].…”

“…In recent years, Taiwanese scholars have established connections and formed partnerships with international marine educational communities and employed Chinese versions of surveys to investigate the influence of background variables on students' ocean literacy. These surveys have assessed students' understanding of ocean knowledge and encouraged a positive attitude toward acquiring ocean literacy for use in solving life problems [18][19][20]. Currently, marine education has been promoted for much more than 10 years in Taiwan.…”

Ocean literacy gamified: A systematic evaluation of the effect of game elements on students’ learning experience

“…Presently, the protection of the ocean has become one of the most urgent issues in the world environmental agenda. Several studies on marine education and related topics have been addressed by numerous surveys carried out among students (Lin et al 2020;Tsai 2019;Guest, Lotze, and Wallace 2015;Plankis and Marrero 2012) and teachers (Hartley et al 2018;Dromgool-Regan, Burke, and McClouglin 2017). The literature has revealed a knowledge gap about ocean science-related topics in several countries (Winks et al 2020;Ankamah-Yeboah et al 2020;Fauville et al 2019;Leitão et al 2018;Costa and Caldeira 2018;Papathanassiou et al 2017;Guest, Lotze, and Wallace 2015;Corner, Capstick, and Pidgeon 2014).…”