| dc.description.abstract | Protecting coastal ecosystems, livelihoods, and identities require the active
engagement of ocean literate citizens. Ocean literacy, or the understanding of the ocean’s
influence on us and our influence on the ocean, can be fostered through marine education.
Yet, in Canada, marine education falls in a jurisdictional gap, with ocean conservation
largely under federal jurisdiction and education under provincial jurisdiction. With little to
no ocean literacy in curricula, teachers lack the time and resources to include the ocean in
their classroom. Along the St. Lawrence Estuary, a rural community mobilized to save its
middle school by developing an innovative program connecting the existing curriculum to
the ocean. For instance, students practise physical education by learning scuba diving. My
research project explores the rationale, barriers, and enablers to the inclusion of ocean
literacy in schools through a case study of this program. I completed interviews and a
survey with school community members and found that the program faces considerable
barriers that threaten its sustainability, including the lack of an educational framework,
educational resources and funding. Support from school community members and access
to a program coordinator were the greatest enablers of the program. Students and adults
involved in the program gained knowledge about the ocean and took actions to care for the
ocean, showing the influence of the program on their ocean literacy. This case study acts
as an example of how ocean literacy initiatives, although challenging to implement in
schools, can support citizen engagement in coastal management.
Keywords: ocean literacy, coastal communities, formal education, whole-school
approach, marine citizenship, case study, Quebec | en_US |
