Abstract:

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recognised as a key tool for achieving the SDGs. To create a more sustainable world, citizens must be agents of change and, in order to do this, they need knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that enable them to understand the interactions between the fundamental domains of sustainability - environment, society and economy.

Ocean literacy (OL), defined as the understanding of how dependent we all are on the marine ecosystems and how those depend on our attitudes, is simultaneously a fundamental foundation and objective of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), which will require new educational approaches. However, OL and ocean-related educational practices are not yet widely present within school curriculum worldwide. Therefore, raising awareness on marine environmental issues is decisive to develop students’ knowledge on ocean sustainability and to promote critical thinking.

This study aimed to analyse the effect of the creation and implementation of a science fair on the theme of ocean sustainability and a beach cleaning action, on the learning and satisfaction of the scholar community. The participants of this educational experience included elementary students (6 to 9 years old), pre-service teachers and in-service teachers.

Pre-service and in-service teachers organised the science fair with ten different experimental activities. They also prepared all the materials and worksheets to support the experiments. Students were able to perform all experimental activities during the science fair. Prior to the science fair elementary students watched videos about ocean literacy. Finally, they participated on a beach cleaning action, analysing and quantifying marine litter.

In order to assess how these activities contributed to participants OL, a mixed methodology was applied using: questionnaires to students (n=174), pre-service teachers (n=34), and in-service teachers (n=3); focus group interviews to pre-service teachers (n=10); and content analysis of the worksheet done by pre-service teachers (n=10) and filled by students (n= 200) during the activity.

The results revealed an improvement of scientific knowledge of elementary students on ocean sustainability, particularly in their knowledge about ocean literacy concept itself. Additionally, students develop specific scientific skills during the activities, such as, observation, the use of scientific protocols, critical thinking and teamwork. Both in-service and pre-service teachers recognized the importance of participating in this new educational approach for their own pedagogical practice.

In conclusion, the scholar community recognized the importance of sustainability education for engaging and empowering students and teachers. The activities enabled the participants to develop knowledge, skills and values, allowing them to increase responsibility for their own actions and to contribute for a sustainable future.

Keywords:

Education for sustainability, ocean literacy, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, elementary students, science fair.