Ocean literacy knowledge in informal education: a systematic literature review

The health of the ocean is essential to human wellbeing, but increasing and compounding anthropogenic pressures are putting the ocean at risk. Recognizing the critical need for an ocean-literate society prepared to tackle changing complexities of ocean function, the Ocean Literacy Guide, comprised of seven Essential Principles and forty-five Fundamental Concepts, was developed as a resource for formal, K-12 educators to integrate key principles of ocean science into their curricula; however, informal learning experiences that take place outside of the structured classroom are equally important mechanisms to target ocean education. How informal initiatives connect to ocean literacy remains largely unknown. In response, we conducted a systematic literature review to characterize informal ocean science education efforts worldwide and examined how these efforts align with the principles and concepts defined within the Ocean Literacy Guide. Applying search, screening, and extraction processes guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) principles, we selected thirty-two empirical studies as data for this review. Results indicate that though informal programs are making connections between their educational efforts and the Ocean Literacy Guide, principles and concepts are unevenly represented in this space, with a particular bias towards the biodiversity of ocean life (Concept 5C) and the role of humans hurting (Concept 6E) or helping (Concept 6G) the ocean. While recognizing limitations of our study design with respect to our coding methodology, we also recommend changes to the Ocean Literacy Guide that are based on trends observed in informal ocean education. Specifically, we recommend the development of an eighth principle in order to capture the multi-faceted consequences of climate change on the ocean and the human contribution to such effects. The results of this study provide an initial framework to support informal educators as essential partners in reforming and reframing ocean education through effective ocean science learning experiences.