Identifying Obstacles to Incorporating Ocean Content into California Secondary Classrooms
type: CreativeWork
description: The ocean is the dominant feature on this planet that makes all life on Earth possible. Marine educators and scientists across the country have identified essential principles and concepts that define what an “ocean literate” person should know, but there is a lack of comprehensive ocean content coverage in secondary classrooms across the United States. In California, limited ocean content standards exist in the primary grades, and diminish in the secondary grades. The main purpose of this study was to examine obstacles for secondary (grades 6-12) teachers to teach about the ocean in California public schools. Interviews were conducted with five teachers with professional development in ocean related curricula, to identify their personal obstacles to including ocean content in their classrooms. Obstacles identified ranged from high stakes testing to lack of time, but not a perceived lack of importance.
abstract: The ocean is the dominant feature on this planet that makes all life on Earth possible. Marine educators and scientists across the country have identified essential principles and concepts that define what an “ocean literate” person should know, but there is a lack of comprehensive ocean content coverage in secondary classrooms across the United States. In California, limited ocean content standards exist in the primary grades, and diminish in the secondary grades. The main purpose of this study was to examine obstacles for secondary (grades 6-12) teachers to teach about the ocean in California public schools. Interviews were conducted with five teachers with professional development in ocean related curricula, to identify their personal obstacles to including ocean content in their classrooms. Obstacles identified ranged from high stakes testing to lack of time, but not a perceived lack of importance.
author: Stock, Jennifer
keywords: STEM, Oceanography, Earth Sciences, Marine Literate, Elementary Education, Education
date published: 2010-05-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:04:28Z
provider: Dominican University of California
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Dominican University of California