USF St. Petersburg campus Honors Program Theses (Undergraduate)

First Advisor

Theresa Greely, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Catherine Wilkins, Ph.D.

Publisher

University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2024

Date Issued

December 2024

Abstract

The ocean provides many important economic, nutritional, and cultural resources and ecosystem services to human populations. However, many anthropogenic activities are threatening ocean ecosystems and these vital resources (Inniss et al., 2016). Ocean literacy is the knowledge, attitude, and behaviors that pertain to the ocean, its systems, and its relationships with humans (Brennan et al., 2019; Schoedinger et al., 2005). A key goal of ocean literacy is encouraging informed decisions and behaviors pertaining to the ocean, leading to responsible management and use of ocean resources (Santoro et al., 2018). Ocean attitudes and environmental moral reasoning are vital in influencing positive ocean behaviors (Brennan et al., 2019; Tuncay et al., 2012). Non-formal education can be a key contributor to ocean literacy. The Oceanography Camp especially for Girls (OCG) is a non-formal ocean literacy program hosted by the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science that provides hands-on learning activities to connect ocean science curriculum to real-world experiences. The goal of this thesis was to examine survey data and participant essays from OCG to examine the impacts of the program on (i) ocean attitudes and stewardship and (ii) environmental moral reasoning and to (iii) analyze the OCG learning experience from camp participants’ perspectives.

Comments

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Honors Program University of South Florida, St. Petersburg December 13, 2024.

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