Investigating the breadth, scope and impact of marine science programs through informal education settings across Australia’s Great Southern Reef

As marine environments worldwide face numerous anthropogenic threats, understanding the role and functions of the ocean is paramount for effective management and protection. This is known as being “ocean-literate”. Ocean literacy is lacking from formal education systems across the globe. While ocean literacy is lacking in school curricula, the degree to which students achieve ocean literacy through informal education programs such as marine discovery centres and aquariums remains unknown. This study evaluated the marine programs offered by informal education providers across Australia’s Great Southern Reef. Using a mixed methods approach of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, this study specifically evaluated the level to which their programs aligned with the Australian Curriculum and the Ocean Literacy Principles. Results indicate that informal providers’ education programs were found to be well aligned with the Australian Curriculum, with 91.5% of respondents reporting to link their programs to the curriculum learning areas, with Science being the most represented learning area, and Biological sciences being the most taught Science stream. Almost half of the informal providers (51%) reported to currently incorporate the Ocean Literacy Principles into their education programs. Despite the lack of ocean literacy in the Australian Curriculum, this study provides first-time evidence that informal education providers offer an alternative solution to fostering a more ocean-literate society in southern Australia, and do so by providing students and the wider community with immersive, place-based learning experiences in the marine environment. This initial research provides foundational data in the Australian ocean literacy space to further explore relationships between formal and informal education settings, and how they could be better united in the context of marine education.