Towards Sustainable Marine Education: Assessing High School Students' Understanding of Conservation Concepts

Abstract

This study assesses the concepts of marine resource conservation and sustainability among Taiwanese high school students by developing a Chinese version of the Marine Resources Conservation and Sustainability Scale. Grounded in the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral learning objectives outlined in UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDGs), the scale targets students aged 16 to 18 to examine gender differences in marine knowledge and conservation concepts. The scale comprises 31 items across four dimensions: the first section evaluates marine knowledge, while the remaining dimensions utilize a four-point Likert scale to assess cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral learning objectives, respectively. The results indicate that the scale demonstrates strong reliability and validity, with female students outperforming male students in socio-emotional and behavioral learning objectives. This newly developed scale provides a reliable tool for evaluating students' understanding of marine knowledge and conservation concepts, essential for addressing real-world marine environmental challenges.