Many marine biology educators and communicators in the UK bemoan the fact that the ocean doesn’t feature in nearly enough depth in the national curriculum. Children are leaving school lacking basic knowledge of the variety of life in the sea, the earth system, or its importance for providing ecosystem services that are vital for human survival.
Back in 2011, marine scientist Ceri Lewis and explorer, ocean advocate, and educator Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop were part of the Catlin Arctic Survey expedition, hunkered down in a tent on the sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, waiting for a snowstorm to pass. They had an idea to change the way future generations learn about the ocean and the world around them.
Catlin Arctic Survey: polar explorers and scientists measured the impacts of climate change on the Arctic environment and beyond. © Martin Hartley.
What too few people grasp is the extent of the ocean’s influence on us and our influence on the ocean. This knowledge forms part of ocean literacyLiteracy, which, in its simplest form, is about mending people’s relationship with the ocean and how it impacts their lives. It is not a new idea, but has gained much traction in academic, social, and political circles following its integration into the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
A review of the national curriculum was announced in January 2011 and was ongoing until 2014. Ocean Literacy UK was formed to influence this review, initial drafts of which had no mention of the ocean. Advocacy by Ocean Literacy UK made inroads through the inclusion of the phrase ‘globally significant places—both terrestrial and marine’ into geography, and including the ocean as an alternative habitat for the teaching of biological processes in science.
In 2024, a new national curriculum review was announced, with recommendations to be published in 2025.
The ‘Arctic Live’ expedition to Svalbard. Dr Ceri Lewis observes a large plankton net used to sample both zooplankton and microplastics. © Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop.
Helping teachers use ocean contexts
To a minister conducting a review of the National Curriculum, marine biology is just one of many competing interests. Jamie says, ‘I don’t want the ocean to be half an hour in the curriculum It’s essential, not just for understanding our planet, but for enhancing the quality of a young person’s environmental education from a basic physical and biological science point of view, and for how they find their place on this planet.’
When looking at the place of the ocean in the national curriculum, it can be instructive to distinguish between content and context. While Ocean Literacy UK did add explicit mentions of ocean content, there are still many opportunities to teach using ocean contexts. From food chains to habitats, and adaptation to human impact, there are many topics in the science programmes of study that do not specify any particular way in which they should be taught. ‘Teachers will naturally gravitate towards using contexts that are close to them, such as the school grounds,’ says Jamie. ‘We want to see more scope for those concepts to be deepened by using ocean contexts alongside school grounds contexts.’ This is particularly the case in the primary and early secondary curriculum, and work is underway as part of the current curriculum review to enable teachers to think about using the ocean as a context for study. In the 2014 curriculum review, for example, weather and climate change, hydrology and coasts, and human impact on the environment featured more prominently in geography for key stage 3 (ages 11–14). These are natural entry points for ocean topics.
Supporting learners towards behaviour change
The knowledge to action gap is something that environmental educators of all stripes have worked on for decades. The current national curriculum focuses on knowledge and awareness. However, recent UNESCO ocean literacy publications have pushed for a wider conception that supports learners towards behaviour change.
In the current education model, the two pillars of learning are knowledge and awareness, and skills and behaviours. ‘A lot of the work we’ve done over the past decade has been about getting knowledge and awareness into the curriculum,’ says Jamie. ‘The next stage is to look at how education can move people to behave, act, and think differently. Newer models of environmental literacy show the need to introduce connectedness, values and attitudes, and competences to bridge the gap between knowledge and action.
‘The challenge, therefore, is moving from “I know stuff” to “I feel connected to this, I want to do something about it, and I have the skills to do something …”.’ Without this broader conception of ocean literacy, there is no clear pathway to teach, for example, climate action or nature conservation.
What would an ocean-literate curriculum look like?
According to the briefing paper, The ocean in the national curriculum, ocean literacy in the curriculum is still hampered by:
- a lack of coherence teaching the Earth System, together with living things and habitats;
- loss of the connection between knowledge and action, namely the development of connectedness to environments, values, attitudes, and competences;
- a lack of concerted development of ocean topics in upper key stages, and the continuation of the view that the ocean is one habitat rather than a plurality of habitats.
Four broad areas were identified where the ocean can be made more prominent, to enhance not only ocean literacy but also a more coherent and current curriculum offer overall: the Earth System; ecosystem goods and services; equality between terrestrial and marine ecosystems; and a fuller idea of environmental literacy that connects knowledge and awareness all the way to behaviour change.
Connecting scientists and teachers
Let's rewind to that discussion on the ice during the 2011 expedition. Dr Ceri Lewis from the University of Exeter takes up the story. ‘I was working on copepods, which are the most abundant little animal on the planet. Camping at –30°C is a fantastic storyline for hooking kids into the science that we were doing. Copepods play an important role in global carbon cycling and I was on the ice to study their responses to changes in the carbonate chemistry of the seawater in the spring transition period.
Ceri Lewis.
Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop. © Ceri Lewis.
‘Jamie and I decided to try and engage schoolkids with copepods by linking to the effort we were going to in order to study them, and then giving the big numbers about these incredible little animals.’
Jamie, previously a teacher in an inner-city London school, had recently set up an educational organization called Encounter Edu (see Box).¹ When he was invited on the expedition, there was nothing in the PGCE (teacher training course) about marine life, and the word ‘ocean’ didn’t appear in biology curriculums.
Ceri explains, ‘There was a lack of confidence among teachers to use ocean examples because they weren’t taught them. Additionally, most schools were underequipped for outdoor activities, limiting the experiences in nature they were able to have.’
Rather than dwelling on why marine biology wasn’t taught, Ceri and Jamie approached teachers directly. After countless conversations with many teachers, Encounter Edu came up with simple teaching materials that integrated the ocean in the delivery of core topics in the curriculum (See Box). One of the methods was to use ocean examples to illustrate key concepts: for example, photosynthesis. ‘
Jamie would always come back to me with the example of the hardest-to-reach child in whom to instil excitement about teaching resources: a theoretical child who doesn’t get breakfast before he comes to school and has never been to the beach.’
The outcome from the Arctic expedition was hugely successful: the first set of marine-themed resources for teachers aimed at schoolchildren from ages 7 to 16 that bridged the gap between the curriculum and current marine biological research that they were conducting. These resources ongoing expanded into a series of live lesson broadcasts from research in the Arctic.
More recently, Ceri has worked with Encounter Edu on a new set of resources, based around the Convex Seascape Survey.1 ‘It’s about carbon, how it accumulates in mud, what lives in the mud, and why it’s important for climate change. I’ve been really happy with how kids have engaged with that.’
Box: Encounter Edu resources
Encounter Edu produces ready-to-use online resources, including live lessons by researchers and scientists, and hands-on activity plans.
Ocean expeditions and field scientists represent great content that can really make the curriculum come to life. Encounter Edu’s resources are made up of two components: a large library of lesson plans, activities, and multimedia that can be used on an ad hoc basis, and live lessons broadcast on YouTube. Ceri Lewis explains, ‘Children can type in questions and the scientist answers them, referring to the school and the child by name. Kids really engage with that because they can see that you are talking to them, they see where you are, and you tell them what you’re doing.’
Above: Ocean Heroes, one of Encounter Edu’s wide range of online ocean teaching resources.
Resources that bring new, often unfamiliar, subject knowledge have to be:
• engaging and fun for kids
• aligned with what teachers have to teach
• easy for teachers
• comprehensive and off-the-shelf
Example: how do you give children a practical explanation of how blubbery Arctic animals are
adapted to their environment? Get a child to put on one rubber glove and cover that hand in margarine. Their other hand is bare skin. The child puts both hands in a bucket of water and ice to compare the insulating qualities.
Encounter Edu’s resources are aligned to the curriculum or exam specifications and are available for free on their website upon registering.
See: encounteredu.com
Connecting knowledge (awareness) and action (behaviour change)
Global Citizenship was taken out of the curriculum in the 2014 review so that big topics such as climate change and nature loss could be taught by subject specialists. Consequently, values and attitudes could no longer be taught alongside subject content.
Encounter Edu resources place emphasis on the values and attitudes to help bridge the gap between knowledge and action. YouTube live broadcasts connect young people to scientists. ‘Scientists are human beings, too', says Jamie. 'They see change and they want to understand and make a difference, and they want people to be engaged.’
Technology also has a role to play in connecting children to environments they may never be able to visit. Encounter Edu has used the XL Catlin Seaview Survey with Google Expeditions in which virtual reality enables users to explore coral reefs.
‘Working with scientists like Ceri is ideal because you have someone who’s at the forefront of how the planet is changing,’ says Jamie. ‘The ability to explain those changes and the desire to help translate that into what 7–16-year-olds might understand is fantastic.’
The hope is that the current curriculum review process will result in robust subject knowledge alongside the development of values, skills, and action.
Embedding ocean literacy in the UK national curriculum
Ocean Literacy UK has increased opportunities for ocean educators to support teachers, schools, and education organizations to develop ocean literacy as an integrated curriculum topic rather than as an extracurricular activity.
There are many ways for marine biologists to help teach ocean topics in schools. ‘In its simplest form, you can just show photographs of what you do,’ says Jamie, ‘making sure you include the smelliest, stinkiest, scariest examples. Grab a resource from somewhere like Encounter Edu, offer to go to your local school and ‘team teach’ with a teacher. You would be an absolute hero in their eyes.’
The briefing paper, The ocean in the National Curriculum, by Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop and Blue Marine Foundation, has been submitted to the Department for Education as part of the current curriculum review. Victoria Turner, Education Lead at Blue Marine Foundation said: 'Integrating ocean literacy into the core curriculum is essential. Rather than treating it as an ancillary topic, it should serve as a powerful framework for teaching science, geography, and sustainability. The ocean plays a crucial role in regulating our climate, supporting biodiversity, and shaping our future. By embedding ocean contexts within the national curriculum, we can enable young people to appreciate the myriad solutions that benefit both humanity and planetary health. At Blue Marine Foundation, we view the current curriculum review as a pivotal opportunity to incorporate ocean literacy into the heart of education. This will ensure that future generations are equipped with the knowledge and optimism needed to foster a sustainable and resilient relationship with our planet.'
If you’d like to help influence the development of the UK national curriculum to include more ocean literacy, please share the briefing paper with your MP or other government representatives.
Briefing paper Ocean Literacy in the Curriculum full.pdf
• Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop (jamie@encounteredu.com) Founder and CEO of Encounter Edu.
• Dr Ceri Lewis (C.N.Lewis@exeter.ac.uk), Associate Professor in Marine Biology, University of Exeter.
@cezzalew.bsky.social
• Guy Baker Mem.MBA
Further reading
Encounter Edu and Blue Marine Foundation. 2025. The ocean in the National Curriculum. Available at: mymba.mba.ac.uk/resource/the-ocean-in-the-national-curriculum.html
McKinley, E. 2023. The evolution of ocean literacy. The Marine Biologist. 27. mymba.mba.ac.uk/resource/the-evolution-ofocean- literacy.html
1. convexseascapesurvey.com
