A study about the presence of marine terms in Spanish Primary Education curricula

Abstract

Oceans provide the Earth with a wide range of fundamental benefits, and yet, they are in danger. To protect them, marine literacy should be taught in schools. The main objective of this study is thus to determine whether ocean-related terms are included in the primary education curricula of the autonomous communities of Spain (PEC). The results indicate a scarce presence of ocean-related terms in the natural sciences area of the PEC. In addition, analysis revealed that there is no relationship between the relative mention of the term “coast” and the relative length of local coastlines, indicating that the PEC do not take advantage of the place attachment factor. According to the natural sciences Basque curriculum, it is the responsibility of the primary education schools and teachers to determine to what extent marine elements are to be taught and how they are implemented for the development of the scientific competencies.