Marine Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among University Students in Hong Kong: An Application of the Ocean Literacy Framework
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- i.
- The Earth has one big ocean with many features;
- ii.
- The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of the Earth;
- iii.
- The ocean has a significant influence on weather and climate;
- iv.
- The ocean made the Earth habitable;
- v.
- The ocean supports a great diversity of life and the ecosystem;
- vi.
- The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected;
- vii.
- The ocean is largely unexplored.
2. Methodology
2.1. Sampling Design
2.2. Questionnaire Design
2.3. The Survey
3. Statistical Analysis
4. Result
4.1. Self-Evaluation
4.2. General Marine Environmental Knowledge
4.3. Environmental Attitudes
4.4. Land–Sea Interaction and the Inclusion of Ocean Literacy Courses in Standard Curricula
5. Participation in Marine-Related Courses and Activities
6. Methods of Marine Environment Education
7. Discussion
7.1. Ocean Literacy and Attitudes
7.2. Demographic Variables in Students’ Ocean Literacy
7.3. University Variations in Students’ Ocean Literacy
7.4. Participating in Marine-Related Activities
8. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Survey Questionnaire
Statement (Attitude) | SA | MA | U | MD | SD |
Positive statement items | |||||
A1. The present generation should ensure that the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations | |||||
A2. The earth is like a spaceship with only limited room and resources | |||||
A3. To maintain a healthy and sustained marine ecosystem, we will have to control utilization of marine living resources | |||||
A4. When humans interfere with the marine environment, it often produces disastrous consequences | |||||
A5. Humans must live in harmony with marine nature in order to survive | |||||
A6. The balance of marine nature is very delicate and easily upset | |||||
A7. Mankind is severely abusing the marine environment | |||||
Negative statement items | |||||
A8. Humans have the right to modify the marine environment to suit their needs | |||||
A9. Humans need not adapt to the marine environment because they can remake it to suit their needs | |||||
A10. Plants and animals exist primarily to be used by humans |
1. University | 2. Seminar |
3. Exhibition | 4. Visits |
5. Workshop | 6. Web resources |
7. Eco/Geo | 8. None 9. Other (Specify)…………………….. |
1. Your University | 2. Government |
3. NGO | 4. Your community |
5. Other (Please specify):………………… |
1. Enhancing Knowledge | 2. Increasing personal network |
3. Contribution to the environment | 4. It is a university activity. |
5. For career development | 6. Incentives |
7. Peer pressure | 8. Other (Specify)…………. |
1. Too expensive | 2. The schedule is not suitable |
3. Bad weather conditions | 4. High demand on physical ability |
5. Not interesting enough | 6. lack of promotion |
7. Others (specify): ______ |
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University | Area | Participants |
---|---|---|
The Education University of Hong Kong (EduHK) | Tai Po, New Territories | 24 |
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) | Sha Tin, New Territories | 32 |
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) | Kowloon Tong, Kowloon | 20 |
City University of Hong Kong (CityU) | Kowloon Tong, Kowloon | 21 |
Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (Poly U) | Hong Hum, Kowloon | 22 |
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) | Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Island | 23 |
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) | Clear Water Bay, New Territories | 25 |
Lingnan University | Tuen Mun, New Territories | 21 |
Total: 8 Universities | 188 |
Ocean Literacy Principle | Number of Questions | Question Range |
---|---|---|
1. The Earth has one big ocean with many features | 3 | M3–M5 |
2. The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of earth | 3 | M6–M8 |
3. The ocean has a major influence on weather and climate | 2 | M9–M10 |
4. The ocean made the Earth habitable | 1 | M11 |
5. The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems | 3 | M12–M14 |
6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected | 6 | M15–M20 |
7. The ocean is largely unexplored | 2 | M21–M22 |
Total | 20 |
M1. In General, to What Extent Do You Think You Know About General Marine Environmental Knowledge? | M2. To What Extent Do You Think You Learned about the Marine Environment in Your School Life (Primary and Secondary)? | Actual Knowledge Score M1 (Mean ± SD) | Actual Knowledge Score M2 (Mean ± SD) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
A lot (%) | 3.72 | 3.19 | 10.71 ± 4.46 | 11.16 ± 5.06 |
A fair amount (%) | 20.21 | 15.42 | 10.02 ± 2.76 | 9.51 ± 2.89 |
Only a little (%) | 59.04 | 62.76 | 9.74 ± 3.10 | 9.56 ± 2.99 |
Practically nothing (%) | 17.02 | 18.61 | 8.74 ± 2.73 | 10.02 ± 3.04 |
Question | Correct (%) | Incorrect (%) |
---|---|---|
M3. Which one is the world’s largest ecosystem on the earth? | 71.3 | 21.7 |
M4. The ocean contains the earth’s_____ | 37.8 | 62.2 |
M5. Approximately how much of the earth’s water is fresh and unfrozen (neither ice nor ocean)? | 38.9 | 69.1 |
M6. What are the major pollutants found on sea beach? | 65.4 | 34.6 |
M7. Water moves from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back again to the ocean by a process called | 79.3 | 20.7 |
M8. Sea level changes over time have_____ | 47.3 | 52.7 |
M9. Which are the primary sources of oil in the ocean? | 17.6 | 82.4 |
M10. The ocean controls weather and climate by dominating which following earth’s systems? | 51.6 | 48.4 |
M11. What happens to sunlight in the ocean as depth increases? | 72.3 | 27.7 |
M12. Where is a greater diversity of living organisms found? | 73.9 | 26.1 |
M13. Which of the following is not the main threat for Chinese white dolphin? | 23.9 | 76.1 |
M14. What produces most of the earth’s oxygen and is also a potential source of agar and bioethanol? | 46.3 | 53.7 |
M15. The ocean dominates the earth’s carbon cycle. Approximately how much of all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean? | 17.1 | 83.9 |
M16. What is the main source of marine pollution? | 40.4 | 59.6 |
M17. Which of the following Marine reptiles is in the significant threat of fishing bycatch, illegal trade, and habitat loss? | 54.3 | 45.7 |
M18. Which form of plastic can be very dangerous when it transports along with the marine food web? | 31.3 | 68.6 |
M19. Which following technology tools do ocean scientists rely on more to explore the ocean? | 36.2 | 63.8 |
M20. Which of the following metal pollution in seawater could be very much harmful to human health via consumption of fish? | 71.8 | 28.2 |
M21. Which of the following ocean ecosystems provides habitat for one-third of all marine species? | 42.1 | 57.9 |
M22. The ocean is the last and largest unexplored place on earth. How much of the ocean remains unexplored? | 59.0 | 41.0 |
Topic | Gender | N | Mean | SD | Df | t-v | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Knowledge score | Male | 106 | 9.96 | 3.18 | 186 | 1.35 | p > 0.05 |
Female | 82 | 9.3 | 2.22 | ||||
Attitude score | Male | 106 | 3.35 | 0.56 | 186 | −1.48 | p > 0.05 |
Female | 82 | 3.48 | 0.56 | ||||
Correlation among GMEK, Attitude, and LSI | |||||||
GMEK | Attitude | LSI | |||||
GMEK | 1.000 | ||||||
Attitude | 0.124 | 1.000 | |||||
LSI | 0.179 * | 0.384 ** | 1.000 |
Statements | Mean | SD |
---|---|---|
Positive statements | ||
A1. The present generation should ensure that the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations | 4.07 | 0.99 |
A2. The earth is like a spaceship with only limited room and resources | 3.62 | 1.30 |
A3. To maintain a healthy and sustained marine ecosystem, we will have to control utilization of marine living resources | 3.93 | 1.14 |
A4. When humans interfere with the marine environment, it often produces disastrous consequences | 3.70 | 1.11 |
A5. Humans must live in harmony with marine nature in order to survive | 3.8 | 1.04 |
A6. The balance of marine nature is very delicate and easily upset | 2.6 | 1.21 |
A7. Mankind is severely abusing the marine environment | 4.03 | 0.93 |
Negative statement items | ||
A8. Humans have the right to modify the marine environment to suit their needs | 2.84 | 1.20 |
A9. Humans need not adapt to the marine environment because they can remake it to suit their needs | 2.77 | 1.28 |
A10. Plants and animals exist primarily to be used by humans | 2.71 | 1.30 |
Mean attitude score | 3.42 | 0.56 |
Statement | Mean | SD | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
P1. “General Marine environmental study should be included as a course curriculum at the university level especially for the students who aren’t majoring in marine science” | 3.18 | 1.02 | ||
P2. “Marine environmental knowledge is highly important for sustainable environmental management” | 3.52 | 1.12 | ||
P3. “Land-based activities highly influence the marine environment; therefore, understanding the marine environment is very important to fill up the knowledge gap between land-based pollution and Marine pollution” LSI score against different demographic variables | 3.57 | 1.04 | ||
Demographic variable | N | |||
Year of study | 1st | 55 | 3.39 | 0.85 |
2nd | 57 | 3.26 | 0.86 | |
3rd | 31 | 3.39 | 0.76 | |
4th | 26 | 3.63 | 0.97 | |
Master | 11 | 3.81 | 0.74 | |
P. graduate | 8 | 3.65 | 0.96 | |
Major of study | Science | 96 | 3.62 a | 0.82 |
Arts | 54 | 3.17 b | 0.81 | |
Business | 27 | 3.42 ab | 0.92 | |
S. science | 10 | 2.96 b | 0.85 | |
University | EdUHK | 24 | 3.60 ac | 0.85 |
CUHK | 32 | 3.26 bcd | 0.97 | |
HKBU | 20 | 3.64 ad | 0.86 | |
CityU | 21 | 3.34 ab | 0.82 | |
PolyU | 22 | 3.11 bc | 0.88 | |
HKU | 23 | 3.77 a | 0.81 | |
HKUST | 25 | 3.59 ac | 0.67 | |
LingnanU | 21 | 3.06 b | 0.77 | |
Parents education | TL | 90 | 3.42 | 0.91 |
SS | 77 | 3.48 | 0.80 | |
PS | 21 | 3.21 | 0.81 |
Question | Response | % | Attitude Score | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean | SD | Df | t-v | p-Value | |||
D1 | YES | 10.63 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 187 | 3.3 | p < 0.01 |
NO | 89.36 | 3.3 | 0.5 | ||||
D2 | YES | 55.31 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 187 | 3.3 | p < 0.01 |
NO | 44.68 | 3.3 | 0.5 | ||||
D3 | YES | 30.85 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 187 | 3.3 | p < 0.01 |
NO | 69.14 | 3.3 | 0.5 |
Choice | Percentage (%) |
---|---|
Preferred organizations through which to participate in pro-environmental activities | |
University | 59.04 |
NGO | 44.66 |
Government | 19.14 |
Community organization | 12.76 |
Principal aims of joining a certain pro-environmental activities | |
Enhancing knowledge | 55.32 |
Increasing personal network | 24.46 |
Contribution to the environment | 56.30 |
For career development | 7.97 |
Peer pressure | 8.64 |
It is a university activity | 10.10 |
Incentives | 5.31 |
Major barriers to joining pro-environmental activities | |
Too expensive | 25.53 |
Bad weather conditions | 13.8 |
Not interesting enough | 35.63 |
The schedule is not suitable | 49.46 |
Lack of promotion | 41.48 |
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Mallick, D.; Tsang, E.P.K.; Lee, J.C.-K.; Cheang, C.C. Marine Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among University Students in Hong Kong: An Application of the Ocean Literacy Framework. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 4785. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064785
Mallick D, Tsang EPK, Lee JC-K, Cheang CC. Marine Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among University Students in Hong Kong: An Application of the Ocean Literacy Framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(6):4785. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064785
Chicago/Turabian StyleMallick, Debbrota, Eric Po Keung Tsang, John Chi-Kin Lee, and Chi Chiu Cheang. 2023. "Marine Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among University Students in Hong Kong: An Application of the Ocean Literacy Framework" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 6: 4785. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064785