Attitudes toward the sea and conservation of students at a junior high school offering marine education: A comparison among Likert-scale items, open-ended questions, and drawing

As marine-resource conservation and sustainable use are global goals, teaching citizens about the marine environment and fostering their interest in the ocean is important. It is also desirable to foster an interest in, and attachment to, a local region, especially where the population is decreasing. Fishermen from the Hinase area of Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, started restoring eelgrass beds in the 1980s. This study used a questionnaire survey (n = 131) to examine the attitudes and willingness to conserve the local sea of students at Hinase Junior High School, which provides marine education during Integrated Studies periods. We analysed open-ended questions, students' drawings, and Likert-scale items. The analysis of Likert-scale items showed that nine categories (e.g. students' sense of place and willingness to conserve the local sea) did not differ among grades, which represented the duration of marine education. By contrast, the analyses of open-ended questions and students' drawings indicated that second- and third-year students were more likely than first-year students to write about material learned in the marine-education class (e.g. restoration activities, eelgrass). Third-year students understood biodiversity; compared to first- and second-year students, their drawings of the sea included more detail, implying the effectiveness of this teaching method. Multiple regression analysis revealed a correlation between students' attachment to the local region and their willingness to conserve the sea near Hinase. The marine-education programme at Hinase Junior High School not only teaches knowledge about the local sea but also provides opportunities for students to interact with residents and work with local fishermen, which potentially enhance their sense of attachment to the region and their intention to conserve the local sea. Marine education helps foster a "relationship population", people who intend to become involved in the region in the future.