New study reveals how young children begin to build connections with the ocean

A study argues that ocean education for young children should begin not with formal instruction, but with opportunities to explore, imagine, and interact with the world around them. Drawing on an 18-week collaborative project combining art and landscape experiences in Norwegian kindergartens, the study highlights the importance of age-appropriate approaches to advancing education for sustainable development and ocean literacy in early childhood education settings.

As concerns about ocean health, marine pollution, and sustainability continue to grow worldwide, educators are increasingly exploring how ocean literacy can be fostered from an early age. While previous research has largely focused on older students and higher education, a new study published on June 1, 2026 in ECNU Review of Education examines how young children develop meaningful understandings of oceans through collaborative exploration in coastal landscapes. The study introduces the concept of Emergent Ocean Literacy (EOL) as a framework for understanding and supporting children's first encounters with ocean-related knowledge and sustainability issues.

The study adopted a practices-developing research approach involving three kindergartens on the west coast of Norway. Thirty-six children aged three to five participated in an interdisciplinary project titled Ocean Portraits. The project was partly inspired by a widely reported environmental event in Norway in which a whale was found with large amounts of plastic in its stomach, becoming a powerful symbol of human impacts on marine ecosystems. Inspired by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the project brought together children, teachers, artists, and researchers to explore local ocean environments through storytelling, mapping, artistic creation, and dialogue. Data were collected through field notes, observations, photographs, videos, conversations, and participant narratives documenting children's interactions with coastal environments.

A key focus of the project was enabling children to engage directly with places where land and sea meet. Through repeated visits to beaches and coastal areas, children explored diverse natural phenomena and developed understandings through sensory experiences—feeling cold seawater, examining objects found along the shore, observing changes in weather and tides, and sharing their discoveries with peers and adults. 

The researchers documented several examples of how children's ocean understanding emerged through collaborative exploration. In one activity, children selected small beach stones from the beach and used them to explore a world map, imagining where their stones might belong while discussing continents, oceans, marine animals, and habitats. Teachers and artists introduced geographical concepts naturally within children's imaginative play, allowing scientific ideas to develop through meaningful conversations rather than direct explanation. In another activity, children discovered dead seabirds on a beach and began discussing possible causes, from hunger to plastic pollution. Instead of immediately providing immediate definitive answers, teachers encouraged children to express their ideas and supported further reflection. The experience connected children's emotional responses with broader environmental issues, showing how real-world encounters can nurture ecological awareness.

The study also highlights the important role adults play role in extending children's thinking. During one beach visit, children noticed that the shoreline had changed because of the tides. An artist introduced the scientific concept of tides, while a teacher connected it to children's previous observations, helping them link new knowledge with personal observations. According to the researchers, scientific understanding can gradually emerge through dialogue and exploration rather than through instruction alone.

Based on these observations, the researchers identify several key features of Emergent Ocean Literacy. They suggest that meaningful ocean education for young children should involve sensory experiences in local environments, opportunities for imagination and creative expression, recognition of the connections between land and sea, dialogue that links children's observations with scientific ideas, and emotional engagement that encourages care for both human and non-human life. Together, these elements provide a foundation for environmental responsibility that develops alongside children's cognitive and emotional growth.

The authors argue that Emergent Ocean Literacy offers a valuable framework for early childhood education by recognizing children's unique ways of learning through sensing, exploring, imagining, and forming relationships with places. The study concludes that ocean literacy education should go beyond simply transmitting information. Instead, it should create opportunities for young children to experience, explore, and build meaningful connections with ocean environments. The researchers call for further investigation of EOL and greater attention to early childhood education in global sustainability and ocean literacy initiatives.