1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Education U.S.A.: An Overview 



Education and Training Programs in Oceanography and Related Fields. Available from the 

 Marine Technology Society, 1828 L Street. NW. Suite 906, Washington, D.C. 20036-5104. 

 (202)775-5966, fax: (202)429-9417. 



Strategies for Pursuing a Career in Marine Mammal Science. Allen Press, P.O. Box 1 897, 

 Lawrence, KS 66044-8897, 800/627-0629. 



Taking the Initiative: Report on a Leadership Conference for Women in Science and Technology. 

 Available from the Association for Women in Science, 1 522 K Street, NW, Suite 820, 

 Washington. D.C, 20005, (202)408-0742, fax:(202)408-8321, e-mail:awis@digex.net. 



Careers in Oceanography. Neritic Enterprises, PO Box 5485, Santa Barbara, CA 93 108. 



There is a need to communicate information about marine careers to high school 

 guidance counselors. California Sea Grant sends its Directory of Marine Programs to every 

 counselor in the state. NOAA, the U.S. Navy, and/or CORE should consider buying a booth at 

 the national conference of career and guidance counselors. 



CONCLUSIONS 



Informal marine education is extensive and growing in the United States. The media has 

 improved its coverage in both extent and quality over the past 25 years. There are many aquaria 

 and similar institutions available for public viewing and education. These institutions have 

 extensive and usually high quality education programs. Sea Web has begun a worthy program of 

 raising the awareness of the public about ocean issues. The U.S. Congress has also shown new 

 interest about ocean issues and policy after a 25-year hiatus. Government agencies are 

 extensively involved in a wide range of informal marine education endeavors and maintain a 

 high level of quality. 



K-12 marine education appears to lag other aspects of marine education. There are a few 

 curricular programs and materials that are available from aquaria and government agencies. 

 Science textbooks have little coverage of the ocean. Teacher training in marine education is 

 almost non-existent in universities. Several government agencies have in-service teacher training 

 programs. The new NRC National Science Education Standards ignore the ocean. 



Higher education is a bright spot in marine education. Graduate programs are high quality 

 and produce adequate members of scientists to meet national needs with the exception of marine 

 affairs (social sciences). Marine affairs is of growing importance to the nation and there is a need 

 to develop new graduate degree programs. Maritime academies meet the national needs at this 

 time considering the low availability of jobs in the merchant sector. NSF and Sea Grant are the 

 main supporters of ocean science graduate students. 



K-21 



