The Blue School Program: A Model for Holistic Ocean Literacy Education
Raquel L. Costa, Cláudia Faria
Abstract
The Blue School Program is an educational initiative to enhance ocean literacy (OL) by fostering understanding and awareness of the ocean’s importance among students, teachers, and local communities. Through a holistic, interdisciplinary, and intercultural approach, it integrates scientific, cultural, and ethical dimensions of ocean education. This perspective paper examines the program’s implementation in Portugal, emphasizing its contribution to crucial educational domains such as sustainability education, scientific literacy, and citizenship education. The findings highlight notable achievements, including increased school and community engagement and the establishment of robust public-private partnerships, while also addressing challenges such as resource constraints and geographic disparities. By situating the Blue School Program within broader educational frameworks and analyzing its limitations and enablers, this paper offers insights and recommendations to support the collaborative development of Blue School networks and OL initiatives in diverse educational contexts.