An appreciative inquiry of youths’ experiences in the national service-learning program Ocean Bridge
Subject
Appreciative Inquiry; environmental education; experiential education; marine education; mentorship; ocean conservationAbstract
Human actions may compromise the health and the social, ecological, and economic value of the ocean. In response, Ocean Wise, an ocean conservation organization, launched a national service-learning program, Ocean Bridge, to mentor 40 youths aged 18 to 30 in delivering ocean-related service projects to raise ocean literacy and instill a life-long commitment to ocean health. The purpose of this research was to evaluate Ocean Bridge by exploring the experiences of participants from the 2018 cohort. Qualitative semi-structured interviews informed by an Appreciative Inquiry methodology were applied to understand the youths’ experiences. The results revealed community, personal growth, professional development, and pride as common themes of their experiences. The participants’ responses also offered examples of when Ocean Bridge was at its best in advancing ocean literacy, improving ocean health, and inspiring a culture of service leading to recommendations for the future development and facilitation of Ocean Bridge.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Appreciative inquiry in RRU mid-career student life
Agger-Gupta, Niels; Perodeau, Ann (Royal Roads University, 2016-06-01)The MA-Leadership (MAL) Program features an adult learning model and highlights three elements of the RRU Learning and Teaching Model (LTM): “facilitate authentic, challenging, collaborative and engaging learning experiences”; ... -
Personalized compassionate care : an appreciative inquiry exploring the positive core of Canadian health care
Humer, Michael F. (2012-11-15)This research explores how individuals make sense of their own lived experiences of health through the sharing of their stories and how the collectively shared meaning can be used to identify core values fundamental to ... -
Investigation of the influence of modified sediment on pH using rapid pH assessment methods
Haycroft, Carly (2015-01-08)Ocean acidification is changing the chemistry of the ocean and has the potential to result in large-scale ecosystem changes. Observations of dissolved shells and low survivorship rates of juvenile bivalves are a concern ...