Scientific Literacy to Address Sustainability: A Study on Deep-Sea Mining Education with Adolescents from a Social Care Institution

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2025

Authors

Paz, M (Author) Other; Clara Vasconcelos (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Sustainability

Vol. 17

Final page: 688

ISSN: 2071-1050

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-017-YVJ

DOI: 10.3390/su17020688

Abstract (EN): Pursuing sustainable development is increasingly urgent due to resource depletion and environmental degradation, compounded by the need for a green energy transition requiring significant mineral resources. Traditional mining practices result in several environmental impacts, prompting the exploration of alternatives, like mining the ocean floor. This method offers a potentially less invasive way to obtain critical minerals. Notwithstanding, our understanding of the ocean ecosystem, which is crucial to Earth's life support system, is still too limited. This study aimed to assess an educational intervention on sea mining for polymetallic nodules while improving scientific literacy and system thinking and supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4, 13, and 14. A pre-/post-intervention design was implemented with 17 adolescents (aged 12-16 years) from an underprivileged non-formal context. The mixed-methods approach involved role-playing and modelling activities focused on the question: Do you agree with mining polymetallic nodules in deep-sea waters? The Wilcoxon test revealed that the intervention changed participants' opinions about the theme, showing a statistically significant difference in student responses before and after the intervention (Z = -2.165; p = 0.030). A content analysis showed enhanced argumentation, understanding of Earth's subsystems, and decision-making abilities. These findings suggest that the educational resource positively impacted students' scientific literacy on the topic. This approach can be extended to other contexts and inform future investigations.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 16