Can the Ocean Save Our Future? Marine Resources as Catalysts for Educational Sustainability

Abstract

Marine ecosystems face unprecedented threats from overexploitation, pollution, and climate change, necessitating urgent integration of sustainability principles into vocational education systems. However, the intersection of marine resources and educational sustainability remains inadequately explored. This systematic scoping review investigates how marine resources can serve as catalysts for sustainability education, mapping research trends and identifying critical knowledge gaps. Data were retrieved from Scopus (1999-2024) using the keywords "Marine Resources" OR "Marine Environment" OR "Marine Ecosystem" AND "Sustainability" AND "Education," yielding 124,492 initial records. Following PRISMA guidelines and exclusion of unrelated disciplines, 77 publications from 53 sources were analyzed using Biblioshiny. The analysis examined publication trends, citation patterns, authorship networks, and thematic clusters through co-occurrence network analysis. Results revealed four distinct research phases with 9.2% annual growth, involving 340 authors with 33.8% international collaboration. Four thematic clusters emerged: (1) sustainability and marine environment integration (highest centrality), (2) local participation and natural resource management, (3) resource management and stakeholder engagement, and (4) environmental protection and human dimensions. Ocean literacy, marine education, and sustainability emerged as pivotal conceptual nodes connecting ecological science with pedagogical practice. The findings demonstrate growing global attention to marine education sustainability, yet reveal insufficient integration into vocational curricula. Vocational education systems must adopt structured sustainability frameworks equipping students with competencies to address marine challenges. Future research should focus on developing localized, industry-oriented curricula that strengthen vocational education as a transformative driver of long-term marine resource sustainability and conservation.