Purpose With this article, we aim to open up and further develop the conceptualization of educational practices associated with ocean literacy (OL) by enquiring into age-appropriate practices and conceptualization. Furthermore, we aim to make ocean knowledge relevant to early childhood education. Design/Approach/Method Drawing on practices developing research inspired by utopian action research, this study enquires into children's, teachers’, artists’, and researchers’ co-exploration of local ocean landscapes and their connection to oceans through stories and world maps. The article investigates ocean literacies by researching how younger children sense, co-explore, and express their experiences in local landscapes connected to the ocean. Findings Based on the existing ocean literacy concept and literature, this study, with its detailed narrative descriptions, gives ground to propose the concept of emergent ocean literacy (EOL) to better define the youngest children's first conceptualizing of oceans and ocean landscapes and the pedagogical practices to develop a “glocal” mindset. Originality/Value While most educational OL studies reference higher education and university studies, this study fills a gap in ocean literacy knowledge. The study reveals that young children understand and take part in collective memories of critical events concerning the welfare of the ocean.
Ødegaard et al. (Mon,) studied this question.