Exploring Children’s Understanding of Marine Environment through the STEAM Approach in North Maluku Coastal Areas

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-537-9_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

early childhood education; marine environment; STEAM; coastal area

Abstract

Coastal areas are ecologically rich yet vulnerable environments, increasingly affected by pollution and human activities. Instilling environmental awareness from an early age is crucial in supporting long-term marine conservation efforts. This study explores the understanding of children aged 5–6 years about the marine environment through the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) approach, specifically in a coastal community context. Using a descriptive qualitative method, the research involved 15 B group students of PAUD Pembina 8 Ternate. Data were collected through observations, documentation, and a checklist-based assessment conducted during the thematic learning “Love Our Ocean.” The assessment focused on four indicators: understanding of marine cleanliness, environmental awareness, participation, and interest. Learning activities were designed to integrate STEAM elements through hands-on exploration. Findings show that most children achieved developmental levels categorized as “Developing as Expected” (BSH) and “Very Well Developed (BSB)”. Children were able to recognize the impact of litter on marine life, showed empathetic behavior, participated actively in thematic activities, and demonstrated curiosity about the ocean. The STEAM approach proved to be an effective, contextual, and engaging method to foster both cognitive and affective understanding of the marine environment. This study concludes that integrating environmental education with STEAM in early childhood curricula is not only feasible but impactful—particularly in coastal regions. Such an approach encourages young learners to become environmentally conscious individuals who care for the ocean from an early age.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Farida Samad
AU  - Zulkifli Zam Zam
AU  - Ana Safitri
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/19
TI  - Exploring Children’s Understanding of Marine Environment through the STEAM Approach in North Maluku Coastal Areas
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Education (ICE-3 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 119
EP  - 131
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-537-9_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-537-9_12
ID  - Samad2026
ER  -