An Assessment of Differences between White Students' and Black Students' Involvement in Marine Related Activities

摘要

The Marine Attitude and Activity Assessment was administered to students enrolled in Marine Biology and selected other classes at Biloxi High School in March 1979. A total of 342 students answered all items on the survey, and constitute the sample on which comparisons were made. Most of the students were in the 10th or 11th grade and there was an almost equal distribution of males and females. However, since there were 267 white students compared to 75 black students, all results are expressed as percentages. The Marine involvement project was based on the premise that minority students do not participate in marine-related activities to the extent white students do. While the results of this investigation certainly support this contention, the reasons for this discrepancy are more complex than it was originally assumed. The results of this investigation certainly support the need to not only make students more aware of the marine environment by encouraging participation in marine-related activities, but also the need to provide instruction in such activities as swimming and water safety.