Here's how to figure that out:

* Electron Configuration: Oxygen's electron configuration is 1s² 2s² 2p⁴.

* Valence Electrons: Valence electrons are the electrons in the outermost energy level of an atom. For oxygen, this is the second energy level (2s² 2p⁴).

* Counting: The 2s subshell has 2 electrons, and the 2p subshell has 4 electrons. Therefore, oxygen has a total of 2 + 4 = 6 valence electrons.