Authors:Berat AHİ; Deniz KAHRİMAN PAMUK Abstract: The purpose of the current study is to determine the opinions of children attending forest kindergarten about the concept of environment. The participants of the study are thirty six 50-70 month-old children attending a forest kindergarten. In line with the purpose of the study, the triangulation design, one of the qualitative research models, was used. In the quantitative dimension of the current study, the children were asked to draw what comes to their mind when they hear the word “environment” and then interviews were conducted with the children about their drawings. Then, on the basis of the codes derived from the drawings and DAET-R, it was attempted to understand the structure of their opinions about environment. In the qualitative dimension of the study, interviews were conducted according to the phenomenological design. As a result of the analyses conducted, it was concluded that the children generally evaluated nature as environment. In both drawings and interviews, the children generally drew and mentioned biotic and abiotic factors. The concepts of human and designed environment were rarely emphasized in the drawings and interviews. Given that the participating children were attending a forest kindergarten it was already expected by the researchers that their opinions would be “nature” centred. In light of these findings, it is thought that it is important to make educational programs built on environmental education more widespread. PubDate: Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +030
Authors:Magdalena HOŁY-ŁUCZAJ; Kamil LUCZAJ Abstract: This paper advocates developing an alternative strategy for encouraging environmentally responsible actions related to technical artifacts (useful, human-made objects). It argues that we should care for and respect them as unique individuals embedded in the network of functionality (positive intrinsic motivation) and not only because neglecting them may lead to an ecological catastrophe (negative intrinsic motivation) or because of external motivators, e.g. saving money (extrinsic motivation). Such a reinforcement of positive engagement with artifacts through environmental education may complement existing strategies aimed at transforming patterns of how humans deal with them. The paper concludes with suggestions for classroom activities targeted at undergraduate students for cultivating a revised understanding of everyday artifacts. PubDate: Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +030
Authors:Duygu ÇALIŞ; Sibel BALCI Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the mental models of primary school students about the concept of environment. The research group consisted of 400 students, 219 girls and 181 boys, enrolling to the 3rd and 4th grade in a primary school located in İstanbul. The students were asked to draw the environment and explain the items they draw. Students’ drawings were converted into quantitative data and scored with Draw an Environment Test-Rubric. When the drawings were examined, it was found that there are 110 different items related to the concept of environment. These items include biotic elements such as humans, different kinds of animals and plants, as well as abiotic elements such as sun, cloud, rain and sea. It was seen that there are also elements of artificial environment such as houses, cars, schools, factories and roads. Mann-Whitney U Test was used in statistical comparisons to determine the difference between the total scores obtained from the drawings according to grade level and gender. While there was a significant difference between the scores of the 3rd and 4th grade students (MD3rd grade=189,46 n=200, MD4th grade =211,54 n=200, U=17792, p=.04), no significant difference was found in the comparisons made according to the gender (MDgirls=205,92 n=219, MDboys=193,94 n=181, U=18632,50, p=.29). The drawings showed that the majority of the students do not see humans as a part of the environment and they have unscientific and missing mental models about the environment. PubDate: Thu, 08 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +030
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