60-72 Aylık Çocukların Ekolojik Görüşlerinin Okullarda Orman Programı Kapsamında Hazırlanan Etkinliklere Göre İncelenmesi

Abstract

This study examines ecological views of children aged 60-72 months changed following environmental education activities prepared by the researcher and carried out with the children, scope of the “Learning About Forests” (LEAF), which is conducted in our country by Türkiye Çevre Eğitim Vakfı (TÜRÇEV). 15 children aged 60-72 months, their families and teacher formed the study group of the research. The “Children’s Attitudes Toward the Environmental Scale-Preschool Version (CATES-PV), adapted to Turkish by Kahriman-Öztürk (2010), was used. Moreover, the children were asked for their awareness of forests and trees. In addition, the children were asked to make drawing. The views of the families were obtained with a “family opinion form”, while those of the teacher were obtained with a “teacher’s interview form”. Activities prepared for the preschool children were implemented over a six-week period. During the programme, a total of 19 activities were carried out. Following the implementation of the LEAF, it was determined that in ecocentric terms, the children’s views had changed significantly in the subdimensions of water consumption, paper consumption, plants and insects and other animals, environmental pollution, recycling and means of transport. The families stated that, they mostly conducted the ones related to recycling and compost making at home, and their children’s consciousness of water consumption, electricity consumption and recycling and their interest in the natural world had increased. As for the teacher, she reported that following the programme, both her and the children’s knowledge regarding the environment had increased.