Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 11, Issue 2, Article 14 (Dec., 2010) E. Selcen DARCIN Trainee science teachers’ ideas about environmental problems caused by vehicle emissions Previous Contents Next

Method

1 Sample

The sample group for this study consists of randomly selected 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students from the Science Education Department of the Gazi Education Faculty in Turkey. The students were voluntarily involved. There were a total of 298 students in the sample with 174 females and 124 males.

2 Data Collection Tools

In this study, in order to identify university students’ knowledge levels and misconceptions about traffic based environmental problems, we used a questionnaire which is basically prepared by Hilman et al. (1996) and Boyes & Stanisstreet (1997). The measurement tool consists of 35 items that are used to determine the knowledge of the students about “traffic-based environmental problems.” The items of the measure are evaluated by Likert-type grades (true, false, no idea). In the data gathering phase, the “true” answers were graded by a score of “1,” and “false” and “no idea” answers are given a score of “0.” The maximum available score of the measure is “35.”

The template questionnaire was applied to 150 students who weren’t in the sample group. By using the data gathered from this set of students, the questions that were not understood clearly were reorganized. The questionnaire was examined by the experts in the field and the last version was formed. The validity and reliability tests of the questionnaire were conducted. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used as the indicator of reliability, and the reliability coefficient was determined to be 0.875.

3 Data Analysis

The frequency (f) and percent of frequency (%) of the respondents was obtained and the knowledge level and misconception of the students were identified.

Due to the subject areas, the classification of the items in the measure are as follows:

1. The relationship between car exhaust and the global environmental problems.

2. Gasses that are produced by cars' exhaust.

3. The effect of the gasses and heat on environmental problems.

In order to determine whether the overall score differs by gender, independent groups of t-tests were carried out. The data were analyzed using SPSS (SPSS 13.0 for Windows, SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).