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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 9, Issue 1, Article 9
(June, 2008) |
According to Tekin (2000), “To understand whether the expectations were realized or not, or how much they were realized, if realized, direction and amount of the change in the students’ behaviors must be known” so as to elucidate the success level, This research has a semi-experimental model since “the before-and-after-design” existing within the experimental method has been used in order to evaluate “the Environmental Science Course” with regard to its level of attaining target. “The before-and-after-design” provides the chance of determining the target accomplishment level of the program in the present condition without interfering any experimental procedures or processes. Since there is no control or comparison group in “the before-and-after-design”, tests should be given to all groups at the same time period, and the variables which are thought to be effective in attaining target level should be examined meticulously, by preparing tests which will be applied to the subjects group at the beginning and at the end of the course, in order to achieve realistic results (Fitz-Gibbon & Morris, 1988; Erden, 1993; Balcı, 2001).
The Education Faculties having students at Primary Education Classroom Teacher Program constitute the population of the research. As study population, Adnan Menderes University Education Faculty has been chosen. All of the 2nd grade students who had the “Environmental Science Course” have taken place in the subjects. Hence, the 100-person study population also constitutes the subjects.
In order to explicate the effects of the “Environmental Science Course” within the curriculum of Classroom Teacher Program in Education Faculty on the environmental sensibilities of the students, a scale developed by Çabuk & Karacaoğlu (2003) has been utilized. The scale consists of 24 questions and two parts. Furthermore, questions related to personal characteristics of the students, and in the second part, the questions intended for learning the ideas of the students about whether the students are sensitive to environment or not, and whether the environmental education which they have in the scope of the courses at the faculty are sufficient or not have been accommodated. For the reliability of the scale, alpha internal consistency coefficient (a) is stated as 0.81. Factor analysis test has been used for the structure validity of the subfactors. At the end of the factor analysis, the researchers have declared that all of the 24 items determined for the test form are appropriate. The personal characteristics of the students have been obtained via the personal information forms.
The data extracted from the results of the data collection tool have been analyzed by using the SPSS 11.0 statistical program in the computer media. In order to inspect whether some certain personal characteristics of the students lead to any difference in their environmental sensibilities, the independent t-test has been applied. In order to pinpoint the behaviors of the students related to environmental sensibility, and whether their environmental (air, soil, water pollution, population increase and ecological balance) education was sufficient, dependent t-test has been applied to the data at the beginning and at the end of the “Environmental Science Course” in the light of students’ ideas.
