INVESTIGATION OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIORS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the environmental sensitivity and sustainable environmental behaviors of secondary school students in terms of various variables. In addition, the study also examined the relationship between students' environmental sensitivity and sustainable environmental behaviors. The study was conducted in survey model. The study group of the research consists of 250 students studying in 3 public secondary schools in Trabzon city center in the 2021-2022 academic year. “Environmental Sensitivity Scale” and “Sustainable Environmental Behavior Scale” were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-test and correlation analysis. As a result of the research, environmental sensitivity and sustainable environmental behaviors of secondary school students were found to be at a moderate level. While the mean scores of environmental sensitivity did not differ significantly according to the gender variable, the mean scores of sustainable environmental behavior showed a significant difference in favor of male students according to the gender variable. Another result obtained in the study is that both environmental sensitivity and sustainable environmental behaviors do not differ significantly according to the grade level of the students. In addition, as a result of the study, it was determined that the environmental sensitivity and sustainable environmental behaviors of students with high interest in the environment differed significantly compared to students with low interest in the environment.