A Research on the Energy Literacy of Middle School Students

Abstract

The general purpose of this research is to examine the energy literacy status of secondary school students. In particular, the change in the energy literacy of secondary school students according to some independent variables was examined. Survey research technique, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the research. Research data were collected in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The universe of the research consisted of private and public secondary schools located within the borders of Isparta province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Data were collected from 1182 students studying in 7th and 8th grades, determined by convenient sampling method from these schools. The "Energy Literacy Scale" developed by DeWaters, Qagish, Graham, and Powers (2013) and adapted into Turkish by Güven, Yakar, and Sülün (2019) was used in the research. Due to the Covid 19 epidemic, the data was collected in the digital environment. As a result of the research, it was determined that the students were partially low energy literate in the affective sub-dimension and partially high-energy literate in the behavioural sub-dimension. If we look at the energy literacy of the students according to the determined independent variables: the energy literacy of the students studying in public secondary school is significantly higher than those studying in private secondary school. The energy literacy levels of the students in the schools located in the district centre are significantly higher than those in the city centre. The energy literacy levels of those whose father's education level is primary, secondary and high school graduates are significantly higher than those with a master's/doctorate degree. Finally, it can be suggested that science curriculum should be updated to increase energy literacy and that inquiry-based in-class and out-of-class activities should be encouraged in textbooks.