An Examination of The Relationship Between Social Studies Teachers’ Environmental Knowledge and Sustainable Environmental Attitude

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between environmental knowledge and sustainable environmental attitude levels of social studies teachers. In the study, correlational model of quantitative research methods has been employed. The study group consisted of 136 social studies teachers. The data were gathered through “Sustainable Environmental Attitude Scale” developed by Yıldız (2011) and “Environmental Knowledge Test” developed by Karatekin (2011). Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskall Wallis test, and Spearman Brown Row Differences Correlation Coefficient were used in the analysis of the data. The study results revealed that social studies teachers have a high level of environmental knowledge and positively sustainable environmental attitude. Moreover, it was found that environmental knowledge and sustainable environmental attitude of social studies teachers did not significantly differ by gender and professional. Finally, it was determined that there was no significant relation between environmental knowledge and sustainable environmental attitude of social studies teachers. It may be recommended to increase in-service training to increase teachers' environmental knowledge levels.