EXAMINATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TURKISH COURSE BOOKS IN TERMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

ORTAOKUL TÜRKÇE DERS KİTAPLARININ ÇEVRE EĞİTİMİ AÇISINDAN İNCELENMESİ

Abstract

Environmental education is an important field of education that aims to help individuals develop a conscious, sensitive and responsible attitude towards the environment. Today’s global environmental problems such as the rapid depletion of natural resources, climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity further increase the necessity of environmental education. Environmental education encourages individuals to understand environmental problems, develop solutions for these problems and adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Environmental awareness gained during childhood and adolescence shapes individuals’ future attitudes and behaviors, contributing to the formation of a healthier environment and society. Therefore, environmental education should be addressed not only in directly related courses such as science, but also in language and literature courses such as Turkish, and should be integrated into the content of each course and taught to students. Turkish textbooks stand out as an effective educational material in students’ acquisition of environmental education-related gains, skills and values. There is no common course under the title of environmental education in the secondary school curriculum in Turkey. The selection rate of the “Environmental Education and Climate Change” course, which is offered as an elective in 6th, 7th and 8th grades of middle schools and Imam Hatip middle schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education (MEB), is quite low. This research aims to examine how environmental education and environmental issues are addressed in 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade Turkish textbooks of middle schools affiliated to the MEB in the 2024-2025 academic year. In the research, environmental education contents were examined comprehensively at the level of classes and themes by using the qualitative research method and document review technique. According to the findings of the research, while the 5th grade Turkish textbook does not include content aimed at developing environmental awareness, it was seen that it was included in the theme of “Nature and Universe” at other grade levels. Although the 6th grade Turkish textbook is shorter than the other books with 207 pages, it draws attention in terms of having the content that gives the most place to environmental education with 32.7%. As a result of the study, it was determined that environmental issues were included especially in the 6th, 7th and 8th grade textbooks, but that these contents should be presented in a more comprehensive and effective way. It should be emphasized that students should see their responsibility towards the environment not only as an individual obligation but also as a social and cultural responsibility. In particular, strengthening Turkish textbooks with content and activities at all grade levels starting from the 5th grade is considered an important step in increasing the effectiveness of environmental education.