The effects of integrating environmental issues into critical literacy on students' attitudes toward the environment, love of nature, cleanliness, and health

The primary aim of this study is to examine the effects of integrating environmental issues into critical literacy on fourth-grade primary school students' attitudes toward the environment, love of nature, cleanliness, and health. The research was conducted using an experimental design, one of the quantitative research methods. The study sample consisted of 22 students enrolled in a fourth-grade class of a public primary school located in the Antakya district of Hatay province. The "Attitude toward the Environment Scale" and the "Love of Nature, Cleanliness, and Health Attitude Scale" were employed as data collection instruments. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 statistical software package, and a paired-samples t-test was conducted. The findings revealed that teaching environmental issues through critical literacy led to a statistically significant improvement in students' environmental attitudes. However, no significant difference was found in the scores of the Love of Nature, Cleanliness, and Health Attitude Scale. In conclusion, the activities implemented resulted in a significant enhancement in students' attitudes toward the environment, whereas the changes in scores related to love of nature, cleanliness, and health were not statistically significant. Keywords: Critical literacy, environment, environmental problems, fourth-grade primary school