Investigating environmental attitude and environmental knowledge levels of teachers working at different education levels

This study is a mixed method study, which aims at investigating the environmental attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of teachers working at different levels as well as their opinions on environmental education. Subjects of this study are made up of 642 teachers working at preschools, primary schools, secondary schools and high schools in Ceyhan District, Adana Province. The interviews were carried out with five teachers for each level, that is, 20 teachers in total. quantitative data of the study were collected through "Environmental Attitude Scale" and "Environmental Knowledge Test" developed by Uzun and Sağlam (2006) and "Personal Data Form" and "Semi-Structured Interview Form" developed by the researcher. The study data were collected in 2015-2016 academic year and Mann Whitney-U and Kruskall-Wallis H tests were applied along with descriptive statistics for analyzing the quantitative data and content analysis technique was applied for analyzing the qualitative data. According to the result, teachers were found to have satisfactorily good environmental knowledge and high level of positive environmental attitude. Environmental behaviors of the teachers are unfortunately not at the desirable level, considering their knowledge and positive environmental thought. When approached in terms of gender, the environmental thoughts and behaviors of female teachers were more positive, and the environmental behaviors of pre-school and primary school teachers were more positive in terms of education level. Teachers with service years between 15-16 and over 41 years of age stated that they exhibit behaviors towards protection of the environment more frequently. Teachers, who are married, have children and are homeowners, have higher environmental knowledge. Faculty and branch of graduation and monthly average income level did not create a significant difference in environmental knowledge and attitudes. According to the results obtained, teachers mostly lay emphasis on garbage and air pollution as environmental problems and see the behavior patterns of people as the main reason of environmental problems. Teachers, who stated that environmental problems can be solved through education and legislative regulations, also emphasized the responsibility of local authorities and non-governmental organizations. Teachers, who said that they individually pay attention not to pollute the environment and to use the environment friendly products, expressed that they have negative feelings (concern and anxiety for future) due to the unconscious behaviors of people towards the environment. According to teachers, personal characteristics, mass media and the place where they live have an effect upon development of their environmental knowledge, positive attitudes and behaviors. Teachers, who find the curriculum that they apply adequate in terms of content, specified that lack of practice in the process is a shortcoming. According to teachers, for an effective environmental education, a curriculum with environment on the focal point based on scientific data must be developed and there must be an independent environment lesson.