An examination of values education in non-school environments in the course of life sciences

This study aims to investigate the impact of values education activities conducted in out of-school environments within the Life Sciences course on students' acquisition of values and their attitudes towards the Life Sciences course. The study group consisted of 60 students enrolled in the 2nd grade of Mehmet Zeki Obdan Primary School, which is affiliated with the Dilovası District National Education Directorate in Kocaeli Province, during the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. A mixed-methods approach was employed in the research. To obtain quantitative data, a pre-test, post-test control group quasi-experimental design was used. Each of the experimental and control groups included 30 students. The "Life Skills Course Attitude Scale," developed by Oker and Tay (2020), was used as the quantitative data collection tool. The qualitative design of the study was a case study. The qualitative data were obtained from semi-structured interview forms administered to students after each field trip and from the field trip diaries written by both the students and the researcher after each trip. The research concluded that activities aimed at instilling values in out-of-school environments during Life Skills classes had a positive effect on students. The findings indicated that students learned new information in out-of-school learning environments and enjoyed themselves during the trips. Consequently, it was observed that students better understood the values and attempted to act according to these values in their daily lives.