An investigation of 8th grade students' informal science experiences and their views on environmental problems

In this thesis, students' informal science experiences and perspectives on environmental problems; The relationship between the informal science experience of the students and their perspectives on environmental problems was investigated by examining the variables of gender, educational status of their parents and socio-economic income level of the family. The research is a descriptive study using scanning method. The study was conducted with 854 students (375 boys, 479 girls) at the 8th grade level studying at public schools in Izmir in the 2020-2021 academic year. As a data collection tool, "My Experiences in Informal Science" and "Environmental Problems and Me" sections of the ROSE questionare developed within the scope of the ROSES project were used. SPSS package program was used in the given analysis. As a result; While the majority of students are of the opinion that they will gain informal science experience when they visit the science center, read scientific journals and participate in a science activity; It has been observed that they think that they will gain less informal science experience when they use social media sites, play computer games and watch television. In the informal science experience, while female students thought that visits such as botanical parks and zoos were effective in gaining informal experience, it was seen that these choices were lower in male students. When the students' perspectives on environmental problems are examined; It has been seen that they are sensitive to the environment, that environmental problems make our future hopeless and that's why people should be more sensitive about the environment, they want environmental problems to be solved and they think that these problems are not only a common problem of rich countries but also of the whole world. It has been concluded that students' informal science experiences and their perspectives on environmental problems are related. This work; Since students' perspectives on environmental problems and which activities they think will gain science experience are determined, it will contribute to the enrichment of the curriculum to this extent. Keywords: informal learning, environmental problems, science experiences.