An examination of pre-service primary school teachers' universal science literacy levels in relation to various variables

Universal science literacy is a critical area of competence that enables individuals to understand scientific processes, follow technological developments, and evaluate the interaction between science, society, and technology within the context of universal values. In this context, the aim of this study is to examine the universal science literacy levels of prospective primary school teachers in relation to various variables. The study employed the Universal Science Literacy Scale (USLS), adapted into Turkish by Çelik (2016), which assesses universal science literacy across sub-dimensions such as cognitive knowledge, process skills, and science-society relations. The research group consisted of a total of 252 prospective primary school teachers studying in the faculties of education at two different universities in Turkey. This study employed a quantitative research approach using the relational survey model and is categorized as a causal-comparative study. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software. In addition to descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA were used for data analysis. According to the findings, the universal science literacy levels of the teacher candidates significantly differ based on variables such as the type of high school they graduated from, their fathers' educational level, the frequency of following written and visual media, and the environment they lived in prior to university. These results reveal that universal science literacy is shaped not only by individual competencies but also by socio-cultural and environmental conditions.