An examination of social studies teachers' perspectives on environmental citizenship education

The purpose of this study is to examine the views of social studies teachers working in middle schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education regarding environmental citizenship education. This study was designed according to the case study model of qualitative research designs, and the interview technique was used to collect data. The population of the study consists of social studies teachers working in middle schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in the 2025-2026 academic year. The sample of the research consists of social studies teachers working in middle schools in the provinces of Bolu, Sivas, Tekirdağ, Tokat, Trabzon, and Van, determined by convenience sampling. The research was conducted on a total of 46 participants, 14 of whom were female and 32 were male. A semi-structured interview form consisting of 11 questions prepared by the researcher was used as the data collection tool. After obtaining the necessary legal permissions from the Ministry of National Education, the interview form was administered online on a voluntary basis. The data obtained in the study, which were similar and interrelated, were grouped around specific concepts, themes, and categories and described through content analysis. The identified themes and categories were revised in line with the opinions of the field expert to ensure their validity and reliability, and the findings of the study were revealed. In order to explain the themes and categories, direct quotations from the participants' responses were used to enhance the reliability of the research. The research findings were discussed in the conclusion section according to the outputs of the environmental citizenship education model. According to the results of the research, it was observed that social studies teachers defined the concept of environmental citizenship as awareness, sensitivity, and the ability to take action towards the environment. However, it can be said that the views on environmental citizenship education are more limited. This situation can be attributed to environmental citizenship education being a new approach, the lack of direct curriculum content, and the limited number of studies. Furthermore, due to the limited number of studies, it can be concluded that adapting environmental citizenship education to the pedagogical field takes time. It can be concluded that Environmental Citizenship Education is insufficient in the Social Studies Teaching Program and that this situation leads to negligence. It can be said that more and direct learning outcomes should be included and that learning outcomes related to the environment should also be updated. It can be concluded that the use of different strategies, methods, techniques, and resources in Environmental Citizenship Education will increase the effectiveness of environmental education. In addition, making the environment a learning space can also lay the groundwork for the formation of an environmentally friendly lifestyle in individuals. Achieving this can be possible by ensuring that education is not disconnected from the environment but interacts with it, by moving beyond the classroom and making the environment a learning space, and by raising environmentally friendly individuals. Keywords: Environmental Citizenship, Environmental Citizenship Education, Social Studies Teacher, Environmental Education, Citizenship