The effect of sustainable based mathematics activities on mathematics attitude and self-efficacy

In this study, the effect of sustainability-based mathematics activities on mathematics attitudes and self-efficacy and the change in students' perspectives on sustainability were examined by teaching "Whole Numbers" and "Ordering and Operations in Fractions" subjects in 6th grade mathematics lessons according to lesson plans prepared with sustainability-based mathematics activities. For this purpose, students' mathematics attitudes and self-efficacy levels were measured. The research was conducted with a mixed-method research model in which qualitative and quantitative data were handled together, and exploratory sequential design was preferred among mixed-method research designs. The research was conducted with a total of 53 students, 26 of whom were in the experimental group and 27 in the control group, who were studying in Osmangazi district of Bursa province between 2024-2025. While selecting the experimental and control group students, convenient sampling method was preferred from non-random sampling methods. The researcher was working at the school where the application was carried out and the experimental and control groups were randomly selected from the classes in which the lesson was taught. The groups were initially equal to each other. While the experimental group students were taught with sustainability-based mathematics activities within the lesson plans prepared, the control group students were taught within the existing curriculum. The implementation lasted 6 weeks and 30 lesson hours in total. Data were collected in two ways: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data were collected by means of previously prepared mathematics attitude and self-efficacy scales whose validity and reliability were tested, as well as a personal information form, and qualitative data were collected by means of an interview form created by the researcher himself, which was piloted and finalized by taking expert opinions. The data obtained were analyzed with SPSS 24 program. As an analysis method; Normality Analysis and MANOVA for Repeated Measures, which is used to compare the results of more than one measurement within and between groups, were preferred in the analysis of quantitative data; Content Analysis method was preferred in the analysis of qualitative data. The results of the study showed that there were significant differences in mathematics attitudes between and within groups after the implementation of sustainability-based mathematics activities. In the results of mathematics self-efficacy measurements, there was no significant difference between the groups, but there was a change within the experimental group. While there was an increase in the math attitudes of the experimental group, there was not much change in their self-efficacy levels. Looking at the results of qualitative data, there were positive changes in students' perspectives on sustainability. During the implementation process, the abstract structure of mathematics was made concrete through various activities, supporting students' permanent learning and enabling them to understand the relationship between the concept of sustainability and mathematics. Thus, awareness was created in students about sustainability. The students who participated in the application stated that it was fun to teach mathematics lessons with activities, that they did not know about sustainability before the application, but they understood it thanks to the activities, and that having these applications in other courses would be beneficial for better learning and behavior transformation. The end-of-term exhibition made the students feel that they should understand what their responsibilities are for the continuity of our world, and that they should take part in the dissemination of this process by thinking that this process is a social movement. Keywords: Sustainability, Sustainable Education, Mathematics Attitude, Mathematics Self-Efficacy.