Development of microplastic pollution awareness scale for prospective Science and Biology teachers

In this study, in which the survey (descriptive, survey) model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used, the sample group; It consists of 586 science and biology teacher candidates studying at different universities in the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Personal information form and the "Microplastic Pollution Awareness Scale", developed by the researcher and analyzed for validity and reliability, were used as data collection tools in the study. An item pool was created by examining the literature, and the content validity rate was determined for each item by taking expert opinions. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied. According to the results obtained from the EFA, it was determined that the scale had a 3-factor structure. Factor 1 accounted for 18.93% of the total variance, Factor 2 15.85% and Factor 3 explains 14.79%. Factors explain 49.57% of the total variance in general. CFA was applied to verify the results obtained from EFA. For model fit in the diagram obtained as a result of CFA, χ2 /df, RMSEA, CFI, GFI, NFI, SRMR, NNFI and AGFI values were examined. The values obtained in this model according to; χ2 /df shows excellent, RMSEA, SRMR, CFI, GFI and NNFI show good/excellent fit, AGFI and NFI show acceptable fit. According to the analyzes carried out to determine the internal consistency of the scale, the general reliability coefficient of the scale was determined as .81. This value is considered excellent for reliability. When the item-total correlations of the factors are examined; The validity of the items was found to be high. The "Microplastic Pollution Awareness Scale", whose validity and reliability analyzes have been completed, has become a 3-factor scale consisting of a total of 14 items, 5 of which are negative and 9 of which are positive. The Likert scale consists of "No", "I have no idea" and "Yes" options. The maximum score that can be obtained from the scale was determined as 28. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the level of awareness of the individual towards microplastic pollution also increases. According to the results obtained from Microplastic Pollution Awareness Scale applied to teacher candidates; It was determined that the total scores of teacher candidates differed significantly in favor of female teacher candidates according to gender. It has been determined that the grade level affects the microplastic pollution awareness level in favor of the first grade teacher candidates in only one sub-dimension. It was determined that the level of awareness of microplastic pollution did not change according to the status of taking environmental courses. It has been determined that the microplastic pollution awareness level of the teacher candidates varies according to the academic grade point average, and the microplastic pollution awareness level of the teacher candidates with a high grade point average is also high. Determining the current awareness is important in terms of planning and implementing the necessary training. In this context, it is thought that Microplastic Pollution Awareness Scale will contribute to the literature and will lead to similar studies in the future. It would be very useful to include the causes, prevention and solutions of microplastic pollution in the curriculum and textbooks of the relevant courses at the education levels.