A research on preservice science teachers? perceptions of environmental ethics

It is aimed in this study that the science teachers? perception of environmental ethics is specified and the effects of ?Environment Education? lesson on the preservice teachers.Special case method from qualitative research method was used in this study. The working population of the study consists of the undergraduate students of Karadeniz Technical University Fatih Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education. Due to the fact that this study is a case study, the sample was formed with the purposeful sampling method. Two samples were needed in the research. The draft plan was applied to 20 third grade undergraduate science students. That is how validity and reliability are secured and the form consisting 5 open ended-questions were applied to 167 undergraduate students. Content analysis was made for the information gathered from the students and they were presented as charts.According to the research results, the opinions of the undergraduate science students are that they believe the individuals? harms the life of the living beings, but they also believe that this situation can be resolved by raising the awareness. In this regard, undergraduate student?s perceptions on the environment give on to rather than human rights, but to making the life better for the living beings. Then again, when the second and fourth grade undergraduate students? perceptions are compared, it is seen that they show parallelism, which means, ?Environment Education? lesson does not have much effect on their perceptions. At the end of the research, it is suggested that the subjects concerning environment ethics should be discussed in science and technology lessons, and not only in primary education, but in secondary and higher educations, and also ethic for the environment themed in service trainings should be organized for the teachers.Key Words: Environmental ethic, environment education, undergraduate science student.