Investigating the relationship between science education teacher candidates' universal science literacy and awareness of sustainable development

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between science education teacher candidates' universal science literacy and awareness of sustainable development. Science literacy and sustainable development issues were examined in the literature. Descriptive and relational survey methods were preferred among quantitative research methods. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 197 teacher candidates' consisting of 1st to 4th grade students studying in the Department of Science Education at Denizli Pamukkale University in the 2023-2024 academic year. Universal Science Literacy Scale and Sustainable Development Awareness Scale were used to collect data for the study. The data were analyzed with Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman's rho correlation tests, which are non-parametric tests in the statistical analysis package program. The results of the study revealed that pre-service science teachers had high levels of universal science literacy and sustainable development awareness. Science literacy levels did not show a statistically significant difference in terms of grade level, gender and following scientific publications. In terms of the sub-dimensions of sustainable development, social sustainability level was determined as high, while economic and environmental sustainability levels were determined as medium. While sustainable development awareness level showed a significant difference in favor of male candidates in terms of gender variable, no significant difference was found in terms of class level and following scientific publications variables. In addition, no relationship was found between science education teacher candidates' universal science literacy and their awareness of sustainable development. Keywords: Universal Science Literacy, Sustainable Development Awareness, Science Teacher Candidates