Comparation of awareness and concern levels oriented towards environmental problems of prospective teachers

In this study it? s been examined whether if awareness, responsibility and concern levels oriented towards environmental problems of the prospective teachers change or do not change according to academicals fields, socio-demographic features, political orientations and degree of closeness to nature. In 2007 ? 2008 academic year total of 240 students have attended this study, these are senior class students from the Department of Elementary School Teaching, the Department of Biology masters degree without thesis and the Department of Turkish Language and Literature Teaching of Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Education and senior class students from the Department of Fine Arts Teaching, the Department of Primary School Teaching, the Department of Science Teaching, The Department of Turkish Language and Literature Teaching, the Department of Physics and Geography Teaching of Dokuz Eylül University, Buca Faculty of Education. Surveys composed of three pages, in which socio-demographic features and scales take place, are used in the research. The first scale is the awareness scale oriented towards the environmental problems, the second one is undertaking responsibility oriented towards the environmental problems, and the third one is the concern oriented towards the environmental problems. Taking responsibility scale is composed of two articles. One of them measures the responsibility oriented towards Turkey and the other one towards the world. Awareness scale oriented towards the environmental problems is composed of two components. First one is local and is about the environmental problems in Turkey; the second one is global and is about the environmental problems in the world. Internal consistency coefficients of the sub-scales are 0.76 for Turkey, and 0.82 for the World. Concern scale oriented towards the environmental problems is composed of three sub dimensions (Altruistic, Egoistic, Ecological). Internal consistency coefficient of the Concern scale is 0.86. A result of confirmatory factor analysis is at satisfactory level in both scales.In accordance to the research findings, when the awareness levels oriented towards environmental problems of the prospective teachers is examined it has been calculated that soil pollution article in the world is different in between the academicals fields. It has been seen that prospective Geography and Physics teachers perceive the soil pollution in the world as more serious problem when compared to prospective Science teachers. A point of feeling responsibility oriented towards the environmental problems in Turkey and in the World does not differ in between the fields. Concern levels oriented towards the environmental problems in accordance to the academicals fields in Ecological sub dimension, in between prospective Primary School teachers and prospective Geography and Fine Arts teachers, shows discrepancy in favor of the prospective Geography and Fine Arts teachers. A responsibility, awareness and concern level oriented towards environmental problems of the prospective female techers is higher and different at an important level than the males. Responsibility level oriented towards the environmental problems in Turkey of the prospective teachers who have left vision is higher and shows a difference at an meaningful level than the prospective teachers who have right vision.Feeling responsibility articles, awareness factors and concern factors (Ecological, Egoistic and Altruistic) oriented towards environmental problems have been examined whether it shows difference or not in accordance to the closeness degree of the prospective teachers to nature and weak, medium and high closeness levels are compared. Responsibility levels oriented towards the environmental problems in the World and in Turkey and ecological and altruistic concerns of the prospective teachers are in favor of the ones who state that they live more in nature.When it is looked whether there is or not a significant relation in between awareness and feeling responsibility and concern levels oriented towards environmental problems of the prospective teachers, it has been seen that all bilateral relations except egoistic concern level and having responsibility for worldwide environmental problems are at weak level however they are statistically meaningful.