A review of research in the field of environmental education in the pre-school period: A meta-synthesis study

This research examined the distribution of studies on environmental education in early childhood in SSCI, ESCI and SCI journals according to certain variables. Considering the research questions determined in this study, a total of 17 journals with Science Citation Index (SCI), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) were included in the scope. 57 studies within the scope of "environmental education in early childhood" in the journals were included in the research. In the research, data were collected by document analysis method. In the study, the "meta-synthesis" method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used to analyze the research findings. Among the 17 journals examined, 3 categories were created out of a total of 57 researches. These are: a) The inclusion of outdoor activities in education programs, b) Developing environmental perceptions and attitudes, and c) The importance of the early childhood context in sustainability. In the outdoor-oriented education category created in the research, the family and teachers have limited activities due to safety concerns and the benefits of outdoor activities in various development areas are among the topics mentioned. In the literature, it has been determined that studies on environmental education are generally aimed at measuring perception and attitude, and studies on practice are not sufficient. The extent to which knowledge and attitudes differ according to the age and gender of preschool children has not been found adequately. The education category for sustainability has been examined in 7R longitude, and it has been determined that researches are often directed on recycling longitude. It has been determined that there is no study on the "redistribute" longitude located in the 7R longitude.