The effects of preschool outdoor education environments quality on children's environmental attitude, awareness and affinity towards nature (biophilia)

In this study, the effects of the quality of preschool outdoor education environments on the environmental attitudes and awareness of children aged 60-66 months and their affinity towards nature (biophilia) levels were investigated. Within the scope of the study, the "Preschool Outdoor Education Environments Checklist" adapted into Turkish by Burçak (2018) was used to determine the quality of preschool outdoor education environments. "Environmental Awareness and Attitude Scale for Preschool Children – I" developed by Büyüktaşkapu Soydan and Öztürk Samur (2014) was used to determine children's environmental attitudes and awareness. The "Biophilia Scale for Children" adapted by Yılmaz and Olgan (2017) was used to determine the biophilia levels of children aged 60-66 months. In addition, the "Information Form" was filled by the families to determine the demographic characteristics. The sample of the research consists of 240 children in total, 120 of whom are attending the official independent preschools Altıeylül and Karesi districts in Balıkesir, and 120 children attending the preschool attached to the primary school. The sample includes a total of 121 girls, 61 girls attending independent preschool, 60 girls attending primary school preschool, and a total of 119 boys, 59 boys attending independent preschool and 60 boys attending primary school preschool. The age of the children participating in the study varies between 60 months and 67 months. The average monthly age of the children is 63.38 (sd. 1.96). The quality of the outdoor spaces of the schools participating in the research was evaluated according to the Preschool Outdoor Education Environment Checklist and the results showed that the outdoor quality of the independent preschools is higher than the outdoor quality of the preschools attached to the primary school. It has been concluded that the quality of outdoor educational environments has a significant effect on children's environmental awareness and attitudes and their affinity towards nature (biophilia). As a result of the analyzes made according to demographic variables, a low positive correlation was found between children's environmental attitude, awareness and affinity towards nature (biophilia) scores and the duration of children's education. It was found that the environmental attitude scores, environmental awareness scores and biophilia scores differed statistically significantly according to the education level of the parents and the school type variables. It was observed that the mean scores of children's environmental attitudes and environmental awareness differed significantly according to the income level of the family, but their affinity towards nature (biophilia) scores did not differ according to the family income level. It was determined that the mean scores of children's environmental attitude, environmental awareness and biophilia did not differ significantly according to the variables of children's gender and parental union.