The effect of integrated Turkish and science activities in pre-school education on children's environmental perception

The aim of this research is to determine the effect of integrated Turkish and science activities on children's perception of the environment in the preschool period. To achieve this aim, mixed method was used in the research. The phenomenological design was used in the qualitative dimension of the mixed method, and the quasi-experimental design was used in the quantitative dimension. The sample of the study consists of 20 children, 10 children in the experimental group and 10 children in the control group. As the first stage of the experimental process, the children in the experimental and control groups were asked to draw a picture of the environment, and one-on-one interviews were conducted with the children about the drawings they made. The drawings were evaluated with the Draw An Environment Test-Rubric (DAET-R) and the related rubric was tried to be transformed into a qualitative one with yellow and blue colour tones. In addition, the children's rubric scores were transferred to the SPSS 23 package program and the necessary analyzes were made. In the application part of the research, 9 integrated Turkish and science activities were applied to the experimental group for 9 weeks. A different children's picture book was used in each activity and the activity was developed within the framework of these books. Conversely, the control group continued the daily education flows in the preschool education program. As the last stage of the experimental part, the children in the experimental and control groups were asked to draw a picture of the environment again, and one-on-one interviews were held with the children about the drawings. As a result of the research, it was determined that the change in the environmental perceptions of the children in the experimental group, in which the integrated Turkish and science activities developed with the children's picture books were applied, developed and were more pronounced than the children in the control group.