Investigation of the consciousness and perception levels of secondary school 8th grade students about society scientific issues

This study aimed to examine in depth the opinions of 8th grade secondary school students on socio-scientific issues and their levels of awareness and perception about these issues. In the research, case study, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. This study was conducted with secondary school students studying at a public school in the Central district of Bayburt province. The study group consists of 46 students studying in the 8th grade of secondary school in the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. The data were prepared for socio-scientific issues developed by the researcher; It was collected using the Word Association Test (WAT), Scenario-Based Survey Form and Semi-Structured Interview Form. Socio-scientific issues included in the study; vaccines, thermal power plants, space pollution, blood donation, chemical industry and pesticides. Students were asked to fill out a word association test consisting of six key concepts related to socio-scientific issues. A frequency table was created using the data obtained as a result of the test. According to this frequency table, concept networks that reveal the students' consciousness and perception levels are drawn. The data were analyzed and interpreted according to the relationships emerging from the concept networks. According to the results of the study, the most common key concepts given to students were vaccination (242) and blood donation (228); It was observed that they at least associated the key concepts of space pollution (188) and chemical industry (156). The data obtained from the scenario-based survey form was analyzed using the content analysis method. According to the results of the study, most students; It has been determined that they are sensitive about blood donation, have awareness about vaccination, have a positive view on the use of pesticides and support the establishment of a thermal power plant. In addition, most students; It has been determined that they do not support the establishment of a paint factory and have a negative view on sending vehicles into space. Finally, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 volunteer students. The data obtained at the end of the interviews were analyzed using the content analysis method. According to the results of the study, it was seen that the most common socio-scientific issue that students encounter in daily life is vaccination. It was also determined that students were able to identify the difference between socio-scientific issues and other subjects in science courses and that they wanted more socio-scientific subjects to be included in science courses. Suggestions were made in line with the results of the study.