Investigation of secondary school students' environmental literacy levels.

The purpose of the present study is to determine the secondary school students' environmental literacy levels and investigate the effect of different variables on their literacy levels. The study was conducted with the participation of 525 secondary school students (5, 6, 7 and 8th grades) from 6 secondary schools randomly selected from among the secondary schools in the city of Bitlis in 2013-2014 school year. "Elementary Education Environmental Literacy Questionnaire" was used to collect the data of the present study. This questionnaire consists of a personal information form, "The Environmental Information Scale" including 19 multiple-choice items and 3 true-false items, totally 22 items, "The Affective Environmental Tendencies Scale" consisting of 14 items and "The Scale of Responsible Behaviors Towards the Environment" including 26 items. In the analysis of the data, SPSS statistical program package was employed. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U-Test, Kruskal Wallis H-Test and Pearson Correlation Analysis were used in the analysis of the data. At the end of the study, the students' environmental literacy level was found to be medium. While significant differences based on gender, the father's educational status, the level of wondering the news and information about the environment and nature, the frequency of visiting natural sites within the last one year and the existence of the family members concerned about environmental pollution were found among the participants' literacy levels, no significant difference based on grade level, the state of whether attending a kindergarten or not and the mother's educational status was found. Moreover, while the participants' environmental information and affective environmental tendency levels were found to be high, their level of responsible behaviors towards the environment was found to be medium. In addition, within the context of the present study, the dimensions of environmental literacy, environmental information, affective tendencies towards the environment and responsible behaviors towards the environment, were compared according to the independent variables and the results are presented. In the conclusion of the study, some suggestions that are believed to make some contributions to individuals' environmental literacy levels and environmental education were made. Key Words: Environment, Environmental Education, Environmental Literacy, Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Sensitivity, Environmental Behavior, Environmental Problems.