An investigation of middle school students' spatial literacy

The aim of this research is to determine the spatial literacy levels of eighth-grade middle school students, to examine how these levels vary based on variables such as place of residence, academic achievement, gender, parents' occupation, and educational background, and to provide in-depth insights into how students apply their spatial literacy skills in everyday life contexts. In this context, the study was conducted using a convergent parallel design, one of the mixed methods approaches, which allows for the simultaneous collection, analysis, and integrated interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were obtained through the Spatial Literacy Scale, developed by the researcher and validated through reliability and validity analyses; qualitative data were gathered using the Spatial Literacy Skills Assessment Form, also developed by the researcher. The quantitative sample of the research consisted of 347 students studying in Antalya province determined by stratified sampling method; the qualitative sample consisted of 25 students studying in Antalya province selected by convenience sampling method. Descriptive statistics and parametric tests were applied in the quantitative data analysis process; R and JASP programs were used in the analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis method through MAXQDA 2024 program. The quantitative findings revealed that the students generally had a high level of spatial literacy skills. In this context, especially in the "spatial awareness" and "mental rotation" sub-dimensions, students showed significantly high achievement. This situation indicates that students exhibit strong performance in skills such as recognizing environmental elements, orientation and mental map creation. On the other hand, in areas that require technical knowledge and symbolic thinking, such as "map reading" and "understanding spatial relationships", students' scores were relatively lower. The quantitative results are interpreted as indicating that students' competencies in using abstract and academically structured spatial knowledge are less developed than skills based on daily life experiences. Qualitative findings significantly overlapped with quantitative findings and revealed that students were able to give authentic, local and contextual examples of the environment they lived in. In their sketches, students represented their environment with prominent symbolic structures, natural elements and cultural assets; they also included spatial elements such as direction, distance and relational position in these representations. It was evaluated that individual experiences, the spatial diversity of the place where they lived, and environmental stimuli were effective in these skills of the students. The results of the study show that students' spatial literacy levels are shaped not only by individual cognitive competencies but also by the environment, socioeconomic status and educational experiences. Accordingly, it is recommended that the spatial literacy components in the curricula should be structured in a more systematic and practice-oriented manner, and especially sub-skills such as map reading, location determination, direction determination, scale calculation and graph interpretation should be reinforced with visual materials, interactive digital tools and field-based activities.