The effect of permaculture activities on the environmental awareness and attitudes of pre-school children

This study aimed to examine the effect of permaculture activities applied to preschool children on their environmental awareness and attitudes. The research was conducted in the 2024-2025 academic year at a private kindergarten in Adana province with sufficient facilities for permaculture practices. Using a mixed-methods approach, the quantitative part of the study employed a pre-test–post-test control group quasi-experimental design, while the qualitative part used a case study design. A randomly selected class from the kindergarten was assigned as the experimental group, and activities covering the basic topics and principles of permaculture were developed and implemented by the researcher. Another randomly selected class was assigned as the control group and continued with activities prepared by the class teachers in accordance with the 2024 preschool education achievements of the Ministry of National Education. Within the scope of the research, it was determined that four achievements of the permaculture activities applied to the experimental group were similar to the achievements of the preschool program applied to the control group. The "Environmental Awareness and Attitude Scale for Preschool Children" was administered twice to the experimental and control group classes, as a pre-test and post-test. After the permaculture activities were completed, semi-structured interview forms developed by the researcher were administered to some children in the experimental group. Statistical analyses revealed that the experimental group children who participated in permaculture activities had higher mean scores for environmental awareness and environmental attitudes than the control group children, and that this difference was statistically significant. It was determined that the permaculture activities implemented did not create a significant difference in preschool children according to gender, age, previous preschool education status, or income status, but showed a significant difference in environmental awareness final test scores according to the age and education status of the parents. Qualitative observations, picture analyses, and interviews revealed that the children were affected by the permaculture activities. Keywords: Permaculture, preschool education, environment, awareness, attitude.