Levels of the class teachers' environmental opportunities in the scope of the social studies course: Sample of Tarsus district

This research, which aims to determine the levels of teachers' ability to benefit from environmental opportunities in social studies lesson, was designed in the screening model and quantitative data collection method was used. The sample of the study is composed of 349 primary school teachers working in state primary schools in Tarsus, Mersin the academic year of 2018-2019. To collect the data related to the quantitative dimension of the research, the Survey of Using Teachers' Environmental Opportunities Levels was used. In order to determine whether there is a significant difference according to gender variable in the level of benefiting from the environmental opportunities of the class teachers, t-test for independent groups, professional seniority, their duty periods in the district where they work, their grade levels and the one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) were used for comparisons in terms of age variables. In cases where the difference was determined, Scheffe test was applied to determine the difference between the groups. According to the findings, it was concluded that classroom teachers were more familiar with the environment, cooperated with official institutions and organizations, took into account the characteristics of the natural and cultural environment while planning, and attached importance to local resources. Keywords: Classroom teachers, social studies, environmental opportunities.