A Comparative Investigation of Environmental Literacy Dimensions in Science Curricula of Several Countries

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 4, 210 - 228, 01.07.2025

Deniz Yücel , İlke Önal Çalışkan

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.25.57.12.4

Abstract

Environmental education is necessary to prevent environmental problems. It is useful to analyze the curricula in order to understand the importance given to environmental education. In this study, it was aimed to examine the learning outcomes in Türkiye, Canada (Ontario), Australia, USA (Massachusetts) and England primary science curricula in terms of environmental education and to analyze and compare them according to the dimensions of environmental literacy which are formed knowledge, cognitive skills, affect and behavior. This study was a qualitative study, and the data were collected through document analysis and analyzed through content analysis. In the comparisons made according to the number of environmental outcomes, it was observed that the highest number of outcomes was present in the curriculum of Canada, while the lowest number of outcomes was present in the curriculum of England. All dimensions were found in all curricula except the Science and Technology Curriculum in England, but not all dimensions were equally included in the curricula. In England's curriculum, had no outcomes related to the behavior dimension. The common result was that in all of the curricula, the outcomes in the cognitive skills dimension are more common, while the outcomes in the affective and behavioral dimensions are more limited.

Keywords

environment , environmental literacy , science curriculum , outcomes , comparison of curriculum

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