An Investigation of The Relationship Between Ecological and Materialistic Values of Turkish Teacher Candidates

Abstract

Materialistic values are important factors that guide individuals’ philosophy of life. For this reason, it is thought that individuals’ environmental attitudes and ecological world views may be related to their materialistic values. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a relationship between the materialistic and ecological values of prospective teachers. The study sample consists of 685 prospective teachers studying in a Faculty of Education at a university in northern Turkey. In the 2016-2017 academic year, prospective teachers who participated in this study were studying in first and last grade level of five different departments: Social Studies (n=115); Science (n=149); primary education (n=151); Mathematics (n=134); and pre-school teaching (n=136). A questionnaire including the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEPS), and the Material Values Scale (MVS) was used to gather data. The mean scores of both scales were based on the interpretation of the research findings, and the relationship between materialistic and environmental values of sample and variables such as gender, grade level, the field of teaching, and environmental education were examined. The correlations among materialistic and environmental values and environmental education were also examined. The results of the study demonstrated that prospective teachers have high levels of eco-centric values and moderate levels of materialistic values; also, these values have significant relations with some of the variables. The findings indicated there were negative or positive weak correlations between some variables.

Keywords

• New Environmental Paradigm Scale
• materialism
• prospective teachers
• environmental education

References

1. Achim, M., Stan, A., & Dragolea, L. (2018). Study on the importance of sustainable development strategy for a community. Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology, 19(1), 152-162.
2. Alagöz, B., & Akman, O. (2016). Anthropocentric or ecocentric environmentalism? Vews of university students. Higher Education Studies, 6(4), 34-53.
3. Albayrak, T., Caber, M., Moutinho, L., & Herstein, R. (2011). The influence of skepticism on green purchase behavior. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(13), 189-197.
4. Alwitt, L. F., & Pitts, R. E. (1996). Predicting purchase intentions for an environmentally sensitive product. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 5(1), 49-64.
5. Andersson, D., & Nässén, J. (2016). Should environmentalists be concerned about materialism? An analysis of attitudes, behaviors and greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 48, 1-11.
6. Arcury, T. A. (1990). Environmental attitude and environmental knowledge. Human Organization, 49(4), 300-304. Atasoy, E. (2006). Education for Environmental, Child-Nature Interaction (in Turkish). Bursa: Ezgi Kitapevi.
7. Aytaç, M., & Öngen, B. (2012). Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi ile yeni çevresel paradigma ölçeğinin yapı geçerliliğinin incelenmesi. İstatistikçiler Dergisi: İstatistik ve Aktüerya, 5(1), 14-22.
8. Ballantyne, R., & Packer, J. (1996). Teaching and learning in environmental education: Developing environmental conceptions. The Journal of Environmental Education, 27(2), 25-32.

9. Barr, S. (2007). Factors influencing environmental attitudes and behaviors: A UK case study of household waste management. Environment and Behavior, 39(4), 435-473.
10. Belk, R. W. (1985). Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world. Journal of Consumer Research, 12(3), 265-280.
11. Bentham, H., Sinnes, A., & Gjøtterud, S. (2015). A teacher education for sustainable development system: An institutional responsibility. International Journal of Higher Education, 4(4), 158-177.
12. Blake, J. (1999). Overcoming the ‘value‐action gap’in environmental policy: Tensions between national policy and local experience. Local Environment, 4(3), 257-278.
13. Blocker, T. J., & Eckberg, D. L. (1997). Gender and environmentalism: Results from the 1993 general social survey. Social Science Quarterly, 78(4), 841-858.
14. Bonnes, M., & Secchiaroli, G. (1995). Environmental psychology: a psycho-social introduction. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications.
15. Browne, B. A., & Kaldenberg, D. O. (1997). Conceptualizing self-monitoring: Links to materialism and product involvement. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(1), 31-44.
16. Burgess, J., Harrison, C. M., & Filius, P. (1998). Environmental communication and the cultural politics of environmental citizenship. Environment and Planning A, 30(8), 1445-1460.
17. Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. (2002). Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(3), 348-370.
18. Callicott, J. (2004). Explicit and implicit values in the ESA. In G. Davies, Heal, and Scott (Eds.), The endangered species act at thirty: Retrospect and prospects. Washington, DC: Island Press.
19. Carter, R. L., & Simmons, B. (2010). The history and philosophy of environmental education. In Alec M. Bodzin, Beth Shiner Klein, & S. Weave (Eds.), The inclusion of environmental education in science teacher education (pp. 3-16). Netherlands: Springer.
20. Casey, P. J., & Scott, K. (2006). Environmental concern and behavior in an Australian sample within an ecocentric–anthropocentric framework. Australian Journal of Psychology, 58(2), 57-67.
21. Cutter, A., & Smith, R. (2001). Gauging primary school teachers’ environmental literacy: An issue of ‘priority’. Asia Pacific Education Review, 2(2), 45-60.
22. Çolakoğlu, E. (2010). Haklar söyleminde çevre eğitiminin yeri ve Türkiye’de çevre eğitiminin anayasal dayanakları. TBB Dergisi, 88, 151-171.
23. Davidson, D. J., & Freudenburg, W. R. (1996). Gender and environmental risk concerns: A review and analysis of available research. Environment and Behavior, 28(3), 302-339.
24. Dávila, J. F., Casabayó, M., & Singh, J. J. (2017). A world beyond family: How external factors impact the level of materialism in children. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 51(1), 162-182.
25. Dietz, T., Kalof, L., & Stern, P. C. (2002). Gender, values, and environmentalism. Social Science Quarterly, 83(1), 353-364.
26. Dittmar, H. (2005). Compulsive buying–a growing concern? An examination of gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors. British Journal of Psychology, 96(4), 467-491.
27. Dunlap, R. E., & Van Liere, K. D. (1978). The “new environmental paradigm”. The Journal of Environmental Education, 9(4), 10-19.
28. Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000). New trends in measuring environmental attitudes: measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: a revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 425-442.
29. Erdoğan, N. (2009). Testing the new ecological paradigm scale: Turkish case. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 4(10), 1023-1031.
30. Erkal, S., Kiliç, I., & Sahin, H. (2012). Comparison of environmental attitudes of university students determined via the new environmental paradigm scale according to the students' personal characteristics. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 49, 21-39.
31. Felix, R., Ahmed, Z. U., & Hinck, W. (2013). Gender issues in consumer materialism: The case of Mexico. Journal of Transnational Management, 18(2), 82-100.
32. Fien, J. (2000). Education for the environment: A critique- an analysis. Environmental Education Research, 6(2), 179-192.
33. Fien, J., & Tilbury, D. (1996). Learning for a sustainable environment: An agenda for teacher education in Asia and The Pacific. Bangkok: UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
34. Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1980). Understanding attitudes and social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
35. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. ( 1993). How to design and evaluate research in education. New York: McGraw-Hill.
36. Goldberg, M. E., Gorn, G. J., Peracchio, L. A., & Bamossy, G. (2003). Understanding materialism among youth. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13(3), 278-288.
37. Handa, M., & Khare, A. (2013). Gender as a moderator of the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing involvement among Indian youth. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(1), 112-120.
38. Hines, J. M., Hungerford, H. R., & Tomera, A. N. (1987). Analysis and synthesis of research on responsible environmental behavior: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Environmental Education, 18(2), 1-8.
39. Hirsh, J. B., & Dolderman, D. (2007). Personality predictors of consumerism and environmentalism: A preliminary study. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(6), 1583-1593.
40. Hungerford, H. R., & Volk, T. L. (1990). Changing learner behavior through environmental education. The Journal of Environmental Education, 21(3), 8-21.
41. Hurst, M., Dittmar, H., Bond, R., & Kasser, T. (2013). The relationship between materialistic values and environmental attitudes and behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 257-269.
42. Justus, J., Colyvan, M., Regan, H., & Maguire, L. (2009). Buying into conservation: intrinsic versus instrumental value. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24(4), 187-191.
43. Kamineni, R. (2005). Influence of materialism, gender and nationality on consumer brand perceptions. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 14(1), 25-32.
44. Kaptan, S. (1998). Bilimsel araştırma ve istatistik teknikleri. Ankara: Tekışık Web Ofset.
45. Karabati, S., & Cemalcilar, Z. (2010). Values, materialism, and well-being: A study with Turkish university students. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(4), 624-633. Karasar, N. (2002). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemi (11 Ed.). Ankara: Nobel Yayınevi.
46. Kemmelmeier, M., Krol, G., & Kim, Y. H. (2002). Values, economics, and proenvironmental attitudes in 22 societies. Cross-cultural Research, 36(3), 256-285.
47. Kilbourne, W., & Pickett, G. (2008). How materialism affects environmental beliefs, concern, and environmentally responsible behavior. Journal of Business Research, 61(9), 885-893.
48. Kilbourne, W. E., & Carlson, L. (2008). The dominant social paradigm, consumption, and environmental attitudes: Can macromarketing education help? Journal of Macromarketing, 28(2), 106-121.
49. Koç, H., & Karatekin, K. (2013). Coğrafya öğretmen adaylarinin çevre okuryazarlık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi(28), 139-174. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3350
50. Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behavior? Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 239-260.
51. La Barbera, P. A., & Gürhan, Z. (1997). The role of materialism, religiosity, and demographics in subjective well‐being. Psychology & Marketing, 14(1), 71-97.
52. Larsen, V., Sirgy, M. J., & D. Wright, N. (1999). Materialism: The construct, measures, antecedents, and consequences. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 3(2), 78-110.
53. Martinsson, J., Lundqvist, L. J., & Sundström, A. (2011). Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes. Energy Policy, 39(9), 5182-5191.
54. Materialism. (n.d). In Oxford learner’s dictionaries. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/materialism?q=materialism
55. Müderrisoglu, H., & Altanlar, A. (2011). Attitudes and behaviors of undergraduate students toward environmental issues. International Journal of Environmental Science & Technology, 8(1), 159-168.
56. O'Cass, A. (2001). Consumer self-monitoring, materialism and involvement in fashion clothing. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), 9(1), 46-60.
57. O'Cass, A. (2004). Fashion clothing consumption: antecedents and consequences of fashion clothing involvement. European Journal of Marketing, 38(7), 869-882.
58. Özdemir, O. (2010). Yeni bir çevre eğitimi perspektifi: Sürdürülebilir gelişme amaçlı eğitim. Eğitim ve Bilim, 32(145), 23-38.
59. Özden, M. (2008). Environmental awareness and attitudes of student teachers: An empirical research. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 17(1), 40-55. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2167/irgee227.0?needAccess=true
60. Palmer, J. A. (2002). Environmental education in the 21st century: Theory, practice, progress and promise. London and New York: Routledge.
61. Pe'er, S., Goldman, D., & Yavetz, B. (2007). Environmental literacy in teacher training: Attitudes, knowledge, and environmental behavior of beginning students. The Journal of Environmental Education, 39(1), 45-59.
62. Rajecki, D. (1982). Attitudes: themes and advances. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
63. Richins, M., & Fournier, S. (1991). Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(6), 403-414.
64. Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(3), 303-316.
65. Rickinson, M. (2001). Learners and learning in environmental education: A critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research, 7(3), 207-320.
66. Robert, K. W., Parris, T. M., & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2005). What is sustainable development? Goals, indicators, values, and practice. Environment, 47(3), 8-21.
67. Saunders, S. A. (2007). A snapshot of five materialism studies in Australia. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 1(1), 14-19.
68. Scott, D., & Willits, F. K. (1994). Environmental attitudes and behavior: A Pennsylvania survey. Environment and Behavior, 26(2), 239-260.
69. Segal, B., & Podoshen, J. S. (2013). An examination of materialism, conspicuous consumption and gender differences. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 37(2), 189-198.
70. Sever, R., & Yalçınkaya, E. (2012). Sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının çevresel tutumlarının incelenmesi. Marmara Coğrafya Dergisi, (26), 1-15.
71. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3296 Shamuganathan, S., & Karpudewan, M. (2015). Modeling environmental literacy of Malaysian pre-university students. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 10(5), 757-771.
72. Shields, T., & Zeng, K. (2012). The reverse environmental gender gap in China: Evidence from “The China Survey”. Social Science Quarterly, 93(1), 1-20.
73. Smith, D. C. (2001). Environmentalism, feminism, and gender. Sociological Inquiry, 71(3), 314-334.
74. Sönmez, V., & Alacapınar, F. G. (2016). Örneklendirilmiş bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri (4 ed.). Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık.
75. Stern, P. C., Dietz, T., & Kalof, L. (1993). Value orientations, gender, and environmental concern. Environment and Behavior, 25(5), 322-348.
76. Stevenson, R. B. (2007). Schooling and environmental education: Contradictions in purpose and practice. Environmental Education Research, 13(2), 139-153.
77. Taşkın, O. (2009). The environmental attitudes of Turkish senior high school students in the context of postmaterialism and the new environmental paradigm. International Journal of Science Education, 31(4), 481-502. Tekin, H. (1996). Eğitimde Ölçme ve Değerlendirme (9 Ed.). Ankara: Yargı Yayınları.
78. Tekin, E. (2012). Environmental awareness and concerns of pre-service teachers in a private non-profit university (Master dissertation). Bilkent University, Ankara. Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/tezSorguSonucYeni.jsp (319547)
79. Tilbury, D. (1993). Environmental education: Developing a model for initial teacher education (Doctoral dissertation). University of Cambridge United Kingdom. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2005421168?accountid=16701
80. Turan, G. (2007). Relationship between materialism and self construals (Doctoral dissertation). Ortadoğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Ankara. Retrieved from https://open.metu.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/11511/16933/index.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
81. United Nations, (1987). Report of the World commission on environment and development our common future, Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/TOSHIBA/Desktop/%C3%A7al%C4%B1%C5%9Fmalar/R%C4%B0GEO/our_common_futurebrundtlandreport1987.pdf
82. UNESCO‐UNEP. (1990). Environmentally educated teachers: The priority of priorities? Connect, 15(1), 1-3. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000153574
83. UNESCO. (2005). Decade of education for sustainable development (2005–2014): international implementation scheme. Retrieved from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/
84. Uzun, N., & Sağlam, N. (2007). Orta öğretimde çevre eğitimi ve öğretmenlerin çevre eğitimi programları hakkındaki görüşleri. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 26, 176-187.
85. Ünal, S., & Dımışkı, E. (1998). UNESCO uluslararası çevre eğitim programına (IEEP) göre ortaöğretim çevre eğitimi için öğretmenlerin yetiştirilmesi. M. Ü. Atatürk Eğitim Fakültesi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 30, 299-308.
86. Vicente-Molina, M., Fernández-Sainz, A., & Izagirre-Olaizola, J. (2018). Does gender make a difference in pro-environmental behavior? The case of the Basque Country University students. Journal of Cleaner Production, 176, 89-98.
87. Wals, A. E. (2014). Sustainability in higher education in the context of the UN DESD: a review of learning and institutionalization processes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 62, 8-15.
88. Wheeler, K. (1985). International environmental education: A historical perspective. Environmental Education and Information, 4(2), 144-160.
89. Workman, J. E., & Lee, S. H. (2011). Materialism, fashion consumers and gender: A cross‐cultural study. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 35(1), 50-57.
90. Wray-Lake, L., Flanagan, C. A., & Osgood, D. W. (2010). Examining trends in adolescent environmental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors across three decades. Environment and Behavior, 42(1), 61-85.
91. Xiao, C., Dunlap, R. E., & Hong, D. (2019). Ecological worldview as the central component of environmental concern: Clarifying the role of the NEP. Society & Natural Resources, 32(1), 53-72.
92. Xiao, C., & Hong, D. (2010). Gender differences in environmental behaviors in China. Population and Environment, 32(1), 88-104.
93. Xiao, C., & Hong, D. (2018). Gender differences in environmental behaviors among the Chinese public: Model of mediation and moderation. Environment and Behavior, 50(9), 975-996.
94. Yalçınkaya, E., & Çetin, O. (2018). An investigation of secondary school students’ environmental attitudes and opinions about environmental education. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 8(1), 125-148. Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=cdfac71b-ecf6-4976-8875-27e4aef4af8c%40sdc-v-sessmgr01
95. Yalçınkaya, E., Karataş, A., & Talas, M. (2014). A study on the environmental attitudes of candidate teachers. mediterranean journal of humanities, 9(1), 275-284. Retrieved from https://www.trdizin.gov.tr/publication/show/pdf/paper/TVRrd016azFOUT09
96. Zelezny, L. C., Chua, P. P., & Aldrich, C. (2000a). Elaborating on gender differences in environmentalism-statistical data included. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 443-445.
97. Zelezny, L. C., Chua, P. P., & Aldrich, C. (2000b). New ways of thinking about environmentalism: Elaborating on gender differences in environmentalism. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 443-457.