Research Article

Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education

Number: 54 September 26, 2024
EN TR

Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education

Abstract

Environmental education should empower learners to internalize the concept that their ecological niche is an integral component of the larger environment, nurturing a moral and ethical understanding of the reciprocity inherent in their relationship with nature. Emotive reasoning is a crucial aspect of this eco-ethical perspective. From this perspective, this study aims to explore pre-service early childhood teachers’ (PECTs) emotive reasoning about an environmental issue. The researchers created a scenario about an environmental issue including ethical dilemmas of protecting wildlife and environment and human needs. The researchers listed nine possible options and asked the participants to choose one or more of these options and elaborate on their responses in their reflections. Fifty-three PECTs participated in this study. The researchers coded the participants’ responses in each category and analyzed the participants’ decision and elaboration levels in their reflections independently. The results indicate an accumulation mostly in the categories of diffusion of responsibility, compassion, anger, and righteous indignation. The results also revealed mostly a high level of judgment and a high and moderate level of elaboration in PECTs’ emotive reasoning. The results suggest that pre-service teacher education should be revised to include well-defined environmental cases to examine pre-service teachers' emotive reasoning, thus increasing their environmental awareness in environmental education. This exploration is also important to understand their emotive reasoning about wildlife issues and enable them to effectively incorporate this understanding into their teaching practices.

Keywords

Pre-service teachers, emotive reasoning, environmental issue

Ethical Statement

The study has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards and approved by Educational Sciences Ethics Committee. Its approval number is E-42048860-020-19625.

References

  1. Akinsemolu, A. A. (2020). Effects of everyday activities on the ecosystem. In A. A. Akinsemolu (Ed.), The principles of green and sustainability science (pp. 81-107). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2493-6_4
  2. Anufrieva, N. I., Volkov, L. V., Aralova, E. V., Kolomyts, O. G., & Myagkova, E. V. (2020). Environmental education: Nurturing of the humanistic orientation of a personality. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11), 5529-5535. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.081156
  3. Ardoin, N. M., & Bowers, A. W. (2020). Early childhood environmental education: A systematic review of the research literature. Educational Research Review, 31, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100353
  4. Arvai, J. L., Campbell, V. E., Baird, A., & Rivers, L. (2004). Teaching students to make better decisions about the environment: Lessons from the decision sciences. The Journal of Environmental Education, 36(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOEE.36.1.33-44
  5. Basile, C. G. (2000). Environmental education as a catalyst for transfer of learning in young children. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32(1), 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958960009598668
  6. Bazzul, J. (2020). Political entanglement and the changing nature of science. In H. Yacoubian & L. Hansson (Eds.), Nature of science for social justice (pp. 79–95). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47260-3
  7. Bell, R. L., & Lederman, N. G. (2003). Understandings of the nature of science and decision making on science and technology based issues. Science Education, 87(3), 352–377 https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10063
  8. Beniermann, A., Mecklenburg, L., & Upmeier zu Belzen, A. (2021). Reasoning on controversial science issues in science education and science communication. Education Sciences, 11(9), 522. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11090522
  9. Bencze, L., Alsop, S., Ritchie, A., Bowen, M., & Chen, S. (2015). Pursuing youth-led socio-scientific activism: Conversations of participation, pedagogy and power. In M. Mueller & D. Tippins (Eds.), EcoJustice, citizen science and youth activism (pp. 333-347). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11608-2
  10. Benzce, J. L., & Carter, L. C. (2020). Capitalism, Nature of Science and Science Education: Interrogating and Mitigating Threats to Social Justice. In H. Yacoubian & L. Hansson (Eds.), Nature of science for social justice. Science: philosophy, history and education. (pp. 59-78). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47260-3_4
APA
Sarıbaş, D., & Çetinkaya, E. (2024). Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education. Educational Academic Research, 54, 50-69. https://doi.org/10.33418/education.1416579
AMA
1.Sarıbaş D, Çetinkaya E. Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education. Educational Academic Research. 2024;(54):50-69. doi:10.33418/education.1416579
Chicago
Sarıbaş, Deniz, and Ertan Çetinkaya. 2024. “Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education”. Educational Academic Research, nos. 54: 50-69. https://doi.org/10.33418/education.1416579.
EndNote
Sarıbaş D, Çetinkaya E (September 1, 2024) Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education. Educational Academic Research 54 50–69.
IEEE
[1]D. Sarıbaş and E. Çetinkaya, “Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education”, Educational Academic Research, no. 54, pp. 50–69, Sept. 2024, doi: 10.33418/education.1416579.
ISNAD
Sarıbaş, Deniz - Çetinkaya, Ertan. “Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education”. Educational Academic Research. 54 (September 1, 2024): 50-69. https://doi.org/10.33418/education.1416579.
JAMA
1.Sarıbaş D, Çetinkaya E. Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education. Educational Academic Research. 2024;:50–69.
MLA
Sarıbaş, Deniz, and Ertan Çetinkaya. “Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education”. Educational Academic Research, no. 54, Sept. 2024, pp. 50-69, doi:10.33418/education.1416579.
Vancouver
1.Deniz Sarıbaş, Ertan Çetinkaya. Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotive Reasoning about an Environmental Issue: Using Well-Defined Environmental Cases in Environmental Education. Educational Academic Research. 2024 Sep. 1;(54):50-69. doi:10.33418/education.1416579