The Impact of Immediate Vicinity Training on Academic Success and Environmental Attitudes of the Fourth Graders in the Primary School

Abstract

This research seeks to increase the knowledge of the fourth graders in primary school and their attitudes towards the environment positively through immediate vicinity education. The research was carried out with the experimental design of the pre-test-post-test control group with the participation of 44 fourth graders in a private school located in the centre of Ankara. The data were obtained by applying "Ankara Environmental Booklet Achievement Test (AEBAT) and Environmental Attitude Scale (EAS)” as a pre-test and post-test to the experimental and control groups. "A Two-Factor ANOVA for Mixed Measurements" was used to compare pre-test and post-test scores. After the completion of the education process, a significant increase was found both in the AEBAT and in the EAS scores in the experimental group who were trained with Ankara Environmental Booklet and continued their official curriculum in the post-tests.  However, no significant change was observed between the AEBAT and the EAS scores of the control group, who were only attending to the official curriculum, which did not receive any immediate vicinity education. It was concluded that there was no significant change in the knowledge level of the students regarding the immediate vicinity and their positive attitudes towards their environment in the control group while experimental group has developed both their academic success regarding their immediate vicinity and positive attitude towards the environment.