Improving ecological footprint awareness of primary school students

The aim of this study is to improve primary school students' ecological footprint awareness through ecological footprint-based activities. The research was conducted in accordance with the quantitative research method and a quasi-experimental design with pre-post test experimental-control group was used in the research. The criterion sampling method was used to determine the study group for the experimental process, and 26 students (N experimental=13; N control=13) studying in the fourth grade of a public school in the Central Anatolia Region were included in the study. In the study, the Ecological Footprint Awareness Scale was applied as pretest-posttest. The process took place in science classes in both groups. While the courses were curriculum-based in the control group, ecological footprint-based activities were organized in the experimental group. The data were analyzed by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and dependent groups t-test, and the effect size ([ή2]) was calculated according to the variances. As a result of the research, when the ecological footprint awareness pre-test mean scores of primary school students were controlled, it was concluded that there was a significant difference between the ecological footprint awareness post-test mean scores of primary school students in which the activity process took place, and the ecological footprint awareness post-test mean scores of primary school students in which the activities did not take place. It was evaluated that 45% of the variance related to the post-test mean scores was due to the activity process applied. While teaching courses with ecological footprint-based activities applied in the experimental group significantly increased the mean scores of primary school students' ecological footprint awareness with a medium effect, teaching curriculum-based courses did not significantly increase the mean scores of primary school students' ecological footprint awareness attitude. It should be considered important to present topics such as ecological footprint, carbon footprint or water footprint calculations to students depending on the concept of sustainability to be integrated into primary school curriculum programs and to focus on in-class and out-of-class activities.