Secondary School Students' Opinions on ‘’Global Warming and Its Causes’’

Climate change due to global warming is one of the biggest problems facing humanity. The solution of these problems is very important for a better social development. Research in this field aims to raise awareness about climate change, global warming and climate change in the education and training process, and to propose solutions and improvements. Science and environmental education practices, addressing these issues through in-class applications help students develop their skills to cope with environmental problems. The main purpose of this study is to examine the awareness of 8th grade middle school students about the factors affecting global warming and their behaviors to reduce global warming. In this study, “sequential explanatory design”, one of the “mixed method” research types, was used in line with the general purpose. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 335 students studying in the 8th grade in three secondary schools in Çankaya District of Ankara Province participated in the study. In the study, “convenience sampling” was used. “Semi-structured interview form” and “global warming awareness questionnaire” were used as data collection tools. The results obtained from the research show that students are mostly aware of environmental problems arising from environmental pollution, air pollution and waste, they mostly give correct answers to the environmental problems they encounter and frequently see in daily life, but they are weaker on issues such as greenhouse effect, global warming, etc. Students stated that issues such as not throwing garbage on the street, giving unused items to other people, and afforestation would reduce global warming. However, it is also seen that students could not establish a relationship between red meat consumption and the use of air conditioners in summer and global warming. As a result of qualitative findings, the necessity of social activities related to environmental problems and protecting the environment is emphasized. According to the results of this study, it was determined that the students lacked knowledge about global warming and, also, had problems in transferring what they knew to behavior. It was suggested that the natural (and applied) science teachers should organize more activities on these issues and make students watch documentaries.