An examination of pre-service teachers’ environmental attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge

The environmental literacy (EL) of pre-service teachers is of crucial importance for the development of environmentally responsible individuals and the promotion of EL. However, most of these studies have focused on Western and European contexts and have not yet conducted comparative studies to assess pre-service teachers’ EL, including attitude, behavior, and knowledge. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the EL of pre-service teachers in two countries by comparing and assessing their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The researchers collected data from 282 pre-service teachers. The results show that although the participants’ attitude is generally positive, this positive attitude is not fully reflected in their behaviors. The level of knowledge is relatively low. This shows that although the participants have positive attitudes and behaviors, they lack knowledge. There were significant differences between the countries in the attitudes of female and male students’ knowledge levels. However, it was found that there was no significant effect of grade level and no significant effect of school branch in high school on knowledge, behavior, and attitudes. In light of the results obtained, we made recommendations for future research.