Determination of Connectedness to Nature Levels of Prospective Teachers


TAĞRİKULU P., GÜL A. C., ÇOBANOĞLU E. O.

Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, vol.40, no.1, pp.441-458, 2021 (Peer-Reviewed Journal) identifier

Abstract

Thanks to industrial revolution and technology, human attempts to dominate nature have reached the highest level and in this process, humans’ harmony with nature has disappeared to a great extent and reached the extent of exploiting the nature. However, until the past century, human beings have not even realized that they have brought nature to the edge of destruction, almost taking away future generations’ right to live (Ergün and Çobanoğlu, 2012; Çobanoğlu, 2019). Today, our behaviors and lifestyles still cause global warming, habitat destruction and depletion of ozone layer (Winter, 2000). The present study is an original study that can fill in the gap in literature in that it discusses prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature in terms different variables. By determining the factors that cause disconnection from the nature, it will be possible to eliminate these factors. However, before doing this, it would be useful to find out individuals’ levels of connectedness to nature. In line with the purpose of the study, the following sub-objectives were examined: 1. Are there any differences in prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature in terms of sub-factors? 2. Are there any significant differences between prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature and their genders? 3. Are there any significant differences between prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature and their departments? 4. Are there any significant differences between prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature and their years of study? 5. Are there any significant differences between prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature and their families’ income levels? 6. Are there any significant differences between prospective teachers’ levels of connectedness to nature and their place of residence? The present study was conducted with prospective teachers studying in a state university in Black Sea region during the 2019-2020 academic year. The study is a quantitative study and the data were collected with a correlational research design. Correlational studies are studies in which the relationships between two or more variables are examined and this relationship revealed without making any changes in any variables (Büyüköztürk, Kılıç Çakmak, Akgün, Karadeniz and Demirel, 2016). The sample group in which the data were collected was chosen in accordance with stratified sampling, which is a type of random sampling. In random sampling method, the prerequisite is that sampling units have an equal probability of being included in the sample (Büyüköztürk et al, 2016). The present study is limited to 628 volunteering students studying in the departments of Social Sciences Teaching, Elementary School Teaching and Science Teaching. “Connectedness to Nature Scale” which was developed by Mayer and Frantz (2004) and adapted into Turkish by Bektaş, Kural and Orçan (2017) was used in the study. While collecting the data, information about department, year of study, gender, family income level and place of residence was asked to prospective teachers as demographic information. The data collected in the study were transferred to SPSS 22.0 program and descriptive analyses were made. When a general evaluation was made about the scale, as can be seen in Table 6, it was found in line with the data obtained that of the 591 prospective teachers, 7 had low level of connectedness to nature, 119 had moderate level of connectedness to nature and 475 had high level of connectedness to nature. In their study, Mayer and Frantz (2004) stated that when individuals felt connected to nature, their probability of harming nature decreased and they thought that they harmed themselves when they harmed nature. In this context, it can be said that this result obtained in the study is a hope for the protection of the deteriorating nature. As a result of the study, when a general evaluation of the scale was made, as can be seen in Table 7, it was found that female prospective teachers had higher level of connectedness to nature (𝒙̅=30.793) than male prospective teachers (𝒙̅=29.803). When analyses were made according to the genders of prospective teachers in the factors of integration with nature and feeling part of nature, it was found that female prospective teachers had higher level of integration with nature (𝒙̅=7.508) than male prospective teachers (𝒙̅=7.153). According to the same table, it was also found that female prospective teachers had higher level of feeling part of nature (𝒙̅=23.284) than male prospective teachers (𝒙̅=22.649). Studies were found in literature which supported the results of our study. For example, similar to the results of our study, it was found in Karademir’s (2017) study that female prospective teachers were more connected to nature than male prospective teachers. In the study, levels of connectedness to nature were compared with departments of prospective teachers and differences were found in terms of factors. As can be seen in Table 8, while no significant difference was
Bu araştırmanın amacı; eğitim fakültelerinin farklı sınıf ve bölümlerinde öğrenim görmekte olan öğretmen adaylarının doğaya bağlılık düzeylerini ortaya koymaktır. Çalışma, nicel bir araştırma olup verilerin toplanacağı örneklem grubu, seçkisiz örneklem türlerinden tabakalı örneklemeye uygun olarak seçilmiştir. Çalışma, öğretmen adaylarının doğaya bağlılıklarını ölçmek amacıyla 2019-2020 eğitim-öğretim yılında Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yer alan bir üniversitede öğrenim gören öğretmen adayları ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışmada, Mayer ve Frantz (2004) tarafından geliştirilen ve Bektaş, Kural ve Orçan (2017) tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanan Doğaya Bağlılık Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Çalışmaya, Fen Bilimleri Öğretmenliği anabilim dalından 255; Sınıf Öğretmenliği anabilim dalından 201 ve Sosyal Bilgiler Öğretmenliği anabilim dalından 172 öğretmen adayı katılmıştır. Veriler toplanırken öğretmen adaylarından bölüm, sınıf düzeyi, cinsiyet, ailelerin gelir düzeyi ve yaşadıkları yer bilgileri demografik veriler olarak istenmiştir. Çalışmadan elde edilen veriler, SPSS 22.0 paket programı kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Yapılan analizler sonucunda, cinsiyet değişkeninde, kadın ve erkek öğretmen adayları arasında ölçekte yer alan her iki boyutta da anlamlı bir farkın olduğu; genel olarak ise öğretmen adaylarının doğaya bağlılık düzeylerinin yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır. Bundan sonra yapılacak çalışmalarda bireylerin doğaya bağlılık düzeylerini etkileyen faktörlerin neler olduğu hususunda kapsamlı çalışmaların yapılması önerilebilir.