Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
6th International Palestra Scientific Research Congress, Skopje, Makedonya, 27 - 29 Temmuz 2025, ss.116-135, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
This study examines the representation of environmental issues in textbooks across three educational levels, middle school, high school, and higher education, through the theory of didactic transposition. The research is grounded in the theoretical framework developed by Chevallard (1985), which explains how scholarly knowledge is transformed into teachable and ultimately learned knowledge within educational settings. Utilizing a qualitative document analysis method, the study analyzed a 5th-grade science textbook, a 10th-grade biology textbook, and a higher education environmental science textbook to assess how ecological concepts are transposed and represented. Findings indicate that while textbooks at all levels incorporate key ecological themes, such as pollution, climate change, and biodiversity, these topics’ depth, scope, and pedagogical structure differ significantly. The content emphasizes moral awareness and public health links at the primary level, whereas the secondary level integrates interdisciplinary scientific concepts and expands into causal relationships and environmental impacts. The textbooks exhibit a more detailed scientific and technical approach at the university level, yet often lack structured assessment components. The comparative analysis also reveals that the transformation process simplifies or omits complex scientific elements, especially at lower educational levels. Despite overall alignment with curriculum learning outcomes, the textbooks often remain limited to lower-order cognitive activities, with minimal incorporation of higher order thinking skills such as application or evaluation. The study concludes that while the theory of didactic transposition helps explain the observed transformations, textbook design should better integrate inquiry-based tasks and contextual learning opportunities to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and classroom practice.
Keywords: Theory of didactic transposition, Environmental issues, Science education, Textbook