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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 17, Issue 2, Article 17 (Dec., 2016) |
Exploring fifth–grade Turkish children’s solutions and future plans for environmental pollution through their drawings
Murat SAGLAM
Department of Primary Science Education, Faculty of Education, Ege University, Izmir, TURKEY
E-mail: murat.saglamm@yandex.com
Received 3 May, 2016
Revised 21 Dec., 2016
The pollution of land, water, air, noise, light etc. threatens people, plants, animals and ecosystems. Environmental literacy is at the heart of environmental education, and environmentally literate people are expected to be aware of how to help solve environmental problems such as pollution. The purpose of the present study is to explore 5th grade Turkish children’s solutions and future plans for environmental pollution, as revealed through their drawings. A total of 40 5th graders (25 girls and 15 boys, aged 10-11 years) completed drawings of their solutions and future plans for environmental pollution. The three themes used to analyse their work were physical action, persuasion and political action. The most recurring solutions in the drawings were collecting litter, putting litter in a bin or recycling bin, planting saplings and public persuasion. Many children in the study knew that littering was an environmental problem, which needs more than one strategy to be dealt with. The children in this study found it difficult to visually express their thoughts related to the themes of persuasion and political action. It therefore appears that it is better to explore children’s ideas about persuasion and political action verbally and/or in writing. An instruction based on socio-scientific issues may help children learn about pollutants and their impacts on the environment as they produce solutions and plans for an open-ended problem.
Keywords: environmental education; cognitive skills; pollution; children’s drawings
