Environmental Awareness of Students in a Primary School with Zero Waste Policy

Abstract

In the research conducted to determine the environmental awareness of students in a primary school implementing zero waste policy and to examine zero waste and environmentally friendly practices, an environmental awareness questionnaire and interview technique were used. In the research, a mixed method was used by adopting a quantitative-qualitative sequential transformational design. The quantitative part of the research was carried out with 110 students receiving education within the scope of "Zero Waste Project". The data were interpreted using frequency and arithmetic averages and the environmental awareness of the students was analyzed. The qualitative data of the research were obtained by content analysis of interviews with six teachers. In the light of the research findings, it was determined that the environmental awareness of the students was high. The findings show that students are sensitive about air, water, soil and ecological balance and that zero waste policies positively affect this awareness. The results show that zero waste practices increase students' environmental awareness. Especially on issues such as air, water, soil pollution and ecological balance, students' sensitivity has increased and they have developed environmental awareness.