Summary


PERCEPTIONS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, AND THEIR CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS
This study has aimed to reveal the perceptions of middle school students about environmental problems, and their causes and solutions. Qualitative research design has been adopted in the research, in which the study group consists of 61 students studying at 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade in a state middle school. The research data were obtained from the "Environmental Problems Interview Form" prepared by the researchers, and analysed by the descriptive analysis technique. The codes obtained from the answers given by the students to the interview questions were gathered and presented under five themes, which had all been previously determined: "environmental problems", "reasons for environmental problems", "places where environmental problems are observed", "problem solvers for environmental problems", "suggestions for the prevention of environmental problems". The results of the research have revealed that the perceptions of students about environmental problems, and their causes and solutions are very limited. The vast majority of students have stated that environmental problems are the problem of throwing garbage on roads, while very few have used scientific expressions such as air, water, soil and noise pollution.

Keywords
Environmental education, environmental problems, perception, middle school students.

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