This study explores preschool children's attitudes towards environmental issues with a focus on the issue of gender as a factor affecting their attitudes. The study sample comprised 40 preschool age children living in Ankara, Turkey. The research adopted a qualitative approach, and the data were collected through interviews in which a questionnaire was administered. The interview questionnaire was adapted from ‘The Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale-Preschool Version’ which contains 15 interview questions and sub-questions. The findings of our study indicate that most of the 5–6-year-old children initially appear to have ecocentric attitudes towards environmental issues in all the dimensions. However, when the children explained their reasons for choosing one of the two pictures, their responses were evaluated as emanating from anthropocentric attitudes. No difference in the attitudes of the preschool children was detected in relation to their gender. In conclusion, this study shows that the educational programmes at the preschool stage need to be broadened and improved, particularly in the provision of outdoor study in natural settings for the children to develop a more ecocentric attitude towards the environment.

This study presents an attempt to contribute to the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) by conceptualizing systems thinking skills of four- to six-year-old preschool children with the role of age in this particular skill. For this purpose, we developed and tested a method and instruments to assess and conceptualize systems thinking skills of 52 preschool children in early childhood education contexts from Turkey and Germany. By employing qualitative case study research, we concluded that the young children showed some signs of complex understanding regarding systems thinking in terms of detecting obvious gradual changes and two-step domino and/or multiple one-way causalities, as well as describing behavior of a balancing loop. However, their capacity was found to be limited when it comes to detecting a reinforcing loop, understanding system mechanisms by acknowledging the unintended consequences, detecting hidden components and processes, demonstrating multi-dimensional perspective, solving problems through high-leverage interventions, and predicting the future behavior of the system. Age had a notable effect on the total systems thinking mean scores of the participants.

In this study, we discuss findings from a small-scale project evaluating an in-service teacher training programme focused on ‘perspective transformation’ in early childhood education and education for sustainability (EfS). A bespoke professional development programme was developed for Turkish early childhood teachers, based on a variety of Mezirowian-inspired adult education activities. Data were gathered using a mixed method research design, from 24 early childhood educators, through learning diaries, a Learning Activities Survey and follow-up interviews. Initial findings illustrate the range of transformations possible in the teachers’ perspectives during and after the training workshops. Influential factors in facilitating perspective transformation are shown to be the content, structure and sequencing of the training, and peer support. We conclude that transformative learning techniques offer a viable framework for engaging practicing early childhood teachers with EfS and also discuss implications for teacher preparation in both areas.

Bu çalışmanın amacı okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarına devam eden 60-66 aylık çocuklarının doğaya yakınlık seviyelerini (biyofili) belirlemek ve bu çocukların doğa ile ilgili uyaranlara olumlu (biyofilik) ya da olumsuz (biyofobik) tepkilerinin nedenlerini araştırmaktır. Bu çalışmanın bir diğer amacı ise çocukların biyofili seviyelerinin devam ettikleri okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarının bahçelerinin doğal elementleri içerme düzeylerine ve cinsiyetlerine göre değişiklik gösterip göstermediğini araştırmaktır. Çalışmanın örneklemi Ankara İl’inin Çankaya ilçesinde yer alan dört farklı devlet okulundan seçilen 105 çocuktan oluşmuştur. Çalışmanın alt örneklemini ise temel örneklem grubundan rastgele örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak seçilen 20 çocuk oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıların doğaya yakınlık seviyelerini ölçmek amacıyla 22 maddeden oluşan ‘Çocuklar için Biyofili Ölçeği’ kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulguları, çocukların biyofili seviyelerinin devam ettikleri okul öncesi eğitim kurumuna (okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarının bahçelerinin doğal elementleri içerme düzeyleri) ve cinsiyetlerine göre farklılık göstermediğini ve araştırmaya katılan tüm çocukların biyofili seviyelerinin yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. Çocukların biyofilik ya da biyofobik yanıtlarının ortak nedenleri incelendiğinde, öne çıkan en önemli faktörün kültürün etkisi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Annelerin çocukların doğal uyaranlara verdiği olumlu ya da olumsuz tepkiler üzerinde etkili bir yere sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bu nedenle, ilerde yapılacak çalışmaların çocukların biyofilik ya da biyofobik yanıtlarında etkili olabileceği düşünülerek, annelerin demografik özellikleri (yaş, eğitim seviyesi, dışarda geçirdiği zaman, çocukluğunu geçirtiği yaşam alanı vb.) dikkate alınarak planlanması önerilebilir. Ayrıca, farklı kültürlerde büyüyen çocukların biyofili seviyelerinin araştırılması da önerilebilir.

This research investigated the views of pre-service and in-service preschool teachers concerning the developing of children's creativity in early childhood education by determining the similarities and/or differences among their views. The data were gathered from 10 pre-service and 11 in-service teachers through focus group meetings, and then from the participants' views four basic themes were constituted consisting of their opinions on ‘creativity’, ‘creative people’, ‘importance of creativity in early childhood education’, and ‘obstacles to creativity in early childhood education’. The findings indicated that although the subjects had their own creativity definitions, they also had some common ideas. The subjects also shared their ideas about some of the essential characteristics of creative individuals. Furthermore, although the participants were aware of the value of creativity for young children's development and the need to implement activities that would nurture children's creativity, they still face many obstacles preventing them from achieving this crucial goal.