Abstract:

Tis study aims to examine the knowledge levels of science teachers about the ecological footprint and their views on “education for sustainable development”. For this purpose, a case study design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. The sample if the study was selected using the purposive sampling method. The participants of the study were 24 volunteer science teachers. Structured interviews that lasted about 40 minutes were conducted. The interviews were analyzed descriptively, and the findings were presented with frequencies, percentages, and with direct quotations. The ecological footprint knowledge of science teachers was examined under four themes; knowledge of definition, components, calculation, and behaviors. Their views on the “education for sustainable development” were also examined under five themes; knowledge level of the society, the place in teacher training programs, in the education system and in the science program, and how it can be applied. The most striking findings were that most of the participant science teachers could not define the ecological footprint, and some of them did not know the sustainability. As a further study, training about the education for sustainable development might be implemented to science teachers and the effects of the training on variables such as knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation, value, and lifestyle should be investigated.

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