Abstract:

The purpose of present research is to designate the science fields that prospective teachers of physics, chemistry and biology departments associate environmental problems with and also to explore the level of association prospective teachers establish between thermodynamics laws and environmental problems. Research sampling is composed of 245 prospective teachers from physics, chemistry and biology departments during the academic year 2009-2010 in Balıkesir University, Necatibey Faculty of Education. In data-gathering stage Association Test of Environmental Problems with Science Fields ATEPSF , Word Association Test WAT , and Association Test of Environmental Problems with Laws of Thermodynamics ATEPLT developed by researcher have been employed. According to findings obtained from ATEPSF prospective teachers from physics, chemistry and biology departments associate environmental problems mostly with biology which is followed by chemistry, earth science and physics. Besides “air pollution” is considered to be the most critical environmental problem. As manifested by WAT and ATEPLT findings, prospective teachers have failed to establish a connection between thermodynamics and environmental problems as well as energy pollution and thermal pollution and that prospective teachers have experienced difficulty in practicing thermodynamics laws within the scope of daily environmental problems

Keywords: