Abstract:

The concept of ecological footprint is one of the indicators of sustainable development. This concept plays a key role in education for sustainable development. In this study, it was aimed to determine the ecological footprint awareness levels of pre-service science teachers according to different variables (grade level, parental education level, longest lived settlement). The study group of the research consists of 47 pre-service science teachers studying in the 3rd and 4th grades at a state university in the 2019-2020 academic year. "Ecological Footprint Awareness Scale" developed by Coşkun (2013) was used as a data collection tool in the study. In the analysis of the quantitative data obtained, t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used as descriptive statistical techniques. In line with the findings obtained, no significant difference was observed between the ecological footprint awareness levels of the pre-service science teachers participating in the study and the grade level. In the ecological footprint awareness levels of the pre-service science teachers participating in the study, a significant difference was found between the food sub-dimension and the level of father's education, between the wastes and the unit of residence for the longest time, and between the energy and the mother's education level. While the largest ecological footprint component of the pre-service science teachers participating in the study was in the energy sub-dimension; it was determined that the smallest ecological footprint component was in the food sub-dimension. In this context, it is recommended that studies should be carried out in faculties of education to increase the awareness levels of pre-service teachers about ecological footprints.

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