Determining Secondary School Students' Knowledge Levels on Ecosystem, Biodiversity, and Environmental Problems

Oct 15, 2026

The study determines how secondary school students’ knowledge levels concerning ecosystem, biodiversity, and environmental problems develop within a science class context. It examines the relationship between knowledge levels and gender, as well as science course grades. Using a survey design, the research collects data from 400 eighth-grade students in Ankara during the 2018–2019 academic year, employing EBET and analyzing results with SPSS. Students show strong performance on knowledge and comprehension items, partial difficulty on application, and substantial difficulty on analysis. Gender differences appear only for knowledge and comprehension, and science grades predict knowledge and comprehension scores but not application or analysis.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Rationale for environmental education and interconnected concepts

Need for alternative assessment methods and related instruments

Achievement test development in multiple-choice formats

Context of science curriculum comparisons

Determining Secondary School Students’Knowledge Levels on Ecosystem, Biodiversity, and Environmental Problems Emine AYDIN1 MoNE, 15 Temmuz Şehitleri Secondary School Mahmut SELVİ 2 Gazi University Elvan İNCE AKA 3 Gazi University Mustafa SARIKAYA4 Gazi University Abstract The present study aimed to determine the knowledge levels secondary school students have on ecosystem, biodiversity, and environmental problems within the context of a science class and to identify the relationship between their knowledge levels on these subjects according to gender and science course grades. The study applied the survey design, a quantitative research method. The participants for the study included 400 eighth-grade students from a public secondary school in Ankara, Turkey during the 2018– 2019 academic year. The Ecosystem, Biodiversity, and Environmental Problems Achievement Test (EBET) was used to collect the study data, and SPPS 17 software was used for data analysis. The students’responses to EBET were evaluated based on Bloom’s Original taxonomy. The results revealed that the students had no difficulty in answering knowledge and comprehension questions, partial difficulty in answering application questions, and great difficulty in answering analysis questions. There was a positive, moderately significant relationship between the students’ science course grades and their scores on the knowledge and comprehension questions; however, no significant relationship was found between their science course grades and their scores on application and analysis questions. Regression analysis was performed to determine the predictive value of science course grades on the knowledge levels of ecosystem, biodiversity and environmental problems. The students’ knowledge and comprehension scores varied significantly by gender in favor of the female students, whereas their application and analysis scores did not vary significantly by gender. Keywords: Ecosystem, biodiversity, environmental problems, Bloom’s taxonomy, secondary school students DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2022.461.4 1 Teacher, Emine Aydın, MoNE, 15 Temmuz Şehitleri Secondary School, Ankara, Turkey, ORCID:0000-0002-6098-6241 Email: [eminemrcn@gmail.com](eminemrcn@gmail.com) 2 Prof.Dr..Mahmut Selvi, Gazi University, Gazi Faculty of Education, Ankara, Turkey, ORCID:0000-0002-9704-1591 Email: [mselvi@gazi.edu.tr](mselvi@gazi.edu.tr) 3Associate Prof. Dr., Elvan İnce Aka, Gazi University, Gazi Faculty of Education, Ankara, Turkey, ORCID: 0000-0003- 2013-1035 Correspondence: [elvanince@gazi.edu.tr](elvanince@gazi.edu.tr) 4Prof.Dr. Mustafa Sarıkaya, Gazi University, Gazi Faculty of Education, Ankara, Turkey, ORCID:0000-0002-5917-0237 [Email:sarikaya@gazi.edu.tr](Email:sarikaya@gazi.edu.tr) Introduction Environmental problems pose one of the greatest challenges faced by today’s world. The main reasons behind the emergence of environmental problems are people’s unconscious behavior, negative attitudes and ignorance towards the environment. In order to protect the environment, emphasis has been placed on developing and/or improving value judgements concerning natural assets and habitats, and their sustainability in human-environment and human-nature relationships (Özkan, 2008) . The many disciplines that address the natural environment, including biology, chemistry, geography, and economics, has resulted in the emergence of a wide range of approaches to environmental education. In some cases, environmental education is delivered as a separate course, while in others it is delivered as part of a course, like biology or geography, or designed as a separate theme and interspersed among different courses. Environmental education at the secondary education level in Turkey is delivered in different courses, like science, life sciences, and social sciences. The concepts of ecosystem, biodiversity, and environmental problems cannot be considered as separate from one another, as c

FAQs

What was the aim of this study?

To determine secondary school students’ knowledge levels on ecosystem, biodiversity, and environmental problems in a science class context, and to identify relationships between knowledge levels and gender and science course grades.

How were the students’ knowledge levels measured?

The Ecosystem, Biodiversity, and Environmental Problems Achievement Test (EBET) was used to collect data, and SPSS 17 was used for analysis.

Which question types were students most and least able to answer?

Students had no difficulty with knowledge and comprehension questions, partial difficulty with application questions, and great difficulty with analysis questions.

Oct 15, 2026

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