Investigation of Secondary School Students' Knowledge Levels About Global Warming in Terms of Various Variables

Oct 15, 2026

This study examines the knowledge levels of secondary school students about global warming across multiple variables. A survey design was used with 1008 students from secondary schools in Muş Province city center, and the Scale of Knowledge about Global Warming served as the data collection tool. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were applied. Results indicate knowledge levels were above average and differed significantly by grade, number of siblings, parents’ education, home internet access, science course grade, and frequency of following global warming developments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Environmental background and causes of global warming

Effects on daily life, health, and ecosystems

Need for education and awareness

Research rationale and literature overview

Investigation of Secondary School Students' Knowledge Levels About Global Warming in Terms of Various Variables Oylum ÇAVDAR1 Muş Alparslan University Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the knowledge levels of secondary school students about global warming in terms of various variables. A total of 1008 students studying in secondary schools in Muş Province city center were included in the study. This study was conducted through a survey design and the Scale of Knowledge about Global Warming was used as a data collection tool. In addition to descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. The results of the study suggested that the knowledge level of secondary school students about global warming was above average. The participant secondary school students' knowledge levels about global warming differed significantly according to the variables of grade, number of siblings, mother and father's education level, whether they have internet access at home, their science course grade, and the frequency of following the developments related to global warming. Keywords: Global Warming, Environmental Education, Science Education, Secondary School Students DOI: 10.29329/epasr.2023 .600.16 Submitted: 24 June 2023 Accepted: 11 August 2023 Published: 30 September 2023 1 Assist. Prof., Faculty of Education, Muş Alparslan University, Muş, Turkiye, ORCID: 0000-0001-8405-0969 Correspondence: [o.cavdar@alparslan.edu.tr](o.cavdar@alparslan.edu.tr) Introduction Scientific and technological developments affect the environment, and the way people live, and many solutions aimed at problems cause further environmental problems (Head Council of Education and Morality of Türkiye, 2005) . The effort of human beings is aimed towards making their lives easier (Avinç, 1998) . While rapid developments in science and technology increase our living standards, they also cause the destruction of many parts of the environment we interact with and cause change (Yılmaz et al., 2002) . Many of the environmental problems that at first glance appear to be local have global consequences. Humans and the environment have been in constant interaction, which continued in partial harmony until the industrial revolution. However, with the industrial revolution, the possibilities and conditions for humans to dominate and intervene in nature became present, and the possibilities of environmental problems posing a life-threatening danger to living things have increased with the destruction of the ecological balance (Görmez, 2007) . The use of fossil fuels emerged in the early 1800s when the industrial revolution began. As a result, the atmospheric concentrations of some gases called greenhouse gases [carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)] have increased. Global warming is defined as the artificial increase in the earth's temperature as a result of the intense increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Ulutaş, 2013) . In addition, increasing population, deforestation, and the rapid consumption of the world's resources have not only increased the atmospheric concentrations of these gases, but also damaged the systems that remove these gases from the atmosphere. This situation, which is almost entirely the result of human activities, has resulted in global warming, the biggest environmental problem of our world today (Güley, 2009) . Global warming, which is a term that has been used widely in recent years, has caused many negative effects on our lives. Rising temperatures, an increasing number of hot days, unforeseen natural disasters, summer droughts, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and irregular monsoon rains are some of the effects of global warming. It is likely that our lives will become more difficult, and we will face serious health problems due to global warming. Species that ca

FAQs

What was the purpose of the study on global warming knowledge?

The study aimed to examine secondary school students’ knowledge levels about global warming in terms of various variables.

How many students participated, and how was data collected?

A total of 1008 secondary school students in Muş Province city center participated. Data were collected through a survey using the Scale of Knowledge about Global Warming.

Which variables were found to be significantly related to knowledge levels?

Knowledge levels differed significantly by grade, number of siblings, parents’ education levels, whether students had internet access at home, science course grade, and how frequently they followed global warming developments.

Oct 15, 2026

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