Improving Environmental Citizenship Competencies of Middle School Students Through Social Media-Supported Out-of-School Learning Methods: An Action Research Study

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to improve the environmental citizenship competencies of sixth-grade students in social studies lessons using out-of-school learning environments and media tools. The study employed an action research method. The study group consisted of sixth-grade students attending a middle school in Kocaeli province during the 2021-2022 academic year. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and student and researcher journals were used as data collection tools, and content analysis was applied to the data. Based on the data obtained in the research, it can be said that activities based on media tools and out-of-school learning environments in social studies lessons enabled students to participate in active learning processes and provided them with meaningful educational experiences related to daily life. In particular, the integration of the school's social and physical environment into the lesson created sustainable effects in terms of environmental awareness among students. In conclusion, when the activities carried out are examined as a whole, it can be said that they contributed to the development of students' environmental awareness competencies, especially in the context of the transition from individualism to collectivism.