Teachers' Perspectives on the Availability of Environmental Concepts in Jordanian Science and Social Studies Textbooks of Seventh Grade: A Comparative Study

Abstract

The study aims to explore the teachers' perspectives on the availability of environmental concepts in the Jordanian 7th-grade science and social studies textbooks. A measurement instrument consisting of (25) items was developed and distributed to a study sample of (228) male and female teachers. The results show a moderate degree of environmental availability concepts in science textbooks, as the concepts of natural environmental resources are ranked first, while the concepts of environment and population are ranked second. Concerning the concepts of environmental problems, they are categorized in the penultimate rank, while the concepts of cultural and environmental elements are ranked last place. The results also show a moderate degree of environmental availability concepts in social studies textbooks, as the concepts of cultural and environmental elements are ranked first, while the concepts of environmental problems are ranked in second place. With regard to the concepts of natural environmental resources, they are ranked in third place, and the concepts of environment and population are in the last place. Besides, the results indicate that there are no differences between the estimates of the study sample in the area of natural environmental resources and the instrument as a whole and there are differences between the estimates of the study sample in the area of environment and population in favor of science teachers. As a final point, there are differences between the estimates of the study sample in the areas of cultural and environmental elements and environmental problems in favor of social studies teachers.