Abstract:

With the increasing prominence of environmental issues on the global agenda, there has been a growing scrutiny of the attitudes and awareness of human beings, who are the primary contributors to these problems, towards their environment. Recognizing the significance of cultivating environmental awareness and consciousness in addressing and mitigating environmental issues, the role of environmental education in the context of sustainability has gained considerable importance.
Environmental awareness plays a significant role in enabling individuals to identify appropriate ecological objectives, formulate strategies to achieve them, and comprehend the interconnections between social, political, and cultural structures and environmental issues. It is crucial for guiding informed decision-making and fostering sustainable environmental practices. Education is the least expensive and most practical means to give people this environmental knowledge. Alternative approaches could be exceedingly expensive for both people and the environment.
In developing countries, formal education systems generally do not have a specific curriculum dedicated to environmental education. However, basic information about the environment is typically integrated into various courses within primary and secondary school education programs. There is no special environmental education policy in existence for higher education. Universities analyze their curricula and contents within their own institutional structures. Higher education institutions are responsible for educating individuals with the necessary knowledge, skills and values to contribute to improving the quality of life of the global community.
In the evaluation of environmental problems together with their causes and solutions, the role of university students is great, especially due to the communication they establish with different segments of the society; therefore, university students should be emphasized. University students represent the most educated segment of the society who will participate in working life in the future. In this sense, their environmental attitudes are very important in terms of playing a leading role in the establishment and development of environmental awareness in society. Therefore, environmental issues in universities need to be addressed with qualified, regular and effective methods.
Within the scope of the study, a questionnaire was applied to determine students' environmental knowledge, sensitivity and attitudes. The purpose of selecting first and fourth year students for the study was to determine the level of effectiveness of the environmental courses taken during undergraduate education. At the beginning of the study, it was expected that fourth grade students would have higher sensitivity and awareness on environmental issues than first grade students. In the study, analyses were conducted for 670 students from different faculties studying at the İstanbul University-Cerrahpasa. Since the environmental awareness general score value was not normally distributed according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney-U test was applied for two group comparisons and Kruskal-Wallis test was applied for 3 or more group comparisons. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the environmental awareness of senior students, students receiving environmental education and students studying social sciences was significantly higher.

Keywords:

Environmental Awareness, Higher Education, University Students, Statistical Analysis.