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Predictors of Preschool Teachers’ Environmental Activities in Kindergarten

conservation (M =2.93, SD =0.29), informing them about the consequences of
environmental neglect (M =2.93, SD =0.32), encouraging humane treatment of
animals (M =2.93, SD =0.29),and teaching children how to care for plants (M =
2.88, SD = 0.32). These activities typically require minimal resources or orga-
nizational effort, which likely facilitates their integration into daily practice. A
moderate level of implementation is observed in the activities involving chil-
dren’s direct participation in environmental tasks (2.4 < M < 2.7), such as orga-
nizing interior spaces (M =2.73, SD = 0.44), maintaining cleanliness in learning
areas (M =2.65, SD =0.49), and caringforplants (M =2.75, SD = 0.47). These ac-
tivities support the development of responsibility, work habits, and environ-
mental awareness in children by engaging them in hands-on experiences. In
contrast, creative activities and workshops that involve the use of natural ma-
terials – such as creating collections and albums, preparing healthy drinks, or
expressing creativity through artistic means (e.g. painting with natural dyes)
– are reported as somewhat less frequently implemented, with mean val-
ues ranging from 2.0 to 2.3. The lower frequency of these activities may be
attributed to logistical challenges, including the need for additional materi-
als, preparation time, and organizational effort. Particularly noteworthy is the
finding that activities involving collaboration with the broader social context
– such as engagement with local institutions, the community, media, and
professional organizations – are the least frequently implemented (M <1.8).
The least frequently implemented activities include: collaboration with jour-
nals and reviews (M = 1.22; SD =0.54), participation in environmental education
shows (M =1.14; SD =0.37), visits to the botanic garden (M =1.31; SD =0.57)
and collaboration with faculties (M =1.25; SD = 0.60). The infrequent imple-
mentation of these activities may be attributed to their complexity, the lack
of institutional support, and limited opportunities for preschool teachers to
initiate and sustain such forms of collaboration. These findings are consistent
with previous research (Semiz, 2020), which highlights institutional support,
professional education, and access to resources as key factors influencing
both the quality and frequency of environmental activity implementation in
preschool education.
Considering the theoretical range (15–45) presented in Table 2, the mean
scoreof35.30suggeststhatpreschoolteachersratetheirenvironmentalcom-
petenciesabovetheneutralmidpoint.Themedianandmodefurtherconfirm
consistency in responses, while the standard deviation and observed range
indicate relatively low variability among participants. Skewness and kurtosis
values suggest that the distribution is slightly negatively skewed, with scores
clustered closely around the mean.

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