Predictors of turkish elementary teacher candidates' energy conservation behaviors: An approach on value-belief-norm theory


ŞAHİN E.

International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, cilt.8, sa.2, ss.269-283, 2013 (Scopus) identifier

Özet

The present study aimed to explain elementary teacher candidates' energy conservation behaviors by using Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) Theory. Participants in this study were 512 students at Faculty of Education from two public universities in Turkey. Of the 512 students, 35.5% were enrolled in the early childhood education program, 30.9% were in the elementary science education program, and 27.7% were in the elementary mathematics education program. The rest of the participants were pursuing a graduate program under the department of elementary education. The results of multiple linear regression analysis reflected that VBN Theory could successfully explain the participants' energy conservation behaviors. The teacher candidates' reduction in energy consumption could be accounted by personal norms, egoistic and biospheric value orientations. However, rather than personal norms, egoistic and biospheric value orientations made greater unique contribution to explain the criterion variable. Furthermore, each predictor variable in the causal model of VBN Theory was found to be significantly associated with the next variable, but value orientations deserved more attention than VBN Theory places on them within the study context. © 2006-2013 by ESER, Eurasian Society of Educational Research. All Rights Reserved.