Browsing by Subject "valinnaisainepäätös"

Objectives. School institutions educate children and young people to meet the needs of society. The role of sustainability and environmental values in decisions to choose crafts as an optional subject has not been much researched, even though young people are becoming more environmentally aware and constantly thinking about their consumption and the sustainability of natural resources. In addition, teachers of crafts in primary education are already trying to improve their teaching of crafts, both to ensure sufficient participation by pupils and to respond to changes in society. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the attitudes of seventh-grade students towards the values of sustainable development and impact of their background knowledge on the subject of the study. The study uses a sustainability perspective to explore the extent to which seventh-grade students' sustainability-related values vary according to their choice of craft as an elective subject. Methods. The study was carried out using a quantitative research design. The data for the study were collected through an online survey of seventh grade students in December 2023. 121 students from three urban schools responded to the survey. The data was analyzed using statistical methods. Results and conclusions. The results of this thesis suggest that there is no variation in students' sustainability values according to their choice decisions. According to the findings, students with a positive attitude towards the craft subject were more prominent in the positive sustainability values category. In addition, students who were very concerned about the future of the planet and humanity were more prominent in the positive sustainability category. The third result showed that students who did not intend to choose craft as an optional subject appeared to be neutral in the category of sustainable development values. This indicates that, although their choice decisions were not influenced by students' sustainability values, students were still environmentally aware. The educational relevance of the craft subject in terms of sustainable development remains unexplained in the study. However, it is clear that sustainable development values and attitudes can be influenced in a number of different subjects. Concern for the environment does not yet indicate active action towards the environment. Future research would be needed to identify ways to encourage pupils to be active towards the environment, so that future generations can enjoy a diverse environment.