Forest pedagogy is a method which simultaneously enables learning and education. The learning environment is represented by the forest. Teaching through interpretation and conversation replaces the implementation of activities designed to promote learning through experience and sustainable knowledge. In addition, it affects the development of the personality of the individual.
Technological literacy for both students and adults is increasingly important as it enables us to live a better life. Its development is influenced by many different factors. These include the attitude towards the Design and Technology. The attitude depends on the characteristics of the individual, the attitude of the parents and the way the teacher is teaching the subject.
In the theoretical part, the forest pedagogy is presented in more detail, its advantages and difficulties that can be encountered, as well as guidelines and recommendations for its implementation. The technological literacy, all its components, and ways of promoting the technological literacy of students are also presented. A general description of the attitude and the effects on the attitude towards science and technology are also given.
The goal of our research is to find out how the technological literacy of 6th grade elementary school students is influenced by the implementation of forest pedagogy in the form of the school activity day, whose central theme is wood. We were also interested in how students' attitudes toward science and technology do affect their technological literacy and what students' opinions are about the delivery of forest pedagogy lessons.
The research is based on a qualitative and quantitative research approach. It is implemented in two parts, on one of the elementary schools located in the countryside in the immediate vicinity of the forest. The sample represents 36 students, 12 of whom participated in the school activity day, based on using the forest pedagogy method (experimental group). Prior to the implementation of the school activity day, all students expressed their attitude towards science and technology by answering the Science, Technology and Me questionnaire. Through the Technological literacy Test, which served as a pre-test, we obtained information about the students’ technological literacy. A few weeks after the implementation of the school activity day, the second part was followed by a re-examination of the students' technological literacy with the Technological literacy Test (post-test). The students participating in the school activity day completed an Action and Me questionnaire through which we found out what they thought about the use of the forest pedagogy.
The experimental group achieved higher scores on the post-test (x ̅= 43,3 %) of technological literacy than the control group students (x ̅= 38,1 %). Overall, students scored higher on the post-test (x ̅= 40 %) than on the pre-test (x ̅= 37 %). The experimental group advanced an average of 16,6 %, while the control group declined 1,9 %. In both the pre-test and post-test of technological literacy, test items related to the critical thinking and decision making component were the worst-performing items. Overall, students scored higher on the post-test and advanced 4,3 %.
An analysis of students' attitudes towards science and technology revealed that there is a link between the increment of the critical thinking and decision making component and the opinion on the suitability of the science and technology field for a particular gender. Students with small increments are of the opinion that the given areas are more suitable for the male sex. Overall, interest in continuing education is low in the given areas. The students' opinion regarding the implementation of the forest pedagogy is satisfactory, as the average score of each category is higher than the mean value of the rating scale, which is 2,5.
Technological literacy of the sixth graders is still low, mainly in the critical thinking and decision making component. The interest in the professions in the field of science and technology is also of concern, as a result of the environment in which students live and the way they are being taught. Changing curricula and teaching methods could affect both the attitude and technological literacy of the students and also the sustainability of their knowledge.
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