Outcomes associated with participation in a sustainability environmental education program: preschool children’s life skills and computational thinking

Abstract

Introduction – This study examined whether participation in the Sustainable Environmental Education Program (SEEP) was associated with differences in preschool children’s life skills and computational thinking-related outcomes. Methods – A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with a non-equivalent control group was employed. Intact classrooms were allocated to either an experimental condition (n = 112) or a control condition (n = 110) receiving standard preschool programming. Participants were 222 children aged 61–72 months from 12 public preschool classrooms in a mid-sized city in Türkiye. A three-week follow-up assessment was also conducted in the experimental group. Teachers completed the Early Childhood Life Skills Scale, and children were individually assessed using the TechCheck-K mathematical thinking and critical thinking dimensions. SEEP consisted of 20 sessions delivered over 10 weeks and was organized around four thematic units using recyclable and natural materials. Results – Relative to the control group, children in the experimental group showed more favorable pretest-to-posttest patterns in overall life skills scores and in TechCheck-K mathematical thinking and critical thinking scores. Within the experimental group, scores did not change significantly over the three-week follow-up period. Discussion – These findings provide preliminary evidence that participation in a sustainability-oriented experiential preschool program may be associated with selected socio-emotional and cognitive outcomes in early childhood. Interpretation is constrained by the quasi-experimental design, classroom-level assignment analyzed at the individual level, reliance on teacher-reported life skills ratings, and a short follow-up conducted only within the experimental group.