Critical evaluation of environmental social sciences program in Turkey

Abstract

Environmental engineering and environmental sciences education is a recentconcept in the universities present in Turkey and as well as in the universities of the world. The most significant reason of giving priority to the environmental education,especially in the environmental social science fields depends on the problems mostlyrelated to the rapid population growth, improving technologies, imigration and depletionof unique natural resources. In order to deal effectively with complex and global environmental problems; all ofthe universities need to educate competent students with knowledge in both of the areas- inthe fields of social and natural sciences. Scientific-oriented education programs and socialorientedenvironmental programs must be two equivalent components of a whole part. This research focuses on a comprehensive investigation of environmental socialsciences related graduate courses offered in the environmental engineering departments,environmental sciences departments and other departments of the state and privateuniversities in Turkey. As a result, common point has been reached following a methodological way in the frameworks of comparison, interpretation and proposal of thecourse contents. At the end of this study, a new concept for curriculum program forenvironmental social sciences education is improved.The creation of a sustainable, pure and clean world is the greatest challenge facing the world in the 21st century. The requirement of environmental social sciences educationhas an inevitable effect for solving the global environmental problems, since nature is morefragile than the man.