How do pre-service science teachers perceive local and non-local environmental problems?

The study aimed to investigate how pre-service science teachers perceived local and non-local environmental problems and whether there were any differences in their perceptions. A convenience sample of 114 pre-service science teachers participated to the study. For data collection four local and four non-local environmental cases about deforestation, e-waste, oil spill, and global warming environmental problems were prepared by the researchers and ten questions about the certainty, tangibility, and seriousness of the causes and the consequences of the problems, participants’ knowledge levels and concerns as well as their perceptions about the trend of the environmental problems after 20 were asked for each of the environmental cases. The participants were found to be aware of the certainty, tangibility, and seriousness of the causes and the consequences of both local and non-localenvironmental problems and the fact that their lives would be affected by them. Moreover, descriptive findings of the study revealed that there were some differences their perceptions –including their risk perceptions- in favor of local environmental problems indicating that emphasizing local environmental problems both in mass media and environmental education programmes may lead people to behave more pro-environmental