Adaptation of Climate Change Knowledge Test and Attitude Scale to Turkish: Validity and Reliability Study for Middle School Students

Climate change is a complex problem. Addressing this problem effectively is possible by developing awareness and responsibility based on scientific knowledge in individuals from an early age. Especially for middle school students, understanding climate change is critical for their future attitudes and behaviors toward the environment. Unfortunately, there are limited Turkish tools measuring the knowledge level of students together with attitude. Departing from this need this study adapted Climate Change Knowledge Test and Attitudes Scale into Turkish. The original scale was developed by Dijkstra and Goedhart (2012). Utilizing a mixed-method research design, the study involved a sample of 634 students from 12 randomly selected schools situated across three different cities. The Attitude Scale largely maintained its six-factor structure with 26 items and demonstrated high internal consistency. The final version of the knowledge test included 11 items and met the recommended criteria. The findings provided strong evidence that the scale possesses both structural validity and psychometric reliability within the target population. This adapted instrument provides an effective resource for assessing students’ scientific and environmental attitudes and monitoring environmental education practices.

Cite this article as: Karabacak, N. N., Akçay, B., Delen, İ., Dertli, Z. G., Akçay, H., Yıldız, B., Şenceylan, B., & İnce, G. (2026). Adaptation of climate change knowledge test and attitude scale to Turkish: validity and reliability study for middle school students. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 23, 0097, doi: 10.5152/hayef.2026.25097.