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

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.

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.

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.

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.