THE PREDICTORS OF NINTH GRADE STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS PLANTS

As plants are vital to the survival of the planet, developing positive attitude towards them is important for protection of plants, biodiversity, and the environment. The aim of this research was to determine the predictors of ninth grade students' attitude towards plants. In the study, a descriptive correlational design was used. The data were collected from 773 upper-secondary students selected through stratified-purposive sampling. The “Plant Recognition Test” and “Plant Attitude Scale” were used as data collection tools. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the way different variables predicted attitude towards plants. The results of research indicated that the linear relationship between predictive variables and attitude towards plants explained 14% of the total variance in attitude towards plants at a significant level. Among the variables, gender, time spent in a garden, involvement in indoor or outdoor cultivation, experience with picking flowers, fruits, and/or vegetables, and plant recognition level had significant contributions to predicting variance in attitude towards plants, and the recognition of plants was determined to be the most important predictor relative to all the other variables.