THE CONCEPTİON OF NATURE İN TURKİSH VİLLAGE INSTİTUTES: A PEDAGOGY OF PRODUCTİVİTY OR ECOLOGİCAL AWARENESS?

Abstract

Abstract. This study examines the historical, ideological, and conceptual foundations of the pedagogical relationship established with nature in the Village Institutes and discusses its implications for contemporary environmental education policies. The analysis, centered on the case of Hasanoğlan Village Institute, reveals that nature was positioned not as a subject of education but rather as a functional element serving production and development goals. Nature was predominantly represented through concepts such as “efficiency,” “labor,” “productivity,” and “planning,” while aspects such as observation, intuition, empathy, and aesthetic awareness were marginalized. The research was conducted using a qualitative historical document analysis method. The primary sources include the Village Institutes Law No. 3803, scholarly studies on the Hasanoğlan Higher Village Institute, instructional programs of the period, as well as UNESCO environmental education documents (Belgrade Charter, 1975; Tbilisi Declaration, 1978). In addition, recent environmental education literature was utilized for comparative evaluation. Findings indicate that the developmental and instrumental perception of nature rooted in early Republican educational ideology persists in today’s curricula in transformed forms. Environmental education remains largely confined to technical objectives such as resource management, energy efficiency, and consumption control. Similarly, teacher education programs tend to neglect intuitive, ethical, and emotional dimensions of the human–nature relationship. The study concludes that environmental education should be reconstructed based on multidimensional and holistic pedagogical approaches, positioning nature not merely as an object of knowledge but as a central partner in learning.