Turkish Primary School Students' Knowledge, Behavior, and Awareness of "Healthy Living": Reflections on the COVID-19 Epidemic Process in the Context of Life Science Course

Abstract

This research aims to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic process on the knowledge, thoughts, actions, and awareness of primary school pupils regarding "healthy life," in accordance with the attainments of the Turkish Life Science curriculum. The research was conducted using phenomenology. Maximum variation sampling was utilized to determine the study participants. Accordingly, primary schools located in three distinct settlements (middle-upper and lower-middle socio-economic levels located in the district centre and the town connected to the district) were chosen for the 2020–2021 academic year in the Tavşanlı district of the Kütahya province of Turkey. The information was collected from 18 pupils in the primary schools' 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes. A semi-structured interview form was utilized to collect data for the study. The dataset was analysed using the approach of descriptive analysis. According to the findings of the study, the students were aware of healthy life. In addition, it was revealed that a large percentage of student responses overlapped with the associated subjects and attainments of the Life Science courses. During the COVID-19 outbreak, students reported that their lives were affected in the areas of "academic, health, personal, and social". Concurrently, it has been determined that their lifestyles have changed in a variety of ways, as well as their attitudes and actions regarding healthy living. In this context, it may be stated that diverse subjects should be incorporated into students' in-school and extracurricular activities in order to increase their knowledge, abilities, and awareness of healthy living.