The Effect of an Educational Program Based on YouTube Videos on Developing the Concept of Climate Change Among Kindergarten Children

Abstract

     The current research aims to identify the effectiveness of a YouTube video-based program in developing the concept of climate change among kindergarten children and to examine the differences between males and females in understanding this concept. To achieve the research objectives, the following hypotheses were formulated:

1. There is no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of children in the experimental group who were exposed to the program and the mean scores of children in the control group who were not exposed to the program regarding the concept of climate change at a significance level of (0.05).
2. There is no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of males in the experimental group and the mean scores of females in the same group regarding the concept of climate change at a significance level of (0.05).

The research sample was randomly selected, consisting of (60) kindergarten children from Al-Safa Kindergarten, affiliated with the Directorate of Education in Al-Rusafa First in Baghdad. The children were divided into two groups: the experimental group, which included (30) children (15 males and 15 females), and the control group, which also included (30) children (15 males and 15 females).

To achieve the research objectives, the researchers developed a pictorial test to measure the concept of climate change among kindergarten children. The theoretical framework adopted for constructing the test and program was Lester’s Theory (Lester, 2020). The test consisted of (30) items. Additionally, an educational program was designed to enhance children's understanding of climate change. The program was implemented with the experimental group.

The researchers conducted a pre-test to measure the concept of climate change among both the experimental and control groups before applying the program, followed by a post-test after implementing the program. The research adopted the experimental design of control and experimental groups with pre- and post-testing. Data were statistically analyzed using the t-test for independent samples, leading to the following results:

1. A statistically significant difference was found between the scores of the experimental group and those of the control group, favoring the experimental group. regarding the concept of climate change at a significance level of (0.05), And in favor of the experimental group.
2. There is no statistically significant difference between "no significant gender-based diferences were observed within the experimental group".
3. regarding the concept of climate change at a significance level of (0.05).

The study concludes with several recommendations and proposals for future research.

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