Designing a Context-Based Education Model for the Elementary School Science Course with an Emphasis on Environmental Conservation

This research aims to provide a context-based teaching model in the elementary school science course with an emphasis on environmental conservation, which has been qualitatively implemented using a grounded theory approach. To collect information, a semi-structured interview was used, and Strauss and Corbin's method and paradigm model were applied for data analysis. Sampling was conducted using a theoretical method, based on 25 interviews with elementary school teachers in the Central Province. The results of the data obtained from the interviews during the process of open, axial, and selective coding led to the creation of grounded theory in the field of context-based education in the elementary school science course. To determine validity, subject experts and experts in the field of science education were consulted, and to assess reliability, retesting and intra-subject agreement were used, with a reliability value of 0.84. The proposed model in this research includes dimensions and effective components, obstacles and strategies, causal, contextual, and mediating conditions, as well as constituent elements that demonstrate the central phenomenon, consequences, and strategies. Based on the research, context-based education in science with an emphasis on the environment is multi-dimensional, influenced by a set of hardware and software factors. Therefore, if today’s context-based education in the elementary school science course is not equipped with these skills, environmental protection will not be achieved. The integration of these factors in the elementary science course can help in maintaining, increasing, and expanding students' environmental literacy.