Eğitimin ana hedefi toplumun ihtiyaç duyduğu nitelikli insanı yetiştirmektir. Günümüzde meydana gelen hızlı gelişim ve değişim sürecinin gerekliliği olarak coğrafya okuryazarlığı; her bireyin eğitim sürecinin bir parçası olması zorunluluğunu da beraberinde getirmektedir. Coğrafya okuryazarlığı algı düzeyi yüksek olan bireyler; coğrafyadaki kavramları ve kavramlar arasındaki ilişkileri oluşturabilen, dünyayı daha iyi anlayabilen, yaşam alanını daha iyi organize edebilen bireylerdir. Çalışmanın amacı, öğretmen adaylarının coğrafya okuryazarlığı algılarının ne düzeyde olduğunu tespit etmektir. Ayrıca düşük algı düzeylerinin geliştirilmesi için önerilerde bulunmaktır. Öğretmen adaylarının gelecekte öğrencilerine rehberlik edecek ve onları hayata hazırlayacak olmaları nedeniyle; coğrafi bilgi ve algı düzeylerinin yüksek olması gerekliliğine olan inanç da bu çalışmanın hazırlanmasında vesile olmuştur. Öğretmenler, edinmiş oldukları bilgilerle öğrencilerinin coğrafya okuryazarlıklarını geliştirerek bu bilgileri yaşamları süresince kullanabilen insanlar olarak yetişmelerini sağlamaya çalışırlar. Literatür taramasında coğrafya okuryazarlığı ile ilgili yapılan çalışmaların genellikle "bilginin ölçülmesi" ile sınırlı tutulduğu (Dikmenli, 2014) görülmüştür. Oysa coğrafya okuryazarlığı algısı; bilginin alınması, yorumlanması, seçilmesi ve düzenlenmesinden oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ise öğretmen adaylarının coğrafi okuryazarlık düzeyleri değil, algı düzeyleri sorgulanmıştır. Çalışmanın alanın da bir ilk olması sebebiyle literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlayacağı da düşünülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesinin farklı bölüm/anabilim dallarında farklı sınıf düzeylerinde okuyan toplam 473 öğretmen adayının coğrafya okuryazarlık algı düzeyi belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Veriler, coğrafya algı düzeyini belirlemeye yönelik olarak Dikmenli (2014) tarafından geliştirilmiş olan 21 maddelik beşli likert tipindeki "Coğrafya Okuryazarlığı Algı Ölçeği" ile toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçlarına göre öğretmen adaylarının coğrafya okuryazarlığı algılarının yüksek düzeyde olduğu tespit edilmiştir

Head and Keywords: The aim of the study is to determine the level of teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception and to raise awareness on these issues. It also examines whether geography literacy perception level differs based on gender, department and grade levels. According to the results, it was found that geography student teachers’ geography literacy were high. Teacher candidates’ geography literacy was determined to differ significantly depending on gender, department and grade levels. Introduction and Purpose of the Study: To be geography literate does not only mean having knowledge of geography. Literacy is a systematically approach to an incident, a phenomenon, a situation and a place, which requires understanding and comprehension, and which aims that the learners reach certain skills by gaining capability of analysis and synthesis. The belief that teacher candidates should have high levels of geography knowledge and perception because they will guide their students and prepare them for life in the future led to this study. Teachers try to raise students who can make use of their knowledge of geography by improving their geography literacy level. Not geography literacy level but perception level of geography literacy was examined in this study. It was also examined whether geography literacy perception level differs based on gender, department and grade levels. Conceptual Issues Related to the Work / Theoretical Framework: There is limited research on geography literacy in the relevant literature. It was found in those studies that geography literacy level is low. According to the research carried out by National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) to determine the geography literacy level of Americans, 25% of Americans couldn’t know the location of the Pacific Ocean, and 14% of them couldn’t even show their country on the map. Accordingly, NCGE carried out a new research and prepared a report contributing a lot to geography education. With this report prepared on behalf of many organizations related to geography education, geography education was grouped under 6 main headingsand18 standards. It was determined what geography literate should know with these standards. The main titles of these standards are: The World with Spatial Expression, Places and Regions, Physical Systems, Environment and society, and Using Geography (National National Geographic Society [NGS] have researches carried out regularly for young people in the18-24 age range about their geography literacy levels. Recent questions related to countries which were on the press and in which there were different changes and developments were asked to young people. However, it was understood that approximately half of the participants don’t have enough knowledge about these countries and the events took place in them. 66% of the participants couldn’t show the location of Iraq in which USA carried out military intervention. Although the images of tsunami disaster which affected in Indonesia in 2005 were in the press in a long time, 75% of Americans couldn’t show this country on the map (National Geographic Roper Survey, 2006). In a research supported by International Geographical Union (IGU) and USA National Geographic Society, geography literacy map of the 52 countries including Turkey was tried to be illustrated. The geography department first grade students from all these 52 countries were asked to draw the outline of world map. Consequently, it was found out that geography literacy level was in the low category in Muslim countries including Turkey (Saarinen and MacCabe, 1995). Similarly, it was determined in many researches carried out on the sample groups of different grade and age levels in different countries that students’ geography knowledge was not in a sufficient level (Torrens, 2001; Oigara, 2006; Gençtürk, 2009). Method: The participants of this research were 473 students who were studying at 7 different departments and different grade levels in 2012-2013 Spring Term. Appropriate sampling was used in forming the participants. ‘Geography literacy perception scale’ which was developed by Dikmenli (2014) was used in order to gather the data. This scale includes 21 items and 3 sub-factors. It was a Likert scale which can be graded between 1-5. The items were designed and graded as: “(1) never”, “(2) rarely”, (3) sometimes”, “(4) usually” and “(5) always” The items in the scale includes 3 sections relating to geography literacy perception: The ability to know the location (9 items), and the comprehension of human-environment interactions (7items), and critical thinking skills with geographic knowledge (5 items). There are 14 positive and 7 negative statements. So, while the least possible point is 21, the most possible one is 105. The model which was developed by Mcbeth, Hungerford, Marcinkowski, Volk and Meyers (2008) was benefitted in the grading of the sub-factors of the scale. Results and Discussion: According to the results of the study, it was identified that the teacher candidates have a high level of geography literacy perception. As for the sub-factors, teacher candidates’ perceptions were found to be high in the ability to know location and in the comprehension of human-environment interactions, but middle in critical thinking skills with geographical knowledge. Higher geography literacy perception level is the dimension that indicates ability has literally turned to skills. However, it came out that the teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception were not in such a level. Based on this result, it can be said that the objectives of geography lesson concentrate on knowledge and attitude levels, however, it cannot sufficiently affect skill dimension. Male teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception level was observed to be significantly higher than female teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception level. As for the sub-categories of the scale, it was occurred that: the perception levels of male and female students’ ability to know a location is equal. Male teacher candidates’ level of human-environment interactions comprehension is some a little bit higher than that of female teacher candidates, but this doesn’t cause a significant difference. Finally, Male teacher candidates’ level of critical thinking skills with geography knowledge is significantly higher than that of female teacher candidates. Kubiatko, Janko and Mrazkova determined in their research on 7th grade students that 45% of male students and 30% of female students like geography lesson. This case can be said to be related to that male student teachers’ geography literacy level is higher in comparison with that of female ones. Teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception levels have differentiated significantly based on their grades. There occurred a significant difference between 2nd grade and 3rd grade teacher candidates in favour of 2nd graders. Teacher candidates’ geography literacy perception levels have differentiated significantly in terms of their department. According to this, there occurred significant difference among the CEIT (Computer Education and Instructional Technologies Teaching Department), primary school and social science teaching departments in favour of primary school and social science teaching departments’ teacher candidates; among the science, primary school, social science, and Turkish teaching departments in favour of primary school, social science, and Turkish teaching departments’ teacher candidates; and among, maths, primary school, social science, and Turkish teaching department in favour of primary school, social science, and Turkish teaching departments’ teacher candidates; and finally, between preschool and primary school teaching departments in favour of primary school teaching departments’ teacher candidates. Consequently, it can be claimed that geography literacy perception levels of teacher candidates studying at verbal departments were found to be higher than that of the students studying at quantitative departments. Formal education, environment, age, gender, family, education, mass media, reading habits and personal experiences have been effective geography literacy (Gençtürk, 2013). Teacher candidates’ geography literacy levels were not tested through their geography knowledge. They were asked how they perceive themselves in geography literacy according to the scale items, and it was found that their geography literacy perception levels were high. Researches on geography literacy in the literature (not geography literacy perception), determined that geography literacy level was low NGS, 1988; NGS, 1994; Saarinen and MacCabe, 1995; Torrens, 2001; NGRS, 2006; Oigara, 2006; Gençtürk, 20009). While these researches focused on geography literacy level, this research focused on geography literacy perception level, so it can be said to be different from the others.Conclusions and Recommendations: In order that geography literacy perception can be at a high level, it is necessary above all that perception towards geography lesson should be high. There is a direct relationship between learning levels of students and teacher’s attitude in the classroom. Teacher’s performance which can affect learning positively also has an effect on the attitudes students have towards geography lesson (Den Broke, 2001). Ilhan et al. (2013) found that 39.2% of the students stated that teacher has a significant effect on their geography lesson success in the research they carried out with high school students. In their studies they carried out with students from different kinds of high schools Kocalar and Demirkaya (2014) concluded that students don’t gain any skills in geography classes. On the other side, in his study on realization level of geographic skills that are aimed to be gained in geography classes at high school Unlu (2011) determined that student’s gain skills that an individual can make use of different areas in daily life. No matter how hard geography teaching programme of 2005, compared to the past, prioritise bringing students geographical skills, it is understood from the geog