Abstract

Modern biotechnology and genetically modified (GM) foods have aroused growing interest in the public and education sector throughout the world because the public perception of biotechnology and genetically modified foods are at the center of controversy. People’s and students’ attitudes towards biotechnological issues are the object of many quantitative and qualitative studies. At present, there is a need to assess Turkish students’ attitudes towards biotechnology and genetically modified foods. This study aimed to explore these attitudes in secondary education. For this purpose, 916 senior year high school students within eight different provinces of Turkey were surveyed. Students were given seven statements to assess their opinions by choosing an agreement level about genetically modified foods and the development of biotechnology. Then, comparisons were made based on gender and study areas. The results suggested that more than half of the students supported the biotechnological studies being done throughout the world, but they want these studies to be tightly supervised. Additionally, 80% of them thought that GMOs may harm human health. The study also revealed that, the attitudes of boys and social sciences students were more positive than the other students, and science students supported the biotechnological studies more than the students studying in other areas.

Key words: Biotechnology, genetically modified (GM) foods, secondary schools, Turkey.