Enhancing Teacher Education and Addressing Societal Problems through Education for Sustainable Development (original) (raw)
Related papers
Sustainability, 2020
The purpose of this study is to explore the change in the perceptions of pre-service teachers after participating in a training process on Education for Sustainability. The research was conducted during academic year 2019–2020 in the context of the Master’s Degree in Educational Research for Teachers’ Professional Development. The changes related to Education for Sustainability, the knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals, and methodological strategies to integrate both were analysed. An initial and a final questionnaire as well as the activities developed by the students during the course were used to gather information. An analysis was performed of three dimensions (Education for Sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals, and methodological strategies) with the help of the NVivo 12 Plus software programme. The results show progress was made in all three dimensions. The most significant changes were detected with regard to the knowledge of the Sustainable Development...
Education Sciences
The development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a challenge that requires the involvement of the educational system. This study seeks to identify the perception and knowledge of future teachers in relation to sustainable development (SD), the European Green Deal (ECD), and circular economy (CE) at the University of Granada. A qualitative study was carried out, conducted face to face, using an online questionnaire in the classroom. A total of 321 students participated, from bachelor’s degrees in early childhood and primary education to master’s degrees in secondary education. Out of these, 176 validated questionnaires were analyzed. The results showed that future teachers understood the importance of SD education as an important social problem. They believed that education in SD, EGD, or CE could contribute to solving environmental and social problems. Nevertheless, they doubted whether this training should be included by universities in their training actions for teac...
The move to a sustainable future requires that we all learn to live, work and engage with our planet differently. Teacher education has been recognised as one of the most significant catalysts for bringing innovation and sustainability into education and thus supporting learners to contribute to the green transition. This theoretical paper seeks to provide an understanding of the need for, and challenge of, mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and describes the critical role of teacher education in advancing sustainable development. Drawing on findings of a literature review and case study collection commissioned by the European Commission, the authors identify key challenges and lessons learned to enhance teachers' professional learning in ESD. Future practice is identified to support efforts in this area and help teachers and teacher educators, including mathematics educators, to build competences that better allow them to connect their work and expertise with the sustainability imperative.
Education for sustainability: a concern of pre-service and in-service teachers
2014
Climate change, an exploding global population and the industrialisation of developing countries, are issues which have important ramifications for the planet's future ecological health, but which have been inconsistently attended to by governments internationally. Economic development to improve living standards has been pursued most ardently by Western industrial nations for the last two hundred years resulting in serious inequalities of access to the world’s resources and contribution to the world's pollution and waste. Such global imbalance is gradually changing with the development of India and China, though these countries' development will further burden the planet and add to the problems of future generations. Education has been cited as humanity's best hope and most effective means to achieve sustainable development. Education for sustainability (EfS) aims to develop future generations so that they have the 'capacity to contribute to a more sustainable f...
Sustainability, 2019
The aim of the present research was to uncover the opinions of future teachers about whether the formative knowledge of education for sustainability received in seminars during their practicums improved their competencies in sustainability and their values in educational teaching for their future classroom practice. The study entailed qualitative research with a thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews comprising 14 questions, which were validated by 15 experts, were used to solicit the opinions of 52 future teachers with respect to the importance of sustainability and the development of intercultural competencies among their students. The information from the interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis on the basis of education for sustainable development (ESD). We conclude that the teachers' practicum placements and training experiences were very positive because a lecturing pedagogical approach, taught via practical application in a school environment by an expert of recognized prestige, can be a useful resource to develop awareness of both sustainable development and its education, as well as to learn didactic strategies to apply ESD, which addresses aspects that are relevant in multicultural contexts, such as tolerance and empathy.
Perceptions and Attitudes of Students of Teacher-training towards Environment and Sustainability
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
This paper report on a questionnaire survey at three Universities of the Comunidad Valenciana,Spain, on the current baseline situation in order to introduce sustainability across university's curricula. The objective data enabled us to know the situation of students in relation to introduce sustainability in both Early Childhood Education Teacher Degree and Primary Education Teacher Degree. A total of 922 students answered the survey. A majority of respondents were not aware of the impact of their daily activities on the environment. With regard to the introduction of sustainability in teaching, the majority of students said that it is an appropriate measure.
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014
The purpose of the article is to analyze the current debate on efforts of teacher trainers in reorienting education towards the aim of sustainable education. This is a new challenge for teacher training institutions in Latvia that is being discussed and evaluated in depth and in detail in the context of global challenges in education. The examination of educational standards and programs for the primary school level teachers makes one to conclude that teachers who are not aware of the deeper meaning and the essence of sustainability perspective, encounter major difficulties in implementing preschool curriculum since it does not offer ready-made answers to the current educational challenges and the debate, neither it offers a sample or a set of methodological handouts for teachers in regards to sustainable education. Therefore, teachers need to become agents and creators of their own materials grounded in the idea of sustainable education. The article comprises the results gained from the semistructured interviews with the primary school teachers and the data gained from the questionnaires on teachers' perception of reorienting teaching towards the aim of sustainable education. For the conclusions and recommendations, the authors highlight the major challenges and struggles of integrating sustainability perspective in teacher training programs as viewed from the primary school teachers' perspective as well as offer the guidelines for a more efficient ways of reorienting teachers' thinking and acting towards the aim of sustainable education.
2020
After the end of the first Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development, coinciding with ongoing international evaluation processes, questions about the implementation of the Education for Sustainable Development programs and assessments continue to be raised. The present study examined Education for Sustainable Development implementation at the local (teachers’) level, assessing what teachers think and know about Education for Sustainable Development and how they implement it in secondary school classes in Baden‐Wuerttemberg, Germany. By providing novel data from a teacher survey in 2019, this study revealed that Education for Sustainable Development in some aspects still lacks concrete structural implementation in educational contexts. Using a longitudinal approach, we additionally compared data from an earlier representative assessment in 2007 to the data from 2019. In reference to the preceding evaluation report, the present study showed, for example, that teachers’ attitudes towards Sustainable Development Goals were significantly higher in 2019 compared to 2007. This study provides clarification of the needs and achievements of the Education for Sustainable Development implementation process. In sum, our analysis found that from the teachers’ perspective, more abstract policies are not needed, but instead teachers ask for very concrete support that is close to teaching and the schools’ objectives. The results of our study help, in a larger sense, to navigate society towards a more sustainable direction and towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by highlighting the remaining challenges of these broad objectives.
Journal of Education for Teaching, 2007
and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.