Early career primary teachers and education for sustainability

Abstract

Solutions to the pressing environmental problems of our time include a shift towards more sustainable ways of living, and in this, education is recognised as having an important role. It is expected that if sustainability is addressed in teacher education, its prevalence in schools will also increase. However little has been reported regarding how education for sustainability (EfS) has been incorporated in pre-service teacher education and how early career teachers respond to this once in the workplace. This study reports on the reflections of five early career primary school teachers who experienced EfS during pre-service education at an Australian university. The study concludes that teachers valued particular aspects of EfS during pre-service education and these contributed to their confidence and desire to incorporate EfS into their teaching. These included improved knowledge of content and capacity to improve content knowledge independently, a blend of theory with experience of appropriate instructional strategies, use of relevant teaching resources, practice in the skills of curriculum integration and practical teaching experience in EfS.