STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION AS AN ANTECEDENT TO SUSTAINABILITY IN TEACHER EDUCATIO

Abstract

Sustainability and sustainable development have increasingly become critical issues in teacher education and development. Since sustainable development in education is impossible without the professional competence of teachers, there has been growing pressure for the reorientation of teacher education all over the world and Kenya in particular. However, referent literature indicates that scholars have not examined the extent to which the transformations in higher learning in Kenya have integrated sustainability. This paper explores students’ perception of the teaching profession as an antecedent of sustainability in teacher education in Kenya. The present research focused on the socio-psychological model of sustainable behaviour. The study utilised ex post facto cross-sectional design and purposive sampling methods were used to select four institutions of higher learning in Kenya. A structured self-response questionnaire and interview schedule. The researcher used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse quantitative data using statistical tools using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. A sample of 376 respondents filled the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 94%. The observed mean age was 22 years, with a standard deviation of 2.23. Among respondents, 216(57.4%) were male while 160(42.6%) we female. Research findings indicate that high 220(59%) percentages of respondents perceived sustainability in teacher education, followed by moderate 148(39%) with a combined perception level of 98%. The findings present an implication that the idea of sustainability in teacher education has great potential for future developments in the programme. These study findings present significant implications for teacher preparation strategies for sustainable development in education. The findings also shed light on the state of preparedness as well as advances made in Kenyan higher education in compliance with global trends in best practices for teacher education in the face of sustainable development.