Sustainable Development Goals and 2030 Agenda—Survey on Awareness, Knowledge and Attitudes of Italian Teachers of Public Mandatory Schools, 2021

Abstract

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goes hand in hand with realising a more sustainable future, taking into account environmental, economic and social dimensions. Education can accelerate these goals, with teachers playing a central role. In 2021, a study was conducted among teachers in Italian mandatory schools to investigate knowledge, sources of information and attitudes towards the SDGs. An online survey was conducted, based on a Likert-scale with 62 items. The questionnaire was completed by 417 teachers. The overall knowledge score shows a median of 42.9%, an interquartile range of 25% and a range of 1.8–91.1%. A very good level of knowledge among teachers is limited to some topics, such as the Greenhouse effect (19.6%) and Resilience (13%), which may be better known due to wider media coverage. Sustainability issues are not yet considered as a shared responsibility, as teaching in designated hours was often suggested. The commitment of Italian teachers and schools to a stronger integration of sustainability issues into didactic programmes still needs to be improved. A change of perspective is urgently needed, whereby sustainability education should be seen as a collective responsibility.