Training processes and environmental management: a contribution to education for sustainable development

Abstract

The objective of this research was to assess the effects of a training process on environmental thinking of teachers at a private university. We worked with the methodology of social representations, mixed approach, in a sample of 20 teachers. Data were analyzed using frequency tables and graphs, content analysis and natural semantic networks. The results show that teachers share reduced, anthropocentric-technical and globalizing social representations. The representation field focuses on nature, its care and administration. This research has implications for teaching; it demonstrated the importance of developing training processes for an adequate approach to environmental and sustainability issues in a teaching team. A limitation of the research was found in the contingency conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concludes that updating processes on environmental issues are a resource to enrich teachers' ideas and arouse their interest in education for sustainable development.