Teacher Education For Sustainability Research Articles

Professional development and teacher agency in Mathematics Teacher Education for Sustainability

Professional development and teacher agency in Mathematics Teacher Education for Sustainability

Integrating Climate Change into English Language Teaching: A Survey of Indonesian Teachers' Preparedness and Perspectives.

Climate change is one of the most critical issues we are currently facing. Considering the devastating impact of climate change to many people in the world, an interdisciplinary approach to climate change mitigation is highly essential. Teachers have a crucial responsibility in transferring knowledge, persuading students, and setting an example for critical thinking and environmental advocacy in order to prepare students for the challenges posed by climate change. The issue of climate change is one of the topics and goals of EFL teachers in preparing students to face climate change. The aim of this research is to explore teachers' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and preparedness in integrating climate change issues in ELT. This study employed a survey method, which involved 214 Indonesian EFL teachers from various levels of education, from elementary to high school. Data were analyzed through questionnaires, consisting of four parts: teachers’ knowledge, belief, attitude and preparedness in integrating climate change issues in ELT. The results show that there is a correlation between knowledge, belief and attitude towards preparedness in incorporating climate change education in EFL learning. Moreover, most teachers expressed their willingness to teach climate change issues in ELT, despite the score of their knowledge, belief, and attitude regarding climate change. These results shed light on teachers’ understanding of climate change, belief about, and attitude toward climate change issues. Implications of the study include the possibility of incorporating climate change education in EFL learning and EFL sustainable teacher education.

Building AI Literacy for Sustainable Teacher Education

This article highlights the significance of AI Literacy for promoting sustainable teacher education in an AI-driven world. Given the rapid progress of AI, a crucial aspect of organisational development for teacher education institutions involves fostering AI Literacy among teaching staff, and enabling them to use and teach AI ethically and responsibly. We underscore the necessity for teacher education institutions to create opportunities for developing AI Literacy as a fundamental goal for sustainable development. Further, we explore recommendations for sustainable organisational and professional development as well as future research directions.

Pre-service teachers’ experiences of remote online learning: reimagining teacher education post-pandemic

ABSTRACT Background As teaching and learning processes evolve in the wake of COVID−19, fresh thinking about the role of remote online learning (ROL) is critical as part of a wider reimagining of education in a post-pandemic context. In this paper, attention is focused on ROL within teacher education. Purpose This study sought to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their ROL experiences in a Fijian teacher education programme. Method The qualitative study design was informed by transactional distance theory. Using a narrative inquiry approach, data from 15 pre-service teachers were collected and analysed. Via individual interviews conducted online, the prospective teachers shared their perceptions about the nature of interactions experienced whilst engaged in ROL during the pandemic. Data were analysed thematically, in relation to instructional dialogue, course structure, and autonomy. Findings In-depth analysis of rich data allowed main themes to emerge that captured the participants’ viewpoints. Prominent themes in instructional dialogue revealed some concerns about the precedence of textual communication over verbal in ROL and the perception of emphasis on product over the process of learning. In terms of course structure, volume of assessment and teaching style were among aspects which participants identified as affecting learner-content engagement. Comments about learner autonomy suggested that the pre-service teachers sought positives amidst the difficulties encountered, whilst maintaining a focus on completing the assessments and passing the course. Conclusion The analysis of pre-service teachers’ experiences offers insight into how aspects of ROL may challenge participant engagement within elements of teacher education courses. It highlights the support that needs to be provided to prospective teachers in order to reduce transactional distance, suggesting that effective course design and instructional dialogue to promote learner autonomy are both crucial to sustainable teacher education in the post-pandemic context.

Effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Instruction in Pre-service Teacher Education for Sustainability: Issues From the Big History and the Study of Climate Change

Abstract The paper analyzes the impact of interdisciplinary instruction on the perception, awareness, and knowledge about climate change of 102 Spanish pre-service primary teachers using a pre- and post-test design. Our findings demonstrate that pre- to post-test scores significantly increased in all the studied categorizations and that students’ academic background influences score improvement. Data also reveal that there is a positive and significant correlation between teaching capability perception and knowledge, suggesting that knowledge instruction is crucial for teachers’ confidence in climate change education. The study also confirms the opportunity to explore sustainable teacher education from an interdisciplinary perspective, carrying out congruent teaching from different approaches on a complex phenomenon to understand it in a holistic way.

Promoting Mathematics Teacher Education for Sustainability through a STEAM approach

The aim of this study is to analyse the effect of a previously validated training program to promote Mathematics Teacher Education for Sustainability (MTEfS). The training program, designed from a STEAM approach and called Pro-STEAM, involved 23 in-service Chilean teachers. For data collection, a questionnaire was administered before and after the Pro-STEAM program; and the design and implementation of a statistical task relating to sustainability, within the practical phase of the program, was analysed. The results show that: 1) following the Pro-STEAM training program, over 60% of the participants reached an advanced level in Sustainable Development Goals involved; 2) by designing and implementing the statistical task, they developed competences linked to the teacher learning objectives to promote Education for Sustainable Development. It is concluded that MTEfS is an emerging research agenda for creating positive social solutions.

Teacher Education for Sustainability: reflections from a project development

Teacher Education for Sustainability: reflections from a project development

State of the Research on Teacher Education and Sustainability: A Bibliometrics Analysis

Abstract Qualitative education is one of the key contributors in achieving the goal of sustainability. Several studies mention that the sustainability curriculum and educators can play an immense role in developing awareness in practicing the concept of sustainability. Relatively there is no comprehensive study to typify the recent contributions of teacher education for sustainability. In this light, the aim of the study is to understand the progress of the research on teacher education for sustainability (TES) in terms of growth, evolution, influence and significant research themes. To achieve the aim of the study, 1782 documents indexed in the Scopus database over three decades starting from 1991 to 2020 were analyzed by using bibliometric analysis. The data are visualized in the paper by using VOSviewer and Tableau. Results show that there has been a significant increase in yearly publications and citations over the years, trending research papers, productive authors, institutions and countries and thematic areas of research. Most frequently published journal has a considerable cite score and quartile. Universities from Australia published the most. The most commonly published themes are education for sustainability, Agenda 21, sustainable development education, environmental education, and later the focus is shifted to teacher training, teachers, education, values, teaching and education policy, sustainability competencies. Future research should focus on blended learning, digital learning, other modern tools and techniques to achieve the goal of sustainable development as well as to address the issue of teaching sustainability during uncertainty conditions.

Restorative learning for fostering a decolonised curriculum attuned to sustainable teacher education

Social sustainability is paramount for peaceful and inclusive societies. It embraces all cultures and civilizations while promoting that these contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development. One aspect hereof is knowledge-what is taught and who decides. South African students remain frustrated with the Eurocentric and Western dominated university curriculum. This was made evident in the iconic 2015 student protest movement that, along with current and preceding protests laid bare the stark inequalities that persist in higher education and students outcries for socially relevant education that acknowledges the global South. In this article, we draw on data that emanated from qualitative interviews conducted with ten North-West University postgraduate teacher education students to unlock their concerns and aspirations for a decolonised curriculum in higher education. Students expressed their concerns with the political nature of the systems of power in higher education that are exclusionary, the need for the curriculum to be contextualized, and the tendency for decolonisation to be perceived as a threat. Students voiced their aspirations for a decolonised curriculum by specifying the importance of decolonisation as a process through teaching approaches like storytelling. We propose restorative learning as one avenue in response to students' outcries for the need to be critical of abyssal thinking and to challenge the root of hegemonic knowledge systems in such a way that decolonising the curriculum can be attuned to sustainability aspirations related to justice and social equity.

Broadening Ontological and Epistemological Possibilities within Early Childhood Teacher Education for Sustainability

The dominant sustainability ethos and discourse within early childhood education pursue a normative ontological and epistemological direction aimed at empowering children’s agency and thus, building certain predefined moral values, knowledge, and skills. Likewise, mainstream early childhood teacher education programmes strive to build early childhood pre-service teachers’ sustainability knowledge and skills, especially to enhance their capacity to be transformative agents and motivators for change to engage children with sustainability challenges. In this conceptual article, drawing on posthuman concepts, I highlight the limits of such orthodox assumptions in early childhood education for sustainability (ECEfS) teacher education and invite broader ontological and epistemic possibilities. I interrogate the human-centric assumptions that unintentionally perpetuate the deep-rooted binary thinking that separates humans from non-humans and other species. In doing so, I offer an expanded understanding of the underlying ontological and epistemic assumptions within teacher education for ECEfS. I conclude by indicating how posthuman theories serve as an impetus for epistemological and ontological multiplicities in early childhood teacher education for sustainability.

Sustainable Teacher Education and Professional Development

Sustainable Teacher Education and Professional Development

Circular economy, cradle to cradle and zero waste frameworks in teacher education for sustainability

PurposeSustainability is a major concern in education policies. This paper aims to describe how alternative economic education including concepts of the circular economy (CE), cradle to cradle (C2C) and zero waste can be addressed by teacher education. The author asks to what extent such alternative concepts contribute to sustainability education and transitions and empower students and future teachers, through fieldtrips.Design/methodology/approachFieldtrips to three extracurricular learning places in Graz (Austria) – a plastic waste disposal facility, an upcycling design atelier and a supermarket without packaging – were organized as part of a university seminar on economy and sustainability. Based on student essays reflecting the fieldtrips, this praxeological paper provides insights on how students perceive awareness-raising and innovative responses to mass consumption, recycling/upcycling and waste prevention issues.FindingsIncluding altermatic economic frameworks, such as CE/C2C and zero waste, into teacher education contributes to reflections on the economic growth paradigm and promotes more sustainable futures. In various statements, students highlighted social-ecological change and awareness-raising. They rather focussed on recycling, upcycling and (plastic) packaging than on the problematic eco-efficiency of downcycling.Originality/valueAlternative economic concepts can be addressed and critically reflected in sustainability education, even if rarely taught. Although the extracurricular learning places described offer partial solution from the perspective of degrowth, they can serve as an eye-opener and promote alternative economic education, where students can share experiences, knowledge and creative ideas to engage in sustainability transitions.

Sustainable Teacher Education in the 21st Century Nigerian Society

For quality education in any country, teacher education should be given utmost priority. In Nigeria, teacher education is still battling with the problem of sustainability owing to the questionable process of training and professionalising teaching. This paper critically examines the process of teacher education. It queries the ideas of a qualitative teacher education. The paper utilises unstructured interview among selected personnel of Nigeria Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Teachers Registration Council (TRC) for its findings. From these findings, it is inferred that government and its agencies have cogent roles to play in promoting sustainable teacher education in Nigeria. The paper therefore concludes that sustainable teacher education for the 21st century can only be guaranteed if teaching is seen and treated as profession like others in its ilk.

Local Content Curriculum Model for Early Childhood Scientific Learning

Curriculum material is generally considered the subject matter of information, talents, dispositions, understandings, and principles that make up research programs in the field. At a more complex level, the curricula need to contain historical and socio-political strengths, traditions, cultural views, and goals with wide differences in sovereignty, adaptation, and local understanding that encompass a diversity of cultures, laws, metaphysics, and political discourse This study aims to develop a curriculum with local content as a new approach in early childhood science learning. The Local Content Curriculum (LCC) is compiled and developed to preserve the uniqueness of local culture, natural environment, and community crafts for early childhood teachers so that they can introduce local content to early childhood. Research and model development combines the design of the Dick-Carey and Dabbagh models with qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that local content curriculum products can be supplemented into early childhood curricula in institutions according to local conditions. Curricula with local content can be used as a reinforcement for the introduction of science in early childhood. The research implication demands the concern of all stakeholders to see that the introduction of local content is very important to be given from an early age, so that children know, get used to, like, maintain, and love local wealth from an early age.
 Keywords: Early Childhood, Scientific Learning, Local Content Curriculum Model

A matter of connection: The 4 Cs of learning in pre-service teacher education for sustainability

Teacher education for sustainability (TEfS) aims to prepare future educators for their role as societal change agents by developing in them specific sustainability competencies. Whereas previous literature has dealt extensively with concepts and empirical work connected to learning objectives in TEfS, this paper links these learning outcomes, or what student teachers learn in individual course offerings, to the learning process—how they learn. In this way, we reveal factors of common teaching and learning formats in TEfS that may either foster learning or hinder it. At Arizona State University (ASU), the TEfS course Sustainability Science for Teachers (SSfT) is a mandatory component of all elementary-education (K–8) programs. As similar requirements appear in more and more teacher-education programs, it is important to understand how learning in course offerings like SSfT should be designed in order to best support student achievement of intended learning outcomes.More than 100 pre-service teachers and four instructors, all taking or teaching the SSfT course at ASU, participated in this single explanatory case study, which adopted a mixed-methods approach. To richly portray students’ learning processes, as well as the outcomes of their learning in the course, this study involved non-participatory observations, a pre/post-course survey, end-of-semester focus groups, and semi-structured interviews. Its findings suggest that four forms of connection (the 4 Cs) namely personal, professional, social, and structural, are particularly impactful on students’ learning in the SSfT course. Finally, these insights are accompanied by a set of recommendations as to what to consider when planning and designing similar TEfS course offerings. Future research should focus on the K–12 students of educators trained in education for sustainability (EfS) to understand the extent to which educators can use their new skills and knowledge to empower and motivate K–12 students to persistently engage in real-world projects that contribute to systemic change.

Teacher Educators’ and Teacher Trainees’ Perspective on Teacher Training for Sustainable Development

Abstract In accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), countries across the globe are striving to ensure equitable access to inclusive, quality and lifelong educational opportunities for all children, youth and adults by 2030. Teacher education has been identified as one of the key factors in the achievement of the SDG 4 targets. As part of the effort to ensure sustainable teacher education for the achievement of SDG 4 in Ghana, this study applied the four key concepts in the SDG 4: quality, equity, inclusion and lifelong learning, to determine the progress with regards to SDG 4 in the context of teacher education in Ghana. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the inclusive pedagogical practices, values, and knowledge that trainees acquire from the Diploma in Basic Education’s Special Education Needs (SEN) course, the adequacy of the course for preparing teachers to create inclusive classrooms and the challenges associated with the delivery of the SEN course. In this study, 167 final-year trainees and 13 teacher educators from Diploma in Basic Education Program in three colleges of education in Ghana were surveyed about their views on the SEN teacher preparation course. The study found out that the SEN course placed much emphasis on medical model view of SEN and only a minority of trainees acquired the requisite inclusive knowledge, values and pedagogical practices. The paper discusses key barriers to the development of inclusive knowledge, pedagogical practices and values among trainees as well as factors that can promote the effective training of inclusive teachers.

Establishing Sustainable Teacher Education with Weekly School Practice - Identifying Teacher Students’ Experiences of Didactic Dilemmas in the Swedish Primary School Classroom

Abstract Teachers face dilemmas of different kinds in their everyday practice. It is therefore essential that teacher students become aware of the dilemmas they will face in their future profession. By integrating school practice in teacher education programs, students apply theoretical knowledge to classroom situations. In a project at a Swedish university campus, the students worked as teacher candidates one day a week at different primary schools during their first semester. The purposes were to make the teacher education at the campus sustainable by attracting more students, limiting the number of dropouts and improving the quality in the education. In the present study, it is of interest to identify the didactic dilemmas teacher students experience in classrooms with 6 to 12 year-olds. By analysing the students’ written reports, the results indicate that the students’ identified dilemmas relate to classroom management, the lesson content and the establishing of relationships with the children.

Concreteness Fading Strategy: A Promising and Sustainable Instructional Model in Mathematics Classrooms

Conceptual understanding has been emphasized in the national curriculum and principles and standards across nations as it is the key in mathematical learning. However, mathematics instruction in classrooms often relies on rote memorization of mathematical rules and formulae without conceptual connections. This study considers the concreteness fading instruction strategy—starting with physical activities with manipulatives and gradually fading concreteness to access abstract concepts and representations—as a promising and sustainable instructional model for supporting students in accessing conceptual understanding in mathematics classrooms. The results from the case study support the validity of the concreteness fading framework in providing specific instructional strategies in each phase of concept development. This study implies the development of sustainable teacher education and professional development by providing specific instructional strategies for conceptual understanding.

Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability after the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring for the Future

Abstract This study aims to explore the research orientation of the papers published in the Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability (JTES) immediately after the UN Decade of ESD (2015–2018). Through following the guidelines of bibliometric study and literature review, and by grounding on the deductive qualitative and quantitative content analysis, the paper presents the analysis of the main bibliometric indicators and research paradigms in the papers published in JTES. Moreover, the changes in these indicators and paradigms in comparison with those encountered in JTES from 2005 to 2014 were recorded and critically inspected. In general, the study shows the gradual improvement and development of main bibliometric indicators and research paradigms in last four years of JTES. The main recommendations and suggestions provided in the previous study have been implemented and considered in the Journal’s general features and published papers, though, the current exploration indicates also some unrealized potential for improvement. At the end of paper the author states the main conclusions, limitations, suggestions for the further research and prospective development of the Journal, as well as some implications for the potential authors of JTES.

Making Sense of Core Qualities to Sustain Professional Development through Core Reflection Practice

Abstract Professional development in sustainable teacher education has recently shifted to focusing on pedagogical practice rather than theoretical knowledge. Given that, reflection practice can have an effective role in identifying undiscovered potentials of prospective language teachers. Hence, the current study was an attempt to examine the potential core qualities of Iranian prospective language teachers in a way to sustain professional development through merging theoretical knowledge and pedagogical practice. To that end, core reflection model, which is a concept in the context of sustainability, was practiced by ten prospective language teachers through drawing on their reflective journals, focus group discussions, and field notes collected over a four month period. Analysis of the obtained data revealed several core qualities on the three scales of feeling, thinking, and wanting. These qualities appeared to have been developed through interaction of both theoretical knowledge and pedagogical practice. This demonstrates the value of reflection practice as a way toward more development in making sense of teachers’ core qualities. Thus it can lead to positive changes in shaping teachers sustainable professional identity.