Knowledge of Student Teachers on Sustainable Land Use Issues–Knowledge Types Relevant for Teacher Education

Abstract

For restructuring educational processes and institutions toward Sustainable Development, teachers’ knowledge and competences are crucial. Due to the high relevance of teachers’ content knowledge, this study aimed to (i) assess Sustainable Development-relevant knowledge by differentiating between situational, conceptual and procedural knowledge, (ii) find out via item response theory modelling how these theoretically distinguished knowledge types can be empirically supported, and (iii) link the knowledge dimension(s) to related constructs. We developed a paper-and-pencil test to assess these three knowledge types (N = 314). A two-dimensional structure that combines situational and conceptual knowledge and that distinguishes situational/conceptual knowledge from procedural knowledge, fits the data best (EAP/PV situational/conceptual: 0.63; EAP/PV procedural: 0.67). Student teachers at master level outperformed bachelor level students in situational/conceptual knowledge but master level students did not differ from students at bachelor level regarding procedural knowledge. We observed only slight correlations between the two knowledge dimensions and the content-related motivational orientations of professional action competence. Student teachers’ deficits in procedural knowledge can be attributed to the small number of Education for Sustainable Development-relevant courses attended. Systematically fostering procedural knowledge in teacher education could promote achieving cognitive learning objectives associated with Sustainable Development Goals in the long term.

Procedural Knowledge of Primary School Teachers in Madagascar for Teaching and Learning towards Land-Use- and Health-Related Sustainable Development Goals

“…This procedure was later refined for Item-Response-Theory (IRT) modeling. Therefore, the rounded expert ratings served as a benchmark to allow modeling of teacher knowledge [17].…”

“…Procedural knowledge turned out to be a relevant knowledge type for ESD teaching, as it contributes to problem-solving [16,17]. Measuring procedural knowledge of (pre-service) teachers as teaching and learning prerequisites for ESD turned out to be a promising avenue for an evidence-based development of adequate teacher training [16][17][18]. To date, studies on Malagasy primary school teachers' SD-related procedural knowledge are still lacking.…”

“…In a first step, we aim at identifying teaching and learning prerequisites of Malagasy primary school teachers by comparing teachers' and experts' opinions on land-use-and health-related courses of action [15]. Based on existing approaches for analyzing pre-service teacher education for secondary schools in Germany [17,18], we adapt and further develop the method for measuring procedural knowledge of primary teachers in Madagascar. In addition, we identify strengths and weaknesses of the Malagasy teachers regarding land-use and health knowledge, as well as comparing teacher knowledge across selected diversity dimensions.…”

Unprepared to Deal with Invasion: Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception, Knowledge and Attitudes toward Invasive Species

“…Taking into account the interest in these early educational stages and the potential of teachers to greatly influence students' environmental citizenry, particularly their knowledge, values, beliefs, and actions toward the environment [40], IAS scientific literacy among pre-service teachers is really determinant [41]. Teachers seem to be the key to restructure educational processes and institutions toward sustainable development; therefore, teachers' knowledge and competences are crucial [42]. Remmele and Lindemann-Matthies [39] underlined the importance of pre-service teachers in making their students understand the reasons for certain IAS management programs.…”

Wissen von Lehramtsstudierenden für die Gestaltung nachhaltiger Landnutzung – Fokus: Biodiversität und Klimawandel

“…Konstruktvalidierung von situational/konzeptuellem Wissen und prozeduralem WissenNicht nur das Wissen, sondern auch dessen Beziehungen zu verwandten Konstrukten, wurden mittels IRT-Modellierungen geprüft(Richter-Beuschel & Bögeholz, 2020b). Im Zuge der quantitativen Hauptstudie wurden Validierungsinstrumente eingesetzt, die von allen Testpersonen bearbeitet wurden und eine Verortung von situational/konzeptuellem Wissen und prozeduralem Wissen im nomologischen Netzwerk erlauben.…”