Student Teachers’ Readiness to Implement Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of teachers’ initial training (field of study, attending education for sustainable development (ESD) course/s) as well as student teachers’ socio-demographic characteristics (gender and age) to their readiness to implement ESD (intention to implement ESD and teachers’ self-efficacy). A total of 706 student teachers studying at six Croatian universities participated in the study. It was determined that female student teachers express greater intention to implement ESD, however the gender differences were not found on teachers’ self-efficacy for ESD. Furthermore, the older the participants, the lesser the extent to which they express their intention to implement ESD. Student teachers in the field of the natural sciences express the intent to implement ESD to a lesser extent compared to students from other fields (humanities, arts, and social sciences). Lastly, it was determined that student teachers who have attended ESD course/s express higher levels of intention to implement ESD as well as teachers’ self-efficacy for ESD. In that sense, the higher the number of attended ESD courses, the higher student teachers’ readiness to implement ESD. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for teacher education programs have been offered.

Building Capacity for Sustainability Education: An Analysis of Vocational Teachers’ Knowledge, Readiness, and Self-Efficacy

“…They found that teachers' initial training influenced their level of preparedness for ESD. More specifically, the authors [21] found that pre-service teachers in the field of the natural sciences expressed more intent to implement ESD to a lesser extent compared to students from other fields (humanities, arts, and social sciences), implying that the programs exposing students to sustainability concepts tended to correlate with pre-service teachers' readiness in ESD. Similarly, the authors in [37] suggest that teachers need specific knowledge and abilities to develop and implement education for sustainable development (ESD).…”

“…While the extant literature extensively links self-efficacy to the general teaching and learning process [13,14,21,28], research on the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and sustainability teaching is developing rapidly. Ashton and Webb [29] argue that efficacy beliefs are not unidimensional, i.e., they vary across different subject matters.…”

“…Drawing insights from pertinent literature, some scholars have suggested that teachers' knowledge of sustainability issues and concepts may influence their level of preparedness to engage in ESD adequately. For instance, Vukelic [21] examined the link between teachers' readiness to implement ESD and their exposure to the initial teachers' training program. They found that teachers' initial training influenced their level of preparedness for ESD.…”

“…Therefore, in the context of this study, vocational teachers' readiness for sustainability teaching is a predictor variable reflecting a teacher's perception of how prepared they are, their attitudes, motivations, and willingness to engage in Education for Sustainable Development. Vukelic [21] found that pre-service teachers' readiness to implement ESD is closely correlated with their self-efficacy in ESD. The author [21] further explained that female pre-service teachers tend to express greater intention to implement ESD, while age was negatively correlated with the extent to which pre-service teachers express their intention to implement ESD.…”

“…In addition to self-efficacy, another critical factor influencing the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning is teachers' readiness [18][19][20][21]. Teacher readiness encompasses their willingness, confidence, capacity, attitudes, motivation, and intent to teach effectively.…”