What do We Know About Teacher Educators’ Perceptions of Education for Sustainable Development? A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Teacher educators prepare prospective teachers to deliver Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in schools. Lecturers’ personal perceptions of ESD guide them in this work. While there has been some research into lecturers’ perceptions of ESD in general, teacher educators as a group have been given scarcely any consideration. As groundwork for further research in this area, the research question that is the focus of this paper is: What do we know about teacher educators’ perceptions (understanding, attitudes, ideas about implementation) of ESD? We carried out a systematic literature review, including bibliographic analysis and qualitative content analysis of all the papers identified (N = 12). We found both broad and relatively limited understanding and mainly positive but also some negative attitudes. Common perceptions and/or experiences of barriers and drivers are set out below, as are reports on implementation. We conclude that further research is needed in this important field in order to develop measures to bring about systemic change in teacher education.

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

“…The decade from 2005 to 2014 was declared as ESD (UNESCO, 2005). A recent review paper examining the perceptions of education for sustainable development (Goller & Rieckmann, 2022), and other studies, such as emergence of alternative working environment for sustainability through education, substantiate the emerging and important aspects of the research on TES (SalÓte et al, 2022;Rozentale et al, 2021). Thus, it may be asserted that during the ESD decade and further on, the research aspects of the TES attracted increasing attention of scientists (Pegalajar-Palomino et al, 2021).…”

The Relationship Between Sustainability and Food Consumption in Teacher Training

“…The sustainability of food consumption is a controversial context of great interest within ESD. It offers opportunities to consider values, attitudes, and behaviors, and to highlight the different perspectives and conflicts of interest involved (Goller & Rieckmann, 2022). Furthermore, it seems to encourage recognition of the interconnections between our consumption patterns and sustainability (Palmberg et al, 2017).…”

“…Therefore, during initial teacher training, future teachers need to be able to explore and discuss how their forms of consumption influence sustainability and propose changes in their habits. However, emphasis must also be placed on their didactic knowledge of this content and the acquisition of competences in ESD (Brandisauskien et al, 2020;Goller & Rieckmann, 2022). In this sense, more initial training programs are needed that balance disciplinary and didactic content, opportunities to practice ESD, and its assessment in relation to sustainable development.…”

“…There is international consensus on the importance of training future teachers to acquire ESD-related competences (Goller & Rieckmann, 2022). However, recent reviews on knowledge, attitudes, and teaching skills show that integrating ESD into initial teacher education programs remains a challenge (Pegalajar-Palomino et al, 2021).…”

Where is Nature? Where is Nature in Nature and Outdoor Learning in Higher Education? An Analysis of Nature-Based Learning in Higher Education Using Multispecies Ethnography

“…Consequently, for the future, curricula need to be expanded to actively include actors of the more-than-human world (Goller & Rieckmann, 2022). To this end, teaching must be designed to motivate and equip future teachers and educators with skills, tools and confidence to integrate environmental and sustainability education into their daily work and to give voice to actors of the more-than-human world (Aikenhead & Michell, 2011, p. 79).…”