Analysis of Environmental Awareness, Emotions and Level of Self-Efficacy of Teachers in Training within the Framework of Waste for the Achievement of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The United Nations General Assembly has pointed out that education is an essential tool for properly instructing society to achieve sustainable development, in terms of values, skills, knowledge or abilities. Within this framework, this research focuses on environmental attitude and awareness as an influential element in the teaching and learning processes. The main objective of the study was to diagnose and evaluate emotional, teaching self-efficacy and environmental awareness variables of teachers in primary and secondary education training within the framework of waste. The sample was made up of 160 teachers in training. As a measurement instrument, a questionnaire was designed, developed and validated consisting of three different parts to measure the variables under investigation. The descriptive and inferential statistical analysis of the data shows attitudinal, emotional and self-efficacy differences according to the categories examined, revealing the need to promote an improvement in the attitude towards certain environmental actions in future teachers. The results suggest that education has a relevant role in sustainability, and its importance and inclusion in the curricula of the different educational stages should be recognized.

Water from the Perspective of Education for Sustainable Development: An Exploratory Study in the Spanish Secondary Education Curriculum

“…Likewise, international institutions such as the United Nations have proposed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an international agenda that will guide development policies into 2030, so that the countries of the world continue their efforts to achieve sustainability [4,12,31]. These UN Sustainable Development Goals include an education sector goal, SDG 4 "Quality Education", which focuses on the acquisition by students of the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development [36]. This agenda also considers water in its SDG 6 "Clean Water and Sanitation" [12], so the state of water has become a goal and a challenge to be faced in the coming years [37].…”

“…Teachers claim to have an adequate level of knowledge on some water-related issues but declare that the educational curriculum does not give priority to this resource [5,[49][50][51][52][53]. They generally show responsible behavior towards the environment as well [36]. However, many educators find it difficult to complete coursework on time, making it difficult to emphasize sustainability issues [5].…”

Environmental Education and Practices in Canada, Turkey & Pakistan at Primary Level: A Content Analysis

“…It has been demonstrated through research (Alias, 2019;Mohiuddin, Mamun, Fazal, Masud & Su, 2018) that there exists a positive subsist association among knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Studies (Martínez-Borreguero, Maestre-Jiménez, Mateos-Núñez & Naranjo-Correa, 2020;Grodziéska-Jurczak, Stepska, Nieszporek & Bryda, 2006) further designates that once equipped with an ecofriendly frame of mind set and humanity can be undeniably influenced to accomplish the appropriate level of awareness, attitude, and enthusiasm towards the natural environment.…”

“…To promote sustainability, humankind needs to change its behavior and approach towards the environment which needs to be activated by developing a sense of responsibility and awareness in the general public (Barrable, 2019). The best way to approach the uprising problem is to start at the root level by educating the children about it and coming up with meaningful knowledge and solutions to cater to the problem in the long run (Martínez-Borreguero, Maestre-Jiménez, Mateos-Núñez & Naranjo-Correa, 2020). The new generation of any nation is the best source of hope to rectify the wrongs that have been taking place in society.…”

Designing and Validating an Integrated Environmental Education Curriculum Model for General Medicine

“…Furthermore, students could become aware of their responsibility both as citizens and the future holders of social positions in order to preserve and protect the environment. In another study, Martínez-Borreguero et al (2) introduced issues such as the lack of environmental activities, lack of knowledge about these activities, sustainable development in academic curricula, and the lack of support in this regard as the main challenges in sustainability and the environment.…”