Educational Gardens and Climate Change Education: An Analysis of Spanish Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions

Abstract

Educational gardens are powerful outdoor learning environments to address the subject of climate change and foster climate action. Using an online questionnaire, this study examines the influence of the main sociodemographic and academic factors, and the role of connectedness to nature, on the perception of educational gardens as contexts of climate change education (CCE) among Spanish preservice teachers (PSTs). The sample consisted of 889 PSTs enrolled in 9 university campuses of Spain. The statistical analyses performed evidenced that women are more likely to use educational gardens than men and that there is a progressive decrease in the positive perception of PSTs about the usefulness of gardens for CCE as the educational level at which they are being trained increases. Statistics also revealed that the variable connectedness to nature and the rating of the importance of educational gardens in CCE are not significantly related. Nevertheless, the Mann–Whitney U test indicated that PSTs who scored higher on connection to nature wished to broaden their knowledge of sustainable agriculture and, thus, connectedness to nature could be considered a predictor of environmental attitudes, each influencing the other. Based on these findings, recommendations for PSTs’ training in the CCE context are provided.

Climate change literacy and commitment in Spanish university students

“…Regarding gender, the results suggest that women are more linked to activism than men, which supports previous studies by Vicente-Molina et al (2018) and Corrochano et al (2022) that indicate differences concerning this variable. On the other hand, the student body that shows some linkage with activism has the perception that the information offered by their university is greater, so it is found that greater access to information on climate change could influence activism, another specific objective achieved (SO2).…”

“…Regarding gender, the results suggest that women are more linked to activism than men, which supports previous studies by Vicente-Molina et al . (2018) and Corrochano et al. (2022) that indicate differences concerning this variable.…”

Determinants of household waste disposal practices and implications for practical community interventions: lessons from Lilongwe

“…This finding is consistent with recent studies conducted in Ghana, Indonesia, and Ethiopia [20,31,32]. Studies have indicated that women have modestly stronger pro-environmental values than men [33][34][35]. In Korea, it was observed that pro-environmental behaviors among females are affected by their lifestyles and social norms [36].…”

Promoting sustainability training in future teachers through research workshops in the University Ecological Garden

“…In line with similar studies, future teachers generally value the educational experiences in the context of the garden positively, especially to develop professional teaching skills (Hurtado-Soler et al 2020). They consider the garden as a valuable environment to learn science, and to address sustainability and climate change globally (Corrochano et al 2022). These results show it is important to continue using this resource in initial teacher training.…”

“…However, it is necessary to continue improving the design of educational interventions in initial teacher training in order to face current challenges in a global and interrelated manner. Likewise, these interventions should integrate educational strategies and resources of Didactics of Sciences implemented in the garden to train students to design transformative proposals and act as true agents of change (Corrochano et al 2022).…”