Evaluation of an Educational Model Based on the Development of Sustainable Competencies in Basic Teacher Training in Spain

Abstract

The environmental deterioration of the planet, caused by unsustainable development and an unfair model, requires global change on a political, social and environmental level. To boost this change, it is necessary to redirect education and, specifically, environmental education, to educate citizens so that they are capable of making responsible decisions and behaving sustainably. The purpose of this study is to evaluate an educational teacher training model based on the development of sustainable competencies and on the solving of environmental problems. Its final aim is to search for a model that enables students to participate, individually and collectively, in the solution of socio-environmental problems in their surroundings, but without losing the global perspective, and that fosters sustainable life styles. To do so, a quasi-experimental quantitative research was performed with two pretest-posttest phases to compare the results of an active and participative methodology with another more expository one. The results show significant differences in the knowledge, attitudes and intention of the behavior of the aspiring teachers. Thus, this first analysis shows that the experiential educational model promotes and favors sustainable actions in higher education (the faculty of educational science, responsible for basic teacher training) more efficiently and could be the basis for future proposals in this field.

The Interdependences between Sustainability and Their Lifestyle That Pre-Service Teachers Establish When Addressing Socio-Ecological Problems

“…In the intervention programme, the problem-based learning approach was identified as a valuable didactic strategy, since it allowed the pre-service teachers to explore real socio-ecological problems and to progress in establishing relationships between sustainability and their everyday activities [49,60,65]. Changes in their ideas occurred in the three problems as well as in the three components considered for their analysis (pressures, importance and conservation).…”

“…In this sense, the analysis and reflection about the sustainability of our forms of consumption are particularly interesting [25,60]. Especially, pre-service teachers usually find it difficult to establish adequate relationships between their consumption habits and problems such as the BD loss, which can condition them to make concrete and realistic commitments [61].…”

“…For the design of the intervention programme, the problem-based learning approach was identified as a valuable didactic strategy, since it allows students to explore real situations-in this case, related to sustainability [49,60,65].…”

Competences to Address SDGs in Higher Education—A Reflection on the Equilibrium between Systemic and Personal Approaches to Achieve Transformative Action

“…The difficulties manifested in defining competences or the different understandings depending on different contexts [26,29] make it difficult for teachers to situate themselves and their work in the bigger picture. Moreover, the multifaceted nature of the concept hinders its assessment and it can be difficult to measure if behavioural change has truly been manifested [30].…”

Longitudinal Study of the Impacts of a Climate Change Curriculum on Undergraduate Student Learning: Initial Results

“…relate to the overall problem. Vega-Marcote et al [34] remind us as well that in our teaching, "It is not enough to acquire concepts; it is necessary to learn to put them into action, integrate them and use them adequately under different real-life circumstances." In other words, there is recognition within the environmental field that it is critical to teach students about environmental problems in such a way that they can use multiple lenses to gain a deep appreciation for the many factors at play in the real world.…”