Learning Outcomes in Sustainability Education Among Future Elementary School Teachers.

Abstract

Universities and colleges around the world are exploring ways of reorganizing\ncurricula to educate future leaders in sustainability. Preservice teachers hold\ntremendous potential to introduce concepts of sustainability far earlier than\npost-secondary education. However, there is little research of such efforts\nto yield changes in future elementary school classrooms. This article shares\na new, required course—Sustainability Science for Teachers (SSFT)—that\nis designed to present sustainability topics to preservice teachers. Using\nthe course as a case, we ask: Do preservice teachers acquire skills and\ncontent knowledge in sustainability, and does that experience translate to\nelementary classrooms? Pre- and post-test data from 234 students and a\nfollow-up survey with 103 respondents offers evidence towards addressing\nthis question. Analysis shows preservice teachers gain skills in systems\nthinking and develop content knowledge in sustainability. This study\nsuggests sustainability is being introduced into elementary classrooms after\npreservice teachers were required to take a course in sustainability.