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Learning for the Future? Effects of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) on Teacher Education Students

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  • Klas Andersson

    (Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Sprängkullsgatan 19, P.O. Box 711, Gothenburg SE-405 30, Sweden)

  • Sverker C Jagers

    (Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Sprängkullsgatan 19, P.O. Box 711, Gothenburg SE-405 30, Sweden
    Political Science Unit, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå SE-971 87, Sweden)

  • Annika Lindskog

    (Department of Pedagogical, Curricular, Professional Studies, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 100, Gothenburg SE-405 30, Sweden)

  • Johan Martinsson

    (Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg, Sprängkullsgatan 19, P.O. Box 711, Gothenburg SE-405 30, Sweden)

Abstract

Currently, politicians, university representatives, scholars and leading NGOs share a strong belief in the ability of educational systems to generate positive attitudes to sustainable development (SD) among citizens, with the idea of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as perhaps the most apparent expression of this conviction. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether ESD might have the intended effects on teacher education students. More specifically, we account for the results from a panel study on the effects of a course on SD held in autumn 2010 at the University of Gothenburg (n = 323) on teacher education students. The surveys consisted of questions about the students’ concerns about various issues, including issues related to SD, and their attitudes towards SD and views of moral obligations to contributing to SD. The study included a control group (n = 97) consisting of students from the teacher-training programme at University West, which had not and did not include ESD. We find positive effects of ESD on almost all attitudes and perceptions, including e.g., personal responsibility in relation to SD and willingness to contribute to SD, while there is no noticeable effect in the control group. We conclude the paper by discussing the implications of our results for the idea of ESD in teacher training programmes at Swedish higher education institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Klas Andersson & Sverker C Jagers & Annika Lindskog & Johan Martinsson, 2013. "Learning for the Future? Effects of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) on Teacher Education Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:12:p:5135-5152:d:30946
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew Dobson, 2007. "Environmental citizenship: towards sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(5), pages 276-285.
    2. Niklas Harring & Sverker C. Jagers, 2013. "Should We Trust in Values? Explaining Public Support for Pro-Environmental Taxes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-18, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Antje Brock, 2018. "Development of an ESD Indicator for Teacher Training and the National Monitoring for ESD Implementation in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Eva-Maria Waltner & Katja Scharenberg & Christian Hörsch & Werner Rieß, 2020. "What Teachers Think and Know about Education for Sustainable Development and How They Implement it in Class," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Alexander Georg Büssing & Maike Schleper & Susanne Menzel, 2018. "Do Pre-service Teachers Dance with Wolves? Subject-Specific Teacher Professional Development in A Recent Biodiversity Conservation Issue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    4. Liyuan Liu & Steven Donbavand & Bryony Hoskins & Jan Germen Janmaat & Dimokritos Kavadias, 2021. "Measuring and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Active Citizenship Education Programmes to Support Disadvantaged Youth," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-10, October.
    5. Lorenz Probst, 2022. "Higher Education for Sustainability: A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence 2013–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-24, March.
    6. Steven Donbavand & Bryony Hoskins, 2021. "Citizenship Education for Political Engagement: A Systematic Review of Controlled Trials," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, April.
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    8. Pedro Vega-Marcote & Mercedes Varela-Losada & Pedro Álvarez-Suárez, 2015. "Evaluation of an Educational Model Based on the Development of Sustainable Competencies in Basic Teacher Training in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-20, March.
    9. Kevin Handtke & Lisa Richter-Beuschel & Susanne Bögeholz, 2022. "Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Teaching ESD: A Theory-Driven Instrument and the Effectiveness of ESD in German Teacher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-32, May.
    10. Teresa Nogueira & Rui Castro & José Magano, 2023. "Engineering Students Education in Sustainability: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    11. D. Brent Edwards & Manca Sustarsic & Mina Chiba & Mark McCormick & Melissa Goo & Sara Perriton, 2020. "Achieving and Monitoring Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship: A Systematic Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-57, February.
    12. Carola Garrecht & Till Bruckermann & Ute Harms, 2018. "Students’ Decision-Making in Education for Sustainability-Related Extracurricular Activities—A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.

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