IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i23p15914-d987726.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Development Competencies among More than 1100 Certified Physical Education and Health Teachers in Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Andreas Fröberg

    (Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Läroverksgatan 5, P.O. Box 300, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Petter Wiklander

    (Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Läroverksgatan 5, P.O. Box 300, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Suzanne Lundvall

    (Department of Food and Nutrition, and Sport Science, University of Gothenburg, Läroverksgatan 5, P.O. Box 300, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
    Department of Sport, Food and Natural Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Høgskulen på Vestlandet Campus Sogndal, Postboks 7030, 5020 Bergen, Norway)

Abstract

School physical education and health (PEH) may not only be an important cornerstone to the holistic development of students but may also contribute to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. Although PEH may have unique characteristics that can contribute to the SD agenda, most research to date has been theoretical. The overall aim of this study was to explore the sustainable development competencies among physical education and health (PEH) teachers in Sweden. An online questionnaire was used to collect data about background and SD competencies. SD competencies was collected through the use of the Physical Education Scale for Sustainable Development in Future Teachers (PESD-FT). Of the 1153 participants, 31% reported being males, and 48% of the participants reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire. The median SD competencies score for all the participants was 105 (range: 18–144) out of 144. Virtually no differences were observed across the groups of participants. A stronger correlation was observed between SD competencies vs. long-time interests in health and health issues (r s = 0.343) than for long experience of participating in organized sports (r s = 0.173). In the total sample, 26% reported having taught about SD in PEH, such as using outdoor education, interdisciplinary projects, picking, and sorting waste, as well as paying attention to material issues. Among those who reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire, 70% perceived that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. In conclusion, SD competencies were higher for the PESD-FT items that concerned the social dimension of SD compared to the economic and environmental dimensions. Relatively few teachers had taught about SD in PEH, and the majority perceive that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. Future studies are required to understand more of what types of competencies practicing PEH teachers, and PEH teacher education programs, are lacking to fulfil the call for a contribution to the SD agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Fröberg & Petter Wiklander & Suzanne Lundvall, 2022. "Sustainable Development Competencies among More than 1100 Certified Physical Education and Health Teachers in Sweden," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15914-:d:987726
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/15914/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/23/15914/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Salvador Baena-Morales & Daniel Jerez-Mayorga & Pedro Delgado-Floody & Jesús Martínez-Martínez, 2021. "Sustainable Development Goals and Physical Education. A Proposal for Practice-Based Models," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Andreas Fröberg & Suzanne Lundvall, 2021. "The Distinct Role of Physical Education in the Context of Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals: An Explorative Review and Suggestions for Future Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Andreas Fröberg & Suzanne Lundvall, 2022. "Sustainable Development Perspectives in Physical Education Teacher Education Course Syllabi: An Analysis of Learning Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Vasiliki Kioupi & Nikolaos Voulvoulis, 2019. "Education for Sustainable Development: A Systemic Framework for Connecting the SDGs to Educational Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, November.
    5. Julia Lohmann & Jennifer Breithecker & Ulrike Ohl & Petra Gieß-Stüber & Hans Peter Brandl-Bredenbeck, 2021. "Teachers’ Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Physical Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-26, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Leyla Yılmaz Fındık & Şefika Şule Erçetin, 2023. "How Do Universities in Türkiye Integrate Sustainable Development Goals into Their Strategies?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salvador Baena‐Morales & Alejandro Vásquez‐Echeverría & Diego Gavilán‐Martín & Sixto González‐Villora, 2024. "Psychological approaches to sustainability: Implementing intervention model for sustainable development in physical education," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 5692-5704, October.
    2. Andreas Fröberg & Suzanne Lundvall, 2022. "Sustainable Development Perspectives in Physical Education Teacher Education Course Syllabi: An Analysis of Learning Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Anna Beniermann & Martin Glos & Heike Schumacher & Ingo Fietze & Stephan Völker & Annette Upmeier zu Belzen, 2023. "‘Sleep Blindness’ in Science Education: How Sleep Health Literacy Can Serve as a Link between Health Education and Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Mohammed Abdullatif Almulla & Mahdi Mohammed Alamri, 2021. "Using Conceptual Mapping for Learning to Affect Students’ Motivation and Academic Achievement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Chen Liao & Liying Nong & Yu-Feng Wu & Yu-Tai Wu & Jian-Hong Ye, 2023. "The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Francisco Del Cerro Velázquez & Fernando Lozano Rivas, 2020. "Education for Sustainable Development in STEM (Technical Drawing): Learning Approach and Method for SDG 11 in Classrooms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Chengquan Li & Can Zhang, 2024. "Transformative Perspectives in Physical Education Evaluation: Empowering Diverse Stakeholders for Holistic Learning Experiences in the Era of Big Data," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 13334-13360, September.
    8. Fu-Hsing Tsai, 2023. "Using a Physical Computing Project to Prepare Preservice Primary Teachers for Teaching Programing," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    9. Mirjam Braßler & Martin Schultze, 2021. "Students’ Innovation in Education for Sustainable Development—A Longitudinal Study on Interdisciplinary vs. Monodisciplinary Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    10. Lei Zhao & Ruijie Zhu & Xu Cai & Junchao Zhang, 2023. "Improving Sustainability of Learning Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Medical Students’ Autonomous Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, March.
    11. Manuel Mieres-Chacaltana & Sonia Salvo-Garrido & Sergio Dominguez-Lara, 2025. "Modeling the Effects of Teacher Resilience and Self-Efficacy on Prosocialness: Implications for Sustainable Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-12, April.
    12. Huangdong Ma & Hongbin Yang & Chen Li & Shiwen Ma & Gaofeng Li, 2025. "The Effectiveness and Sustainability of Tier Diagnostic Technologies for Misconception Detection in Science Education: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-28, April.
    13. Maryam A. Al-Hail & Luluwah Al-Fagih & Muammer Koç, 2021. "Partnering for Sustainability: Parent-Teacher-School (PTS) Interactions in the Qatar Education System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-25, June.
    14. Athanasios Papavasileiou & George Konteos & Stavros Kalogiannidis & Dimitrios Kalfas & Christina-Ioanna Papadopoulou, 2025. "Investigating the Impact of Sustainability-Themed Extracurricular Activities on Student Engagement with the 17 SDGs by 2026: A Case Study of Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-24, March.
    15. Leire Agirreazkuenaga, 2020. "Education for Agenda 2030: What Direction do We Want to Take Going Forward?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-13, March.
    16. Xiangfei Ma & Inna Gryshova & Iryna Koshkalda & Anastasiia Suska & Rymma Gryshova & Alona Riasnianska & Olga Tupchii, 2022. "Necessity of Post-War Renewal of University Teachers’ Potential in Terms of Sustainable Development in Ukraine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Carlos Martínez-Mirambell & Salvador Boned-Gómez & Mayra Urrea-Solano & Salvador Baena-Morales, 2023. "Step by Step towards a Greener Future: The Role of Plogging in Educating Tomorrow’s Citizens," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Olalla García-Taibo & Isabel María Martín-López & Salvador Baena-Morales & José Eugenio Rodríguez-Fernández, 2023. "The Impact of Service-Learning on the Prosocial and Professional Competencies in Undergraduate Physical Education Students and Its Effect on Fitness in Recipients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-16, October.
    19. Ting Zhou & Rob Law & Patrick C. Lee, 2021. "Exploring Sustainable Measurements of Academic Research: How Do Faculty Members in Teaching-Oriented Universities of China Evaluate Good Research in Tourism and Hospitality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    20. David Méndez & Miriam Méndez & Juana María Anguita, 2022. "Digital Teaching Competence in Teacher Training as an Element to Attain SDG 4 of the 2030 Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-13, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:23:p:15914-:d:987726. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.