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When Teachers Walk the Green Talk: An Empirical Study on How Pro‐Environmental Behaviors Boost Teachers' Self‐Efficacy in Education for Sustainable Development

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  • Fenghua Xu
  • Xiaofei Liu
  • Junyuan Chen

Abstract

The worsening ecological crisis and increasingly complex environmental issues have given education for sustainable development a more critical mission and significant challenges. Teachers' self‐efficacy in overcoming these obstacles is vital for quality education for sustainable development implementation. Existing research has explored the impact of various professional development programs on teachers' self‐efficacy for sustainable development education, with the knowledge factor receiving much attention. This study investigated the specific mechanisms by which teachers' pro‐environmental behaviors influence their education for sustainable development self‐efficacy. Structural equation modeling of questionnaire data from 215 elementary school teachers revealed that teachers' pro‐environmental behaviors can directly affect sustainable development scientific task‐solving self‐efficacy and significantly influence education for sustainable development teaching self‐efficacy, mediated by teachers' interest in sustainability issues and sustainable development scientific task‐solving self‐efficacy. These findings indicate a need to emphasize developing teachers' pro‐environmental behaviors and sustainability issue concerns in teacher education programs, as well as improving teachers' environmental science literacy to enhance teachers' education for sustainable development self‐efficacy, thus providing strong motivational support for implementing high‐quality education for sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenghua Xu & Xiaofei Liu & Junyuan Chen, 2025. "When Teachers Walk the Green Talk: An Empirical Study on How Pro‐Environmental Behaviors Boost Teachers' Self‐Efficacy in Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 6620-6638, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:5:p:6620-6638
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.3485
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