4.1. Questionnaire Results: Perception of Student Teachers on ESD Competencies
Learning objectives and content listed by participating students in Questions 1 and 2 of the questionnaire were treated as separate units of meaning, excerpts from students’ questionnaire responses that have explicit meaning by themselves.
Table 4 shows the categories and subcategories that emerged from the data analysis; in brackets are the total units of meaning for each category. Total units of meaning for each subcategory and exemplifications of students’ quotations for each subcategory are also presented in the table.
Table 4.
Results obtained in Questions 1 and 2 of the questionnaire.
Table 4.
Results obtained in Questions 1 and 2 of the questionnaire.
Category | Subcategories | Units of Meaning | Students’ Quotations |
---|
(total units of meaning) |
---|
Knowledge (105) | Knowledge of the natural environment | 79 | “Knowing the natural environment close to the school.” |
“Knowing some plant species of the forest.” |
“Knowing the flora of the school environment.” |
Knowledge of the environment and environmental issues | 21 | “Usages of forest by humans: recreational, industrial…” |
“Human actions that harm the environment.” |
“Waste and pollution.” |
Knowledge about how the environment interrelates with other aspects (social, economic, cultural, etc.) | 5 | “Knowing the benefits of the forest to the urban environment.” |
“The benefits and functions of forests for the environment.” |
“Participate in an interdisciplinary way with other areas.” |
Practical skills (95) | Identification and recognition of natural diversity | 43 | “Identify the plants and creatures that are in the forest.” |
“Analyze the functioning of this ecosystem.” |
“Explore, identify and experiment with the flora and fauna of the area.” |
Ability to act | 19 | “Suggest ways to improve the forest’s health.” |
“The implication for improving the environment.” |
“Develop actions of respect and care for the environment.” |
Recognition of human-nature interactions and their effects | 17 | “Differentiation between a natural forest and a planted forest.” |
“Analyze the health of the forest”. |
“Assessing the human impact.” |
General work techniques | 12 | “Monitoring and understanding of the scientific method.” |
“Experimentation. Observation.” |
“Working cooperatively.” |
Resolution of environmental problems | 3 | “Identify potential environmental issues that affect or may affect the forest.” |
“Analyze possible solutions to environmental problems.” |
“Detect environmental problems.” |
Communication skills | 1 | “Debate and dialogue. Conversations on issues related to the forest.” |
Ethical values (43) | Environmental awareness | 29 | “Raising awareness about the importance of maintaining the forests.” |
“Identifying one’s self with the environment to be aware that we must preserve it among all.” |
“Raising awareness of the importance of the flora and fauna of the forest.” |
Individual and collective responsibility | 10 | “Be aware and recognize the activities that are positive or negative for the forest.” |
“The responsibility of society.” |
“Recognize what actions are positive and negative for the environment to become aware of our responsibility as citizens.” |
Positive value for humans and society | 4 | “Identification/recognition of the beneficial contributions of the site to the health of the inhabitants.” |
“Knowing the natural environment to appreciate the value to people’s lives.” |
“Benefits and values: the forest as a necessary environment for our life.” |
Attitudes (40) | Respect for the environment | 16 | “Respect nature and local heritage.” |
“Learn to value and respect the environment.” |
“To foster a positive attitude of respect for the forests.” |
Commitment, involvement and active participation | 13 | “Propose actions to preserve the natural environment and personal involvement in these.” |
“Implication to improve the environment.” |
“Commitment and involvement in the care of the forest.” |
Caring for the environment | 4 | “Reduction of waste in the forest, environmental cleaning…” |
“Things that we can do to take good care of the forest.” |
“Awareness and care for the environment.” |
Reflect on and improve the attitude toward the world | 4 | “Critical attitude to think, reflect and act.” |
“Knowledge of the human impact on the environment to adopt a critical attitude to improve the world.” |
“Critical attitude”. |
Coexistence, living and sharing experiences with others | 3 | “Living with colleagues in a different space than the classroom.” |
“Learning to share experiences and knowledge.” |
“Coexistence”. |
Emotions (1) | Sense of belonging to the environment | 1 | “Learn to love the forest and its utility in our context.” |
Matters related to knowledge acquisition were noted a total of 105 times (105 units of meaning) and practical skills a total of 95 times. These are the learning objectives and content that prospective teachers would prioritize in an educational project as that proposed. Ethical values (43) and attitudes (40) remain in second place, while the management of emotions was only referenced once.
In relation to the knowledge dimension, mentioned a total of 105 times, students tend to focus on conceptual content related to the natural environment, natural diversity, flora and fauna (79 units of meaning). Only a few (21) assign importance to knowledge about the environment and environmental issues, such as pollution of natural spaces or the environmental impact caused by human action. A small number of students (five) emphasize the significance of working in an interdisciplinary way, integrating the environmental, social and economic aspects.
Referring to the practical skills dimension, students alluded to this dimension 95 times, and the focus of the participating students remains on skills related to the observation of nature or natural diversity. These skills are the observation, identification, recognition and analysis of the characteristics and peculiarities of nature or natural diversity (43). In second place, students emphasize the ability to act (19). This includes suggesting innovative actions to improve the current situation of the space, knowing what to do to improve the conditions of the space and performing maintenance actions on the environment, amongst others. Moreover, student teachers also consider the interaction between human beings and nature, its impact and assessment (17), along with general work skills (12), such as experimentation, interpretation of phenomena, teamwork and the use of the scientific method. A low number of students take into account the resolution of environmental problems (three) and communication skills, such as debating and dialoguing with others (one).
Considering the ethical values, students referred to this dimension a total of 43 times. A high number of students make reference to promoting environmental awareness (29). Individual and collective responsibility (10) is another value to be promoted. A small number of students emphasize valuing a natural area as a positive element for human beings and society in general (four).
Matters related to the attitudes dimensions were noted a total of 40 times by students. Positive attitudes of respect for the environment (16) and the commitment, involvement and active participation towards sustainability (13) are the attitudes that future teachers would promote in their students. A few students took into account other attitudes, such as the preservation and care for the environment (four), coexistence, living and sharing experiences with others (three) and promoting critical attitudes and improving the world (four).
Finally, the emotions dimension (one) is almost un-highlighted by future teachers. Only one student made reference once to the sense of belonging to the environment (one). Therefore, promoting reflection and awareness on the emotional aspects, learning to manage emotions and to work with students on these aspects are not covered by the participating student teachers.
In short, future teachers assign more relevance to the promotion of conceptual and procedural content amongst students than to the promotion of other content, such as attitudinal, values clarification and working on emotions.
Participating student teachers tend to prioritize the acquisition of knowledge and practical skills related to nature and natural sciences, to the detriment of other types of learning. However, the science curriculum in Catalonia includes environmental knowledge, so the fact that students were provided a context related to the science committee of a school could have influenced these study results.
Table 5 shows the relationship between the subcategories emerging from the data and Cebrián and Junyent’s (2014) framework for professional competencies in ESD.
Based on the relationship established between the subcategories that emerged and the ESD competencies framework [
28], student teachers highlight promoting values clarification, the ability to work and live with complexity, as well as decision-making, participation and acting for change (see
Table 5). Conversely, the ability to contextualize a problem, critical thinking, fostering dialogue between disciplines and the management of emotions and concerns are competencies that are almost not considered by future teachers. Envisioning future/alternative scenarios is considered a critical process in ESD [
1,
12,
37]; this was not mentioned at all by students.
As pointed out earlier, in the project proposed to the students, no explicit reference was made to sustainable development or ESD. The data obtained indicate that a holistic view of the environment and ESD competencies does not necessarily exist amongst student teachers.
Table 5.
Relation between professional competencies in ESD and the subcategories that emerged.
Table 5.
Relation between professional competencies in ESD and the subcategories that emerged.
Professional Competencies for ESD [28] | Subcategories Emerging from the Data |
---|
Clarify values | 1. Environmental awareness |
2. Individual and collective responsibility |
3. Positive value for humans and society |
4. Commitment, involvement and active participation |
5. Respect for the environment |
6. Caring for the environment |
Work and live with complexity | 1. Recognition of human-nature interactions and their effects |
2. Knowledge that the environment is interrelated with other aspects (social, economic, cultural, etc.) |
3. Knowledge of the environment and environmental issues |
Decision-making, participation and acting for change | 1. Ability to act |
2. Resolution of environmental problems |
3. Commitment, involvement and active participation |
Contextualizing | 1. Recognition of human-nature interactions and their effects |
2. Knowledge of the environment and environmental issues |
Think critically | 1. Reflect on and improve the attitude toward the world |
Establish dialogue between disciplines | 1. Knowledge about where the environment interrelates with other aspects (social, economic, environmental, etc.) |
Manage the emotions and concerns | 1. Sense of belonging to the environment |
Future/alternative scenarios visioning | No related category emerged |
4.2. Questionnaire Results: Competencies’ Prioritization by Student Teachers
The results obtained from the prioritization made by students of different competencies are presented in this section. This corresponds to Question 4 of the questionnaire “What do you think you should actively promote in this project? Prioritize from a high to low level of importance (from 1 to 12)”.
The competencies’ prioritization by the student teachers (n = 32) was analyzed using a frequency table (see
Table 6). The numbers in the table show the total number of students that prioritized each competence and the order of priority that they assigned. For example, the ESD competence, promoting the ability to act and make decisions, was prioritized in the first place by nine students, in the second by six and in the eleventh and twelfth by none of the students.
The list of competencies is presented in relation to transversal competencies, ESD competencies and science education competencies. It should be noted that in the questionnaire, these competencies were mixed, and the students did not know to which group each competence listed corresponded.
Table 6 allows us to observe the frequency for which a competence is chosen by the participating students. This enables us to see the competencies that are prioritized for the proposed project by the students.
Table 6 shows that in relation to ESD competencies, the most chosen competencies in the first and second option by student teachers are the ability to act and make decisions and the raising of awareness and environmental awareness amongst students.
Table 6.
Competencies’ prioritization and total number of students.
Table 6.
Competencies’ prioritization and total number of students.
| Total number of students in relation to order of priority (n) |
---|
ESD COMPETENCIES | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
Promoting the ability to act and make decisions. | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Raise awareness and environmental awareness amongst students. | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Thinking about different scenarios or alternatives to a situation or problem at the local and global scale. | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Foster in students a sense of belonging to the environment. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Promote a critical analysis of some phenomenon or subject positioning one’s self to argue for and respect different points of view. | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Subtotal students (n) | 18 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 7 |
TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCIES | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
Promote reflection and individual and collective responsibility. | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Emphasizing the intellectual development of students. | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 |
Develop habits and attitudes favorable to the promotion of healthy lifestyles, at the personal and community level. | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Work transversally from different perspectives and areas on a situation or problem and interrelate them. | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Subtotal students (n) | 8 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 19 |
SCIENCE EDUCATION COMPETENCIES | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
Explain and interpret phenomena scientifically and identify appropriate explanations and predictions. | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
Observe facts and/or phenomena, identify evidence and contrast data. | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
Analyzing the impact of human activities on the environment and propose improvement actions. | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Subtotal students (n) | 6 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 6 |
TOTAL STUDENTS (N) | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
In reference to the transversal competencies, the most chosen by student teachers in the first, second and third option is the promotion of reflection and individual and collective responsibility. Finally, for the science education competencies, the most selected in the first and second place is analyzing the impact of human activities on the environment and the proposal of improvement actions.
In contrast, the least prioritized competencies, in eleventh and twelfth place, are: to foster in students a sense of belonging to the environment (ESD competencies); emphasizing the intellectual development of students (transversal competencies); and to observe facts and/or phenomena, identify evidence and contrast data (science education competencies).
If we focus on the subtotals obtained from students for each group of competencies, it can be observed that the most chosen competencies in the first, second and third place are ESD competencies (48), while transversal competencies (28) and science education skills (20) remain in second place. A tendency can be observed in that students prioritize in first, second and third place ESD competencies and transversal competencies, while those prioritized in ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth place are transversal competencies and science education competencies. This is probably due to the nature of the context and educational project proposed to the students. Therefore, further empirical research needs to be conducted using other educational scenarios to explore students’ perception and the influence that the proposed project has on students’ perceptions in ESD competencies and their competency prioritization.
The study findings show a discrepancy between the students’ responses to Questions 1 and 2 and Question 4 of the questionnaire. While students assign more importance to knowledge and practical skills related to natural sciences rather than environmental issues in Questions 1 and 2, the reverse findings are obtained for Question 4, as students rank ESD competencies higher than science education competencies. This suggests that in Questions 1 and 2, students were mainly considering the context proposed, which relates to the science committee in a school. In Question 3, a more global and transversal perception of competencies is provided. This is probably due to the fact that students were given a comprehensive and explicit list of competencies, which facilitated choosing ESD competencies amongst science education or transversal competencies. This aspect needs to be further explored in future ESD competency perception studies.