Sustainability competences in environmental education: Research on guidebooks for teachers at Finnish primary schools

Abstract

The aim of this study was to obtain knowledge on sustainability competences in the context of guidebooks for primary school teachers of environmental education. A two-step content analysis of Finnish primary-level teachers’ guidebooks in environmental studies was conducted: First, guidebooks were scanned for content related to sustainability. Second, the teaching practices associated with sustainability competences (futures thinking competence, values thinking competence, systems thinking competence, action-oriented competence, collaboration competence) were evaluated. The findings showed that guidebooks do support implementation of education for sustainable development and sustainability competences. However, some suggestions for improvement and further research ideas are presented.