Science teacher education for sustainable development: From intensions to realisation

Abstract

Teacher education programs have an especially important role in reorienting education to realise education for sustainable development (ESD). In this paper, we investigate how ESD can be realised in science teacher education and we present findings from a case study in a Norwegian teacher education institution that has the overall aim of educating teachers who can contribute to sustainable development. Data was collected through participant observation and interviews, and, together with instructional artefacts and student assignments, analysed based on a model for science ESD. The paper provides an example of how ESD can be realised through a strengths model where ESD is founded in the strengths among the teacher educators and existing teaching practices. The results indicate that an emphasis on experiential learning and sociocultural learning theory builds a thorough foundation for ESD. However, the teaching has to be explicit in order to reach all student teachers.