Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?

Sustainability competence is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in school. It is therefore anchored in the education plans of almost all school tracks in Germany. However, empirical findings regarding ESD in schools are scarce. The present study thus examined how sustai...

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Autores principales:	Katja Scharenberg, Eva-Maria Waltner, Christoph Mischo, Werner Rieß
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competence development environmental education and sustainability-related skills knowledge attitudes multilevel analysis Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/54f54fd3a0784cd98ba76effd1592ee5
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:54f54fd3a0784cd98ba76effd1592ee5
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:54f54fd3a0784cd98ba76effd1592ee52021-11-25T19:02:20ZDevelopment of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?10.3390/su1322125942071-1050https://doaj.org/article/54f54fd3a0784cd98ba76effd1592ee52021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12594https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050Sustainability competence is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in school. It is therefore anchored in the education plans of almost all school tracks in Germany. However, empirical findings regarding ESD in schools are scarce. The present study thus examined how sustainability competencies of secondary-school students develop within the course of a school year. Based on a proposed framework model of sustainability competencies, we assessed (a) students’ sustainability-related knowledge, (b) their affective-motivational beliefs and attitudes towards sustainability, as well as (c) their self-reported sustainability-related behavioral intentions. Our sample comprised <i>n</i> = 1318 students in 79 classrooms at different secondary school tracks (Grades 5–8) in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany). Measurements were taken at the beginning and at the end of the school year after the introduction of ESD as a guiding perspective for the new education plan. We observed an increase in students’ sustainability-related knowledge but a decline in their affective-motivational beliefs and attitudes towards sustainability over the course of one school year. Multilevel analyses showed that, at the individual level, prior learning requirements as well as ESD-related characteristics (students’ activities and general knowledge of sustainability) proved to be the strongest predictors of their development. In addition, grade- and track-specific differences were observed. At the classroom level, teachers’ attitudes towards ESD as well as their professional knowledge were found to be significant predictors of students’ development. The higher the commonly shared value of ESD at school and the higher teachers’ self-efficacy towards ESD, the higher was the students’ development of sustainability-related knowledge and self-reported sustainability-related behavioral intentions, respectively. The significance of the findings for ESD in schools is discussed.Katja ScharenbergEva-Maria WaltnerChristoph MischoWerner RießMDPI AGarticleEducation for Sustainable Development (ESD)competence developmentenvironmental education and sustainability-related skillsknowledgeattitudesmultilevel analysisEnvironmental effects of industries and plantsTD194-195Renewable energy sourcesTJ807-830Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENSustainability, Vol 13, Iss 12594, p 12594 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competence development environmental education and sustainability-related skills knowledge attitudes multilevel analysis Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competence development environmental education and sustainability-related skills knowledge attitudes multilevel analysis Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Katja Scharenberg Eva-Maria Waltner Christoph Mischo Werner Rieß Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
description	Sustainability competence is an important goal of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in school. It is therefore anchored in the education plans of almost all school tracks in Germany. However, empirical findings regarding ESD in schools are scarce. The present study thus examined how sustainability competencies of secondary-school students develop within the course of a school year. Based on a proposed framework model of sustainability competencies, we assessed (a) students’ sustainability-related knowledge, (b) their affective-motivational beliefs and attitudes towards sustainability, as well as (c) their self-reported sustainability-related behavioral intentions. Our sample comprised <i>n</i> = 1318 students in 79 classrooms at different secondary school tracks (Grades 5–8) in Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany). Measurements were taken at the beginning and at the end of the school year after the introduction of ESD as a guiding perspective for the new education plan. We observed an increase in students’ sustainability-related knowledge but a decline in their affective-motivational beliefs and attitudes towards sustainability over the course of one school year. Multilevel analyses showed that, at the individual level, prior learning requirements as well as ESD-related characteristics (students’ activities and general knowledge of sustainability) proved to be the strongest predictors of their development. In addition, grade- and track-specific differences were observed. At the classroom level, teachers’ attitudes towards ESD as well as their professional knowledge were found to be significant predictors of students’ development. The higher the commonly shared value of ESD at school and the higher teachers’ self-efficacy towards ESD, the higher was the students’ development of sustainability-related knowledge and self-reported sustainability-related behavioral intentions, respectively. The significance of the findings for ESD in schools is discussed.
format	article
author	Katja Scharenberg Eva-Maria Waltner Christoph Mischo Werner Rieß
author_facet	Katja Scharenberg Eva-Maria Waltner Christoph Mischo Werner Rieß
author_sort	Katja Scharenberg
title	Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
title_short	Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
title_full	Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
title_fullStr	Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
title_full_unstemmed	Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?
title_sort	development of students’ sustainability competencies: do teachers make a difference?
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/54f54fd3a0784cd98ba76effd1592ee5
work_keys_str_mv	AT katjascharenberg developmentofstudentssustainabilitycompetenciesdoteachersmakeadifference AT evamariawaltner developmentofstudentssustainabilitycompetenciesdoteachersmakeadifference AT christophmischo developmentofstudentssustainabilitycompetenciesdoteachersmakeadifference AT wernerrieß developmentofstudentssustainabilitycompetenciesdoteachersmakeadifference
_version_	1718410402487861248

Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?

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