Understanding the education for sustainable development knowledge and teacher self-efficacy of middle level preservice teachers

The number of environmental, economic, and social problems that plague the world is increasing. Attempts have been made to solve problems such as climate change, human trafficking, and extreme poverty. However, many solutions have been unsuccessful because they address issues in isolation. Effective solutions can only be developed when considering the big picture and critically evaluating all possible ramifications of a decision.;The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established 2005 to 2014 as the "Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" with the hopes of preparing future generations to find sustainable solutions to the world's problems. Education for sustainable development (ESD) educates individuals about the interplay among environmental protection, social development, and economic development so that their actions do not interfere with future generations' ability to acquire all that they need to live modestly. Schools are the primary channels through which the population gains an understanding of sustainable development. However, educators may not have a thorough understanding of education for sustainable development and they may have doubts regarding their competence in implementing ESD in the classroom.;This mixed-methods study explored the relationship that exists between preservice teachers' knowledge of education for sustainable development topics and their teacher self-efficacy for teaching ESD. The Education for Sustainable Development Knowledge and Beliefs (ESDK&B) survey was completed by 122 students majoring in middle level education at five public higher education institutions in western Pennsylvania. The ESDK&B contained multiple choice questions to assess the knowledge of sustainable development as well as Likert-type questions that allowed the preservice teachers to self report their teaching self-efficacy for sustainable development. Detailed information regarding the participants' knowledge and self-efficacy was gathered through open-ended questions on the ESDK&B. Additionally, focus group interviews were conducted with eight preservice teachers in an effort to identify factors that influence self-efficacy for teaching sustainable development. The data gathered in this research study indicated that preservice middle level teacher's knowledge of education for sustainable development is not related to their personal teaching self-efficacy in the area of sustainable development.