The word “energy” is one of the most used in our daily language. People are constantly reminded to save energy, use it efficiently, and increase the use of renewable energy, which is much more environmentally friendly than non-renewable energy. Citizens need to develop a good level of energy literacy, that is, a general predisposition, and, at the same time, a competence for engaging in desirable behaviours in the area of energy consumption. Teachers are a key element in promoting energy literacy. This article aims to compare the energy literacy of first- and third-year students enrolled in the 3 year long Basic Education undergraduate programme of a Portuguese university, who will become primary school teachers. To attain the research objective, 203 prospective teachers (first year: 98; third year: 105) were invited to answer a questionnaire on knowledge about energy (cognitive dimension), behaviour (behavioural dimension) concerning energy, and attitudes (affective dimension) toward energy. Concerning the cognitive dimension, statistically significant differences were obtained between first and third year groups and between third year rural and urban participants; differences between participants with parents with diverse levels of education are not statistically significant. The same applies to comparisons within the affective and the behavioural dimensions. Even though participants seem to believe that they know more than they do, the undergraduate programme in Basic Education seems to cause a small improvement, which is not enough for prospective teachers to reach a good level of energy literacy. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the development, in the Basic Education programme, of energy literacy, considering its diverse dimensions.
Leite et al. (Fri,) studied this question.