Student teachers’ beliefs and intentions to enact socially critical Education for Sustainable Development: insights from an international study

This international, mixed-methods study investigated student teachers’ beliefs regarding Socially Critical Education for Sustainable Development (SC-ESD) and how these relate to their intentions to enact SC-ESD in their future practice. Building on critical perspectives on ESD, the study conceptualises SC-ESD as a distinct framework encompassing critical content and learning processes that support the achievement of critical sustainability outcomes for individuals and wider society. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The construct validity of the questionnaire was established using exploratory factor analysis. Student teachers from Türkiye, England and Pakistan participated in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate variation in SC-ESD beliefs across the three countries. Findings also show that while most student teachers demonstrate understanding of critical content and some critical sustainability outcomes, their understanding of critical learning processes (such as dialogue, reflection and collaboration) is limited. Quantitative results further show a significant, positive and moderately strong relationship between SC-ESD beliefs and intentions to enact SC-ESD. The study highlights the need for teacher education policies and programmes to support the development of holistic SC-ESD beliefs among student teachers as these are directly associated with a greater likelihood of engagement with SC-ESD in their future practice.