Environmental Knowledge and Personal Environmental Education Teaching Efficacy of Pre-Service Teachers in Wisconsin

Abstract

If we are to create a population of environmentally literate citizens in our future K-12 classrooms, it seems that an emphasis should be placed on pre-service teachers. Environmental knowledge (EK) has been identified as a key component of environmental literacy. Yet the relationship between pre-service teachers’ EK and their confidence teaching EE material, also known as personal environmental education teaching efficacy (PEETE), has yet to be examined. Through criterion sampling and a non-experimental design, pre-service teachers in science methods courses across Wisconsin were studied. A one-time online Qualtrics link was administered to pre-service teachers, by their science methods instructors, during class time within the first eight weeks of the Fall 2018 semester. The Student Survey comprised of 36 total questions. The mean EK score for the pre-service teachers was 8.29 out of 12 (n = 241, SD = 2.30). In fact, only 49.0% of participants passed the basic EK exam (9 or more correct). At the surface, it appears that pre-service teachers have relatively low levels of EK. This may hinder the incorporation of EE material into their future classrooms due to avoidance behavior with information they are uncomfortable with as laid out by Bandura, 1977. Furthermore, results indicated a moderate, positive correlation between EK and PEETE, r(238) = .311, p < .001. In other words, high levels of EK were associated with higher levels of PEETE. Additional analyses included measuring differences in EK and PEETE between pre-service teachers seeking to teach different age levels, childhood environments, and the number of positive childhood environmental activities that influenced their outlook on the environment as a child. Ultimately, the study suggests the need for further EE principles, methods, and objectives in Wisconsin Teacher Preparation Programs (TPPs) to better prepare pre-service teachers to instruct their future students about environmental issues we are currently facing on a local and global level.