Teaching about sustainability through inquiry-based science in Irish primary classrooms: the impact of a professional development programme on teacher self-efficacy, competence and pedagogy

Abstract

Research suggests that innovative and engaging professional development is instrumental in supporting teachers in developing their competence and confidence in teaching sustainability. An international initiative was developed to explore whether a competencies-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) professional development model was transferable across three different international contexts (Ireland, Germany and Mexico). This paper reports on the adaptation of this model within the Irish context, through the development of an innovative professional development programme for primary teachers. Through a mixed-methods approach which gathered data via pre- and post-programme surveys, teachers’ reflective journals and post-programme group interviews, the paper explores Irish primary school teachers’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, teaching sustainability through science education after participation in a professional development programme. The findings suggest that this programme, structured around the existing evidence for effective professional development in science education and ESD, positively influences teachers’ self-efficacy, supports teachers’ critical engagement with sustainability competencies and promotes the development of transformative pedagogies for sustainability through Inquiry-Based Science Education.

Keywords:

• Sustainability
• science education
• teacher professional development
• primary school

Acknowledgements

We would also like to thank Dr Matthias Barth and Dr Yasmany Mancilla Mendez for their work on the design of the overall programme framework and the development and piloting of the research instruments. Finally, we would like to thank our colleagues Dr Orla Kelly and Ms Nicola Broderick for their contributions to the development and piloting of the research instruments and the implementation of the CPD programme in Ireland.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

We would like to thank the Global Consortium for Sustainability Outcomes (GCSO) who funded this project.

Notes on contributors

Cliona Murphy

Dr Cliona Murphy is an associate professor in DCU lecturing in the area of science education. She has developed and implemented a range of pre-service, post-graduate and continuing professional development programmes in science education. She has conducted and published research and developed educational resources in the areas of Nature of Science, Inquiry-Based Science Education, Education for Sustainability and Climate Change Education. Dr Murphy is the current chair of the All European Academies (ALLEA) Science Education Working group and is the associate director of the Centre for the Advancement of STEM teaching and Learning (CASTeL)

Greg Smith

Greg Smith is an Assistant Professor in Science Education and works in the area of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD). At present his main work focuses on the research, development and facilitation of ITE and continuing professional development courses in science education. He has carried out and published research in the areas of continuing professional development, teaching and learning in primary science, Inquiry-Based Science Education and education for sustainable development.

Benjamin Mallon

Benjamin Mallon is Assistant Professor in Development and Intercultural Education in the School of STEM Education, Innovation & Global Studies in the Institute of Education, Dublin City University. He researches and teaches in the area of Global Citizenship Education and Education for Sustainable Development, with a particular focus on pedagogical approaches which address conflict, challenge violence and support the development of peaceful societies.

Erin Redman

Erin Redman is an Assistant Research Professor at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University and a Research Associate at Leuphana University of Luneburg. For the last four years, she has been leading sustainability education programs for in-service teachers across the United States, Ireland, Mexico, and Germany. Prior to her work in professional development, she was a sustainability professor at the National University in Mexico where her research focused on the knowledge-behaviour gap, particularly with regards to waste and food behaviours.