Transformative education for sustainable consumption

Abstract

Teachers play a key role in the construction of a more equal, fairer and sustainable world. Incorporating education for sustainable consumption into teacher training should therefore be a priority. This education should aim to develop students’ awareness of environmental issues, to encourage lifestyle changes, and to promote reducing their personal ecological footprint (EF). Training processes will hence lead to active learning approaches promoting critical thinking about production and consumption patterns, linking the curriculum content to real life, and involving students in activities that reduce their EF. This paper presents research carried out at three Spanish faculties of education. The main goal is to analyse the relationship between active teaching and learning strategies, and the reduction of the students’ individual EF. Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used to collect data. A total of 93 primary education degree students took part in this study. The results show the students’ individual EF decreased at the end of the learning processes. This proves that active teaching and learning strategies can foster sustainable consumption habits, and more sustainable lifestyles in general, in student teachers.