Effect of a Toolkit and a One-Day Teacher Education Workshop on ESD Teaching Content and Methods—A Study from Kosovo

• Main Authors: Mimoza Hyseni Spahiu, Petra Lindemann-Matthies
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2015-06-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: education for sustainability; Kosovo; high school teachers; teacher education; observation study
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/7/8051

Environmental education in Kosovo is currently under reform. The new strategy for sustainable development demands a strong focus on education for sustainability in schools. However, a lack of teacher education might impede new approaches in the classroom. This study investigated how teachers in Kosovo approach locally-relevant environmental issues in the classroom before and after a one-day in-service workshop on teaching approaches related to education for sustainable development (ESD). Data were gathered in nine classes with a systematic observation scheme and processed using Flanders’ interaction analysis categories system. During the workshop, a specially designed toolkit was introduced to the participants (nine biology teachers from the upper secondary level). The toolkit included teaching approaches suitable for ESD and focused on air and water pollution, waste management, energy saving, and the conservation of biodiversity. Before the workshop, teacher-talk occupied more than 90% of a typical 45-min lesson, and instructions were frontal and directive. After the workshop, pupil-talk strongly increased (up to 88%), and pupils were actively engaged in activities suitable for ESD. Supportive training can thus help teachers to improve their instructional practices. However, only those teachers who had reported support from head teachers and colleagues were still frequently using the toolkit after one year.