Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainability Among Pre-service Physical Education Teachers: A Mixed Method Approach

Abstract

Education for sustainability (EfS) represents a complex question that appears to require a holistic and emancipatory vision to achieve its long-term objectives. The action competence model for EfS aligns with this vision by considering both self-efficacy, knowledge, and willingness. Physical education (PE) offers a unique opportunity to implement EfS through the action competence model. This approach emphases the bodily dimension, learning through action, and affective and sensory aspects. However, EfS is not currently implemented in PE yet. It is therefore important to investigate the professional action competence of future PE teachers to identify potential barriers to implementing EfS in PE. A mixed-methods approach appears to be the most suitable for accurately assessing Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainability.

The objectives of this study were: (1) to evaluate the physical education pre-service teachers’ Professional Action Competence for Sustainability (PACesd); (2) to establish profiles of physical education pre-service teachers based on their PACesd; and (3) to analyze the associations between the self-reported profiles and an external assessment of pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in EfS.

A total of 412 French physical education pre-service teachers (Mean Age = 22.61 years, 141 females, and 271 males) completed French versions of the PACesd questionnaire. Additionally, they were asked to respond to open-ended questions indicating: (1) the words they associate with the concept of sustainability and EfS, and (2) examples of how physical education can educate students about sustainability, to conduct an external assessment of pre-service PE teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge in EfS. The responses were coded into categories using deductive approach. Following descriptive and correlation analyses, a latent profile analysis approach was used to establish PACesd profiles. Quantitative analyses were complemented by a chi-squared test of association to examine the distribution of open-ended responses within the profiles.

The correlation analyses revealed positive and significant associations between all dimensions of PACesd, suggesting that improving one dimension could positively impact the others.
Four profiles of PE pre-service teachers were established based on their PACesd levels (high score, moderate to high score, low to moderate score, low score). This result highlights the heterogeneity in EfS competences.

The open-ended questions revealed a greater understanding of the theoretical concept of sustainability and EfS among the profile with the highest PACesd scores. This result aligns with the higher self-reported pedagogical content knowledge scores for this profile. However, the question on practical examples did not confirm these differences and showed very few distinctions between the four profiles in the concrete teaching of EfS in PE. These results suggest that perceived understanding and knowledge of theoretical concepts of EfS do not yet enable pre-service PE teachers to transfer this knowledge into practical activities aligned with holistic and emancipatory visions of EfS in the context of PE. These findings offer concrete perspectives in terms of initial and in-service training for physical education teachers. They highlight the need to provide concrete tools specific to the discipline.