99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
EDEN - Educational Environments with Nature. Toward an interdisciplinary green curriculum with plants.
Giusi Boaretto
Free University of Bolzano Bozen, Italy
Presenting Author: Boaretto, Giusi
To heal the planetary community in terms of humans listening to non-humans, it is essential to become aware of the symbiotic bond that interconnects them. Environmental historian Linda Lear, in the introduction to Rachel Carson's book “The Sense of Wonder. A celebration of nature for parents and children” (2017), reminds us that “the child intuitively apprehends the truth that most adults have forgotten – we are all part of the natural world” (p.9). The awareness of being what Clement calls symbiotic man, i.e. the perception of oneself as part of the environment, requires the creation of a virtuous circle: activating the sense of being part of a system of relationships in order to become conscious of one’s symbiosis with the system itself. This circle is the prerequisite for the growth of ecological intelligence (Goleman, 2009), namely the ability to behave for the well-being of ecosystems. These considerations lead to reflect on the importance of promoting teaching practices rooted in the concept of sustainability, defined as the ability to listen to all forms of life, and oriented towards the promotion of planetary citizenship (Bianchi et al., 2022). UNESCO (2022) urges tertiary education to work in interdisciplinary manners in response to complex phenomena such as Plant Blindness, which undermine the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals (Amprazis, Papadopoulou, 2020). Consequently, the research is characterized by an interdisciplinary ecological framework (Wernli, Darbellay, 2016; Bateson, 2000; Bronfenbrenner, 1986), which places eco-pedagogy (Misisaszek, 2021) and eco-didactics (Strongoli, 2021) in dialogue with anthropology and psychology.
While anthropological inquiries underline the relational structure of our thinking, psychological ones emphasize nature-based interventions – i.e. activities aimed at modifying the living/working environment or changing people's behavior (Shanahan D., et al.,2019). Particularly stimulating is research in higher education aimed at investigating the benefits of actively experiencing indoor green environments (Van de Bogerd et al, 2020). The world of education has the responsibility to investigate the contribution that the plant world, as a pedagogical entity, can offer to the development of such citizenship and, in turn, the contribution that this can offer to the non-human. The research places the university learning environment at the center, investigated as an ecosystem (Niemi, 2021) of teacher-student, human-plant relationships. Its objective is to examine how the formation of indoor educational environments through interaction with plants, which is conveyed by an interdisciplinary (Holley,2017), green, co-constructed curriculum, can foster the development of GreenComp (Bianchi et al,2022).
The main research question is whether is it possible to foster the development of 'GreenComp' in initial teacher education (ITE) students by setting up plant-rich educational environments and by formulating an interdisciplinary green curriculum. Three specific questions stem from this general question.
Q1. How does the presence of plants in tertiary education contexts affect the well-being and place attachment of professors and ITE students?
Q2. How can a model of interdisciplinary green curriculum for higher education focused on the relationship between humans and the plant world be developed participatively?
Q3. How can plant-rich academic teaching spaces and activities facilitate the development of “GreenComp in ITE students?
The hypothesis guiding the research is that educational environments with plants, considered in their dimensions of well-being, place attachment, and interdisciplinary educational and didactic actions, foster the development of GreenComp. These are defined as the ability to identify sustainable values, imagine sustainable futures, embrace complexity in sustainability, and, thus, behave for sustainability. The presence of green classrooms and the establishment of a curriculum, which involve students in active, emotional, embodied, and plant-based learning will mediate the relationship between these skills and the aforementioned concepts
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis research takes the socio-cultural constructivist paradigm as its reference (Varisco, 2002). Its design is a multiple descriptive case study (Yin, 2018) referring to the legislative and educational records of South Tyrol and Italian-speaking Switzerland, and aims at understanding the two realities in which the investigation will be carried out. The case study will be conducted with a mixed methods approach (Creswell, Plano Clark, 2018) consisting of a "parallel" architecture and the strategy of triangulation that allows observation of the aspects under investigation from different points of view. The decision to use such a design and approach is attributable to the following: the innovative scope of the study, from which unexpected data may emerge; the fact that, by involving people from different realities, the variables become valuable elements because of the pedagogical nature of the research; and the possibility of using both qualitative and quantitative techniques and tools. The latter factor will make it possible to generalize and derive data in depth, in order to create a wealth of pedagogically valuable knowledge in multiple contexts. The study will be longitudinal and lecturers and ITE students from the two universities will be involved in the research for eighteen months. Two lines of work are being developed concurrently, the first aimed at the ongoing monitoring of the well-being and place attachment of the students and professors who attend plant classrooms; the second aimed at the participatory development and testing of the interdisciplinary green curriculum. The first line, designed to respond to Q1, involves the use of a questionnaire aimed to investigate well-being and place attachment, and semi-structured interviews to investigate quantitative data. In the second line, related to Q.2, three focus groups for each university are planned, which will flow into the interdisciplinary curriculum proposal. The two lines of work will be crossed at the end of the project to answer Q.3 through a triangulation process conducted through the use of pre and post qualitative-quantitative questionnaires to investigate both processes and results for students and teachers, focus groups with students, and participant observation. The involvement of students takes place in top-down and bottom-up modes: top-down because they are involved in activities prepared by professors, bottom-up because the voices of the students are considered during a sit-in to request their ideas for direct involvement in the EDENLab projects.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe project concretely intends to nurture an emotionally and socially oriented eco-education thanks to joint actions: the creation of educational settings with plants and the implementation of an interdisciplinary curriculum for ITE that supports the systematic development of the ecological intelligence of planetary citizens (Morin, Ciurana, Motta, 2002). Through the formation of educational environments with plants engaging the head, the hands, and the heart (Sipos, Battisti, Grimm, 2008), it aims to operate transversally in the development of the GreenComp.
Firstly, it is expected that there will be an improvement in the state of well-being and place attachment perceived by the project participants. Secondly, the dialogue between different disciplines and epistemologies may lead to the co-construction of a curriculum hypothesis, centered on plant-human relationships and capable of promoting ecological sustainability. Lastly, it is expected that GreenComp will develop as a result of the increase in well-being and place attachment combined with the innovative plant-based teaching activity. If these results were to be achieved, the theoretical-conceptual framework would be confirmed, thus offering a concrete model for designing educational environments informed by eco-pedagogy and eco-didactics, oriented towards developing empathy for the plants. Sustainability, defined as listening to every entity, with an understanding of how the plant world sustains life, would become an everyday practice.
This contribution presents the results of the first operational phase of the research: first, questionnaires on well-being and attachment to green classrooms; second, focus groups conducted with professors from the two TE Faculties involved and oriented towards the development of the curriculum hypothesis. This hypothesis is based on the needs identified with the survey on the initial GreenComp of ITE students.
ReferencesAmprazis, A., & Papadopoulou, P. (2020). Plant blindness: a faddish research interest or a substantive impediment to achieve sustainable development goals?. Environmental Education Research, 26:8, 1065-1087. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2020.1768225
Bateson, G. (2000). Verso un’ecologia della mente. Adelphi.
Bianchi, G., Pisiotis, U., & Cabrera, M. (2022). GreenComp: the European sustainability competence framework, https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/greencomp-european- sustainability-competence-framework_en.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecologia dello sviluppo umano. Il mulino.
Carson, R. (2017). The sense of wonder. A celebration of nature for parents and children. Harper Perennial.
Creswell, J.W., & Plano Clark, V.L. (2018). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Sage.
Goleman, D. (2009). Intelligenza ecologica: la salvezza del pianeta comincia dalla nostra mente. BUR.
Holley, K.A. (2017). Interdisciplinary Curriculum and Learning in Higher Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.
Misiaszek, G.W. (2021). Ecopedagogy: Critical Environmental Teaching for Planetary Justice and Global Sustainable Development. Bloomsbury Critical Education.
Morin, E., Motta,R., & Ciurana, E.R. (2002). Educar en la era planetaria. El pensamiento complejo como Método de aprendizaje en el error y la incertitudine humana. Universita de Valladoid.
Niemi, H. (2021). Teacher Education in at the Crossroads—Educational Ecosystems for Equity and Quality of Learning. In Zhu, X., Song, H. (Eds) Envisioning Teaching and Learning of Teachers for Excellence and Equity in Education. Perspectives on Rethinking and Reforming Education (pp. 3-21). Springer.
Shanahan D., Astell-Burt, T., Barber, E.A., Brymer, E., Cox, D.T.C., Dea, J., Depledge, M., Fuller, R.A., Hartig, T., Irvine, K.N., Jones, A., Kikillus, H., Lovell, R., Mitchele, R., Niemelä, J., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Pretty, J., Townsend, M.,…Gaston, K.J. (2019). “Nature–Based interventions for improving health and wellbeing: The purpose, the people and the outcomes”. Sports (Basel), 10;7(6):141. doi:10.3390/sports7060141.
Sipos, Y., Battisti, B.T., & Grimm, K.A. (2008). Achieving Transformative Sustainability Learning: Engaging Head, Hands and Heart. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 9, 68-86. doi:10.1108/14676370810842193.
Strongoli, R.C. (2021). Verso un’ecodidattica. Tempi, spazi, ambienti. PensaMultimedia.
Unesco. (2022). Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global sustainability. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380519
Van den Bogerd, N., Dijkstra, S.C., Koole, S.L., Seidell, J.C., De Vries, R., & Maas, J. (2020). Nature in the indoor and outdoor study environment and secondary and tertiary education students’ well-being, academic outcomes, and possible mediating pathways: A systematic review with recommendations for science and practice. Health and Place, 66, 102403. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102403.
Varisco, B.M. (2002). Varisco, B.M. (2002). Costruttivismo socio-culturale. Genesi filosofiche, sviluppi pedagogici, applicazioni didattiche. Carocci.
Wernli, D., & Darbellay, F. (2016). Interdisciplinarity and the 21st century research-intensive university. League of European Research Universities.
99. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Paper
The Role of Wellbeing and Disposition of Preservice Teachers: Predicting Future Teacher Behaviour Relating to Diversity and Equity
Laura Smith, Ruth Aston, Janet Clinton
The University of Melbourne, Australia
Presenting Author: Smith, Laura
The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between wellbeing and health-related characteristics of preservice teachers and intended behaviour in relation to cultural sensitivity, acceptance of difference, and fairness.
Wellbeing and mental health is a major focus of policy, practice and research in the Education sector worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the wellbeing and mental health of many young people under duress. The European Commission stated at their 2021 Education Summit that “wellbeing must be put at the centre of educational policies” (European Commission, 2021).
Currently, teachers’ roles are expanding to explicitly incorporate support for student mental health and wellbeing, implementation of whole school health and wellbeing initiatives, and responsibility to ensure a culturally safe learning environment. Indeed, intercultural, social and emotional competencies are recognised as essential to the teaching profession. For example, a UNESCO report from The International Commission on the Futures of Education called for a new global social contract in which education is strengthened with a focus on social justice and cultural diversity (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2021). The Global Standards for Health Promoting Schools were launched at a similar time by the World Health Organization and UNESCO, as part of a global movement to make every school a health promoting school through consolidating and clarifying a more than 25-year old vision (WHO & UNESCO, 2021). In Australia, the AITSL standards for graduate teachers include a requirement for teachers to create inclusive spaces that promote student wellbeing and engagement (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2017).
Additionally, teachers' own wellbeing and mental health are becoming a focal point for policy, education research and initial teacher education (ITE). Teachers face high intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal demands as part of their roles. The resulting stress has implications for teacher wellbeing, teacher effectiveness and teacher retention. Therefore, there is also a vital need to focus on the wellbeing and mental health of our preservice teachers and provide them with the tools to support their own mental health and wealth being.
The research draws on the Theory of Planned Behaviour ([TPB] Ajzen, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 2011). The TPB provides a conceptual framework that underscores the relevance of examining the domains of interest to look at predictive intention to behave in ways that are culturally, ethically, and socially appropriate. This study was also informed by the work of Viac and Fraser (2020) on the OECD Teacher Wellbeing for Quality Teaching Project. Their framework illustrates the complexity of examining teachers’ wellbeing and how environment, policy and individual characteristics contribute to teachers’ wellbeing. Teachers’ wellbeing, as outlined in the framework, influences student wellbeing and the classroom, as well as the health of the system overall. For the purposes of this study, wellbeing has been defined as the state of mental and physical health, encompassing positive affect, social connectedness, and cognitive functioning.
This study was conducted using an ITE selection tool that gathers comprehensive information about a candidate’s cognitive ability (such as literacy, numeracy and spatial reasoning), personal characteristics, disposition, social interaction, cultural sensitivity, and self-awareness in relation to being a teaching student and as a future teacher professional (Bowles et al., 2014). The data provides an international perspective given that it has been utilised in four different countries and by prospective preservice teachers around the globe.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedA desktop analysis of an existing dataset was utilised to explore potential teacher candidate's prediction of how they might act as a teacher in dealing with the moral and ethical nature of teaching as well as their sensitivity to various cultural issues and diverse contexts.
Data from an entry assessment for an ITE program was utilised to understand potential preservice teachers’ perceived wellbeing and characteristics related to mental health. The Teacher Ability Assessment Tool (TCAT) is a web-based assessment tool that has been developed to assist in understanding the competencies, characteristics and attributes of individuals applying for tertiary initial teacher education programs. The tool includes a series of questions, which concentrate on teaching, specifically, candidate’s experience, reflections on teaching, ability, self, and social interaction (Bowles et al., 2014). A large dataset of prospective teachers from 38 countries was extracted from TCAT and used for this analysis.
The affective items from the assessment tool were used to determine a broad understanding of the self-reported dispositions and personal characteristics, self-regulation, communication skill, and self-awareness and prediction of intended teacher behaviour.
Secondly, these affective or dispositional items were coded for a specific reference to wellbeing and/or mental health. A number of items were selected from the assessment item bank that relate specifically to wellbeing or health dispositions. The TCAT dimensions of Ethics and Fairness, and Cultural sensitivity were repurposed as the outcome measure (intended teacher behaviour) in this analysis.
The relationship between the broad affective variables and intended behaviour was analysed utilising a structural equation modelling (using AMOS, SPSS). SEM was utilised to test the complex hypotheses about the relationships among the affective and dispositional measures utilised in TCAT and the potential preservice teachers’ intentional teacher behaviour. The estimated strengths and directions of these relationships was determined.
To evaluate the effects of Social Desirability in relation to predicting Cultural Awareness and Ethics, a Structural Model with Social Desirability as a covariate to the four predictor variables was run, which entailed removing any influence of Social Desirability from the estimates and exploring the relationships.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsStructural equation modelling was utilised to determine the strength of the relationship between the selected items representing wellbeing and mental health dispositions and the intended behaviour as a teacher as measured by cultural sensitivity and fairness, values and ethics. The model identified clear patterns and connections between these factors. The factor encompassing resilience, self-regulation and self-reflection was a mediator of the relationship and a strong predictor of the relationship.
This research has significant implications for teacher selection, ITE, measurement of classroom readiness, and health education. The model provides a foundation and impetus to suggest the worth of utilising dispositions as a tool for selection into ITE programs and ensure that preservice teachers are supported by health education (inclusive of mental health and wellbeing). Further, the results of this research clearly implicate initial teacher educators in the process and support the notion of engaging in the development of the self-reflective behaviours of preservice teachers and the development of their capabilities in health education.
This research adds to a body of knowledge that supports the worth of considering teacher wellbeing and mental health. The current world of teacher education is complex and volatile given the worldwide focus on quality teaching, teacher shortages and career burnout. There is also a global focus on wellbeing and mental health for teachers and students. Developing preservice teachers' readiness to engage in wellbeing and mental health activities is seen as essential. The development of the self-reflective behaviours of preservice teachers is also a key part of the narrative.
Overall, this study suggests that teachers’ disposition relating to their own wellbeing, mental and physical health, and self-awareness has implications for teacher behaviour, retention, performance, and student outcomes. International datasets (e.g. the PISA wellbeing module) could be bolstered by measures of teacher wellbeing that capture interactions with dispositional characteristics.
ReferencesAjzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. AITSL, Melbourne.
Bowles, T., Hattie, J., Dinham, S., Scull, J., & Clinton, J. (2014). Proposing a comprehensive model for identifying teaching candidates. The Australian Educational Researcher, 41(4), 365–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-014-0146-z
Byrne, J., Shepherd, J., Dewhirst, S., Pickett, K., Speller, V., Roderick, P., Grace, M., & Almond, P. (2015). Pre-service teacher training in health and well-being in England: the state of the nation. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(2), 217–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2015.1030069
European Commission. (2021). 2021 Education and Training Monitor. European Commission. Retrieved from https://education.ec.europa.eu/news/well-being-is-key-to-success-in-2021-education-and-training-monitor
World Health Organization & UNESCO. (2021). Making every school a health-promoting school: global standards and indicators. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240025059
Viac, C., & Fraser, P. (2020). "Teachers’ well-being: A framework for data collection and analysis", OECD Education Working Papers, No. 213. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2021). Reimainging our future: A new social contract for education (Report from the International Commission on the futures of education, Issue. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.
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