In Turkiye, the Council of Higher Education manages teacher training at undergraduate level, while the Ministry of National Education oversees teacher employment and primary/secondary education. These institutions carry out interrelated but independent processes, raising questions about competencies of pre-service teachers in equipping students with necessary knowledge and skills for compulsory education. Following the Ministry's 2024 changes, Sustainability Literacy was incorporated into literacy skills, and sustainability was integrated into nearly all courses at all levels. Considering this change, this study aims to examine whether the courses taken by pre-service primary school teachers are sufficient to equip them with sustainability literacy. To achieve this, a survey study was conducted, analyzing the curricula of 86 primary school teaching programs and identifying related courses. Results showed that 19 programs (22.09%) offer only a compulsory Environmental Education course, while 55 programs (63.95%) include one or two of the elective courses titled as, Sustainable Development and Education, Disasters and Disaster Education, alongside Environmental Education. Only 11 programs (12.79%) offer a wider range of electives such as migration, world problems, and sustainable energy. Considering the number and content of the courses, it can be concluded that pre-service primary school teachers are not sufficiently equipped with sustainability literacy. This gap will likely limit their ability to guide primary school students on sustainability issues with the necessary awareness and competence. Since primary school teacher training programs already include numerous and diverse courses, it is recommended to integrate sustainability literacy into existing courses within curriculum, similar to the approach taken

Authors:
Sibel Balcı, TED University, Turkey

About the Presenter(s)
Prof. Dr. Sibel Balcı is a faculty member in the Department of Primary Education at TED University Faculty of Education, Turkiye.

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