Predictors of In-Service Teachers' Intention and Willingness to Teach Climate Action in Physics Classrooms

Autor(en)

Matthias Fasching, Thomas Schubatzky, Martin Hopf

Abstrakt

Teaching climate action as a complex and controversial socio-scientific issue represents an important step in combating climate change better than it is currently done. This paper examines the intention of teachers to teach climate action if it is a mandatory topic in a national curriculum, their willingness to do so if there was free choice, as well as potential predictors for intention and willingness. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 206 in-service physics teachers in Austria and analyzed the data through Rasch modeling and multiple linear regressions. The findings suggest that the intention to teach climate action in a mandatory context is high among science teachers, and it slightly exceeds the willingness to teach the topic under voluntary conditions. Both constructs are predicted most strongly by teachers’ perception of the topic’s necessity. Additionally, teachers’ perceived social pressure from their professional environment and their self-efficacy regarding teaching climate action are significant predictors of the intention and willingness to implement the topic. While the perceived ease in teaching climate action is crucial for science teachers in lower track schools, those from higher track schools rely on their perception of autonomy more strongly. These insights are important for designing evidence-based science teacher education programs on teaching climate action. Further research is needed to investigate the role of specific teacher beliefs, such as the perception of curricular guidelines, in more detail.

Organisation(en)

Plattform für Didaktik der Naturwissenschaften (AECCs), Experimentelle Grundausbildung und Hochschuldidaktik

Externe Organisation(en)

Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck

Journal

Journal of Science Teacher Education

Seiten

1-26

Anzahl der Seiten

26

ISSN

1046-560X

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/1046560X.2025.2452735

Publikationsdatum

2025

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

503013 Fachdidaktik Naturwissenschaften

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Education

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 – Maßnahmen zum Klimaschutz

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/24c26f1d-ffe5-45e5-b1ca-299b6a4368f5