Fostering sustainablity in initial teacher education primary programs at Macquarie University

This case study explores how the initial teacher education primary programs at Macquarie University foster the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority. The study investigates the extent to which Sustainability is included in The Programs, as well as how confident initial teacher education students in The Programs feel to teach Sustainability. The study uses document analysis of Unit Guides to evaluate how Sustainability is fostered and follow-up semi-structured interviews with Educators to verify findings. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire to the 3rd and 4th year Students in The Programs are used to evaluate their confidence to teach Sustainability. The Educators and Students are asked about their perception of the relevance and importance of Sustainability and experiences in The Programs. Students are also asked about their perceived confidence to teach Sustainability. The evaluation of Unit Guides reveals limited explicit Sustainability included in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) program, though elements of teaching about Sustainability emerge as described by some Educators. The findings reveal that Students in The Programs perceive Sustainability as relevant, but most feel less than fully confident to teach Sustainability.