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Describing teachers’ environmental identity as part of education for sustainable development

S. M. Felix,S. Clayton

Published 2025 in Environmental Education Research

ABSTRACT

Abstract Education for sustainable development has become a key aspect in educational settings with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Teachers have a key role in educating the younger generations to achieve these goals, which are directly related to SDG4 (Quality Education). People who feel a strong sense of connection to nature tend to believe that the environment is important and take pro-environment positions. The purpose of the study was to investigate primary school teachers’ engagement with education for sustainable development in Norway through their environmental identity. Specifically, we focused on the following research task: Teachers’ ways of identifying themselves with education for sustainable development through environmental concerns. A thematic analysis of qualitative data, collected through semi-structured interviews, shows a strong connection between teachers’ personal experiences and environmental concerns. In addition, we also explored an Environmental Identity scale with the teacher that showed that they think about themselves as part of nature; they share an emotional connectedness with nature with a sense of joy when encountering natural elements and a sense of belongingness with nature that seems part of a sustainable lifestyle through many daily examples they shared during the interview. From an environmental values perspective, we were able to identify two types of altruism – self-interest and biospheric. Our results suggest that teachers’ identification with the environment, such as the way they identify themselves with nature in their daily life personally and professionally, has an influence on the way they engage with education for sustainable development.

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