ERIC Number: EJ1261551
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1691-4147
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Sustainable Development from the Viewpoint of Iranian English Teachers: Practicing What They Do Not Preach
Ganji, Mansoor; Arshadi, Elnaz Kargar; Mahbubzadeh, Sogand
Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, v22 n1 p140-164 Jun 2020
Considering the importance of sustainable development (SD) in developing countries and lack of research on this topic among Iranian English teachers, this study aims at investigating the Iranian English teachers' awareness and understanding of this concept and the effects of demographic features on their understanding. To this end, a researcher-made 48-item validated Questionnaire that consisted of eight scales was administered among 233 English teachers teaching at high schools, private language institutes, and universities. The data were analyzed through content analysis of the open-ended question and quantitative analysis of the Likert-scale items. One-way ANOVA was used to find out about the effects of gender, workplace, teaching experience, and academic degree on teachers' understanding and awareness. The results revealed that although some teachers could not define the term, or provided a general or wrong definition of the term, more than half of the teachers rightly emphasized the economic aspect, protecting natural resources, and caring for present and future lives of people. It was also found that Iranian English teachers highly supported equity, appreciated and protected the nature, enjoyed diversity, asked for education for sustainable development, and led a frugal life. Finally, it was revealed that none of the demographic features influenced teachers' awareness of SD, except for academic degree and workplace factor that affected three out of eight scales measuring SD. The study ends with several implications for materials developers, English teachers, and syllabus designers.
Descriptors: Sustainable Development, Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Gender Differences, Teaching Experience, Language Teachers, High School Teachers, Private Education, College Faculty, Work Environment, Natural Resources, Teacher Attitudes, Knowledge Level, Environmental Education, Content Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iran
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A