The Centrality of the Teacher Education Process in Promoting Sustainability and Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable development and societal transformation has gained significant importance in global agenda. Social learning processes will be needed to contribute to real change which is why the 2030 Agenda (UN, 2015) and the Global Action Programme pick up on the importance of education and establish it as one of their priorities. Strengthening the competencies of multipliers is one goal on the way to ensuring inclusive, quality education for all and to empowering everyone to support sustainable development. This goes hand in hand with the question of what knowledge and abilities teachers should acquire in order to be active change agents and what is needed to make the development of appropriate competencies possible. However, the transformations in higher learning in Kenya have not been examined to establish the extent to which sustainability has been integrated. The aim of the current study is to explore, the centrality of the teacher education process in promoting sustainability and sustainable development in Kenya. The theoretical framework of the present research is based on the socio-psychological model of sustainable behaviour. Ex post facto cross-sectional design was used and purposive sampling methods will be used to select four institutions of higher learning in Kenya. A structured self-response questionnaire and interview schedule. Quantitative data was analyzed by the use of descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. The study findings presents significant implications for teacher preparation strategies for sustainable development in education. The study findings also sheds light on the state of preparedness as well as advances made in Kenyan higher education in compliance with global trends in best practices for teacher education in the face of sustainable development.