Sustainable development (SD) is one of the global and central aims of today’s politics. As stated in Agenda 21, education must play an essential role in achieving a sustainable society. The present research is focused on Slovenian and Austrian biology teacher students’ understanding of SD and education for sustainable development (ESD). The research was carried out at the University of Ljubljana and the University of Vienna. Altogether, 60 Slovenian and 60 Austrian pre-service biology teachers participated in the questionnaire-based study. Pre-service biology teachers answered a set of Likert-type and open survey questions. Less than half of the pre-service biology teachers from Slovenia and Austria had a good understanding of the environmental aspects of SD, but they lack understanding of the interconnections between the environmental, economic and social dimensions related to SD. They describe and connect ESD with environmental education and environmental awareness. Students from both countries know some pedagogical principles of ESD, such as active learning and transformative education. Analysis with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in focus showed that only some of them were mentioned by the teacher students. The results of the research contribute to the evaluation and development of curriculum for middle and high school biology teachers.

Fostering pro-environmental behavior to achieve a sustainable society is one goal of Education for Sustainable Development worldwide. Connectedness with nature positively correlates with pro-environmental behavior and therefore needs to be studied in detail. In this mixed-method study, applying the “Inclusion of Nature in Self” (INS)-scale, we investigated 1) how closely preadolescents from urban middle schools (n = 651, 6th grade) are connected with nature, 2) whether the type of school (general or academic track) or 3) the time spent outdoors influences students’ connectedness with nature. We also explored 4) students’ reasons for their specific INS level and 5) how reasons and levels interconnect. Data show that students’ reported nature connectedness differs significantly with school type and that the reasons for feeling connected to nature are diverse. Positive attitudes and emotions toward nature plus time spent outdoors seem to predict high connectedness with nature, indicating the importance of direct nature experiences.

To build a more sustainable society, one key objective of Education for Sustainable Development is the promotion of pro‐environmental behaviour. Prior research has shown that a connection to nature is positively related to pro‐environmental behaviour and that time spent in nature is crucial to developing this connection. However, recent findings reveal that students increasingly spend less time outside and more time online. This study examined the longitudinal directional effects of connectedness with nature, self‐reported green time and screen time. The relationships were tested with cross‐lagged analysis based on three testing points over 10 months. Urban middle school students (N = 253 (T1), M_Age: 13.23, SD: 0.81, 46.6% female) in Grades 7 and 8 completed a paper‐and‐pencil questionnaire, which included the nature connection scale ‘Inclusion of Nature in Self’ (INS) and two questions about self‐reported green and screen time. Results showed that self‐reported green time, but not screen time, predicted connectedness with nature. However, self‐reported green time predicted screen time. We found strong correlations with previous time points for all variables (INS, green time and screen time). Overall, the results highlight that a decrease in experience in nature and the resulting reduced connection to nature is not driven by screens but rather by other accompanying factors, such as less time spent in nature. Therefore, targeted actions are needed to promote green time, which is why educators should focus on fostering nature experiences. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

To build a more sustainable society, one key objective of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is the promotion of pro-environmental behavior. Prior research has shown that a connection to nature is positively related to pro-environmental behavior and that time spent in nature is crucial to developing this connection. However, recent findings reveal that students increasingly spend less time outside and more time online. This study examined the longitudinal directional effects of connectedness with nature, self-reported green time, and screen time. The relationships were tested with cross-lagged analysis based on three testing points over ten months. Urban middle school students (N = 163, T1 – MAge: 12.23, SD: .81, 46.6% female) in Grades 7 and 8 completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, which included the nature connection scale “Inclusion of Nature in Self” (INS) and two questions about self-reported green and screen time. Results showed that self-reported green time, but not screen time, predicted connectedness with nature. However, self-reported green time predicted screen time. We found strong correlations with previous time points for all variables (INS, green time, and screen time). Overall, the results highlight that a decrease in experience in nature and the resulting reduced connection to nature is not driven by screens but rather by other accompanying factors, such as less time spent in nature. Therefore, targeted actions are needed to promote green time, which is why educators should focus on fostering nature experiences.

In the present study, we explore the perception of urban middle school students’ representations of nature using participatory photography and their nature connectedness. 121 preadolescents (6th grade, age 11-13) were asked to take a photo of what nature is to them and write a short description of what is in the image. In a mixed method study applying the “Inclusion of Nature in Self” scale, we investigated 1) what are middle school students’ perceptions of nature as evidenced through their own photography, 2) what are the differences between students who are more connected with nature and those who are less connected and 3) how can photography be used as a tool to investigate students' perceptions of nature? Students’ nature perceptions were diverse, with a majority showing plants and nature close to home. More than half mentioned positive emotions and a third aesthetic aspects of nature. Students who scored higher on the INS, defined as more connected to nature photographed a greater diversity of phenomena and geographies, many outside of urban areas. Participatory photography proved to be an excellent choice for an inclusive data collection method in Education for Sustainable Development, especially for students with reading or writing difficulties or language barriers.