This study focuses on the design and implementation of the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS), an instrument to assess the professionalism of teacher educators in relation to sustainability in the context of Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the importance of the SDGs, there is very little research on the identity of teacher educators in relation to sustainability. The Teach4Reach 2.0 project, an international collaboration between the University of Pretoria, the University of Vienna and the University of Innsbruck, aims to fill the research gap in the quantitative measurement of this key area by examining the professionalism of teacher educators in relation to sustainability in order to strengthen their identity. The TESS questionnaire was developed in a structured four-stage process that initially included AI-generated items and was followed by expert refinement and a testing phase with participants from Austria and South Africa. The findings discuss the process of developing the TESS questionnaire and include a critical reflection on AI and on the need for targeted professional development for teacher educators in the field of sustainable development.

Critical thinking is widely regarded as a key competency in STEM education, particularly in light of 21st-century challenges such as digitalisation, climate change, and technological transformation. Although critical thinking is included in educational policies, its implementation in classroom practice remains limited, partly resulting from a lack of a common understanding that is both theoretically grounded and usable for teachers. In this paper, we introduce a rubric that aims to support the integration of critical thinking into STEM education. The rubric is based on an epistemic understanding of critical thinking rooted in the scientific process of discovery. It was developed through an iterative design process grounded in the Synergy Model of Critical Thinking and piloted with pre- and in-service teachers in four European countries. Their feedback was collected using qualitative questionnaires and focus groups and was analysed using a comparative analysis of the pilot implementations. Results suggest that the rubric captures the central aspects of critical thinking from a scientific perspective and provides a useful reference point for STEM teaching and reflection. However, its use as an assessment tool for critical thinking in all its manifestations is limited, due to its reliance on subject-specific knowledge. Overall, the findings indicate that this rubric could be used to flexibly support instructional design and professional reflection, rather than as a standardised instrument for assessing student performance.

As access to tertiary education has increased worldwide, the importance of understanding the complexities of student engagement has become progressively evident. Yet, studies on student engagement are frequently abstract, and commonly informed by statistics on completion rates. Understandings of student engagement at the micro-engagement level are often sparse. The current study utilised Innsbruck Vignette Research (IVR) to explore and explain student engagement at a micro-engagement level across multiple subject fields. Four exemplary vignettes were extracted from a dataset of 22 vignettes, collected at tertiary institutions in Austria and South Africa. Data were collected in statu nascendi (as it emerges) during lectures on music, education, physics, and mathematics. Findings foreground the importance of classroom climate, emotional atmosphere, and intimate interaction interfaces between lecturers and students. Findings furthermore suggest inordinate pressure on lecturers for engagement and propose increased advocacy for student agency in the student engagement equation.

Die renommierte Fachzeitschrift „GW-Unterricht“ bietet ein vielseitiges Angebot für ein breites Publikum. Studierende, Lehrer:innen, Fachdidaktiker:innen und Fachwissenschaftler:innen finden hier fundierte Informationen über die gesamte Palette fachdidaktischer Forschung und Praxis des Faches Geographie und Wirtschaftskunde. „GW-Unterricht“ erscheint viermal pro Jahr – sowohl online als auch als Printversion.