This article illustrates the importance of nature experience for environmental knowledge, values and action. Recent empirical German research on the importance of nature experience will be analysed with regard to research foci, innovative research contributions and selected research results. Research deficits and challenges will be identified. Recommendations for improving nature experience research will be given. The paper argues that nature experience is one central foundation for the development of knowledge and values in relation to the environment. Nature experience has frequently been shown to influence environmental action in everyday situations with low task complexity. The full challenge for education for sustainable development is posed, however, by situations of high factual and ethical complexity. In this regard, nature experience is also essential because of its role in fostering assessment and judgement competences.

The topic of biodiversity is of high value for education for sustainable development as it reflects the interaction of ecological, economic and social issues particularly well. Especially in so-called biodiversity hotspots, among them Chile, natural resources are often depleted for economic interest which, in many cases, is required income. Therefore, economic and social aspects must be considered in order to fully understand biodiversity loss. Being such an important issue, it is surprising that little is known thus far about learning prerequisites concerning biodiversity. This paper presents a qualitative interview study that investigated 16 to 18-year-old Chilean and German learners’ perception of biodiversity and its loss (n = 24). Firstly, the pupils’ cognitive frameworks were analysed. Secondly, subjective theories about biodiversity loss due to resource dilemmas were explored. Three subjective theories that emerged from the data reflected the notion that most pupils focused on either ecological or economic aspects of biodiversity loss. Pupils who concentrated on ecological aspects often referred to incorrect ecological facts. Moreover, these pupils showed difficulties in developing empathy and solidarity with impoverished people, who depend economically on plants in a resource dilemma. A smaller group of pupils succeeded in integrating the ecological, economic, and social aspects. Regarding the two samples, Chilean pupils seemed to have greater difficulties in recognising the social aspects of biodiversity loss, while German pupils were largely unaware of biodiversity loss on a local level. Implications for biodiversity education and future research will be outlined and discussed.

Recent curriculum reform promotes core competencies such as desired ‘content knowledge’ and ‘communication’ for meaningful learning in biology. Understanding in biology is demonstrated when pupils can apply acquired knowledge to new tasks. This process requires the transfer of knowledge and the subordinate process of translation across external representations. This study sought ten experts’ views on the role of transfer and translation processes in biology learning. Qualitative analysis of the responses revealed six expert themes surrounding the potential challenges that learners face, and the required cognitive abilities for transfer and translation processes. Consultation with relevant curriculum documents identified four types of biological knowledge that students are required to develop at the secondary level. The expert themes and the knowledge types exposed were used to determine how pupils might acquire and apply these four types of biological knowledge during learning. Based on the findings, we argue that teaching for understanding in biology necessitates fostering ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ transfer (and translation) processes within learners through the integration of knowledge at different levels of biological organization.

Self-efficacy beliefs are important for teachers to conduct Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Self-efficacy instruments for teaching ESD mainly focus on primary education, and theory-driven instruments are lacking. Thus, we developed an instrument for secondary education reflecting eight subcategories of a science teaching pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model, transferred to teaching ESD. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (n₁ = 162) and a confirmatory factor analysis (n₂ = 236) with mainly pre-service biology, politics, and geography teachers for secondary education. We identified seven self-efficacy beliefs of teaching ESD factors. Six of these factors showed an expected low or middle correlation with self-rated content knowledge of SD-relevant issues (divergent validity). Pre-service teachers’ ESD teaching self-efficacy beliefs were rather positive, missing clear differences due to studying biology, politics, and geography. Bachelor students had higher self-efficacy beliefs than Master of Education students regarding four factors. Only 32 of 113 Bachelor students completed any ESD course at that time. They could have overestimated their own skills or underestimated teaching ESD. Current participation in at least one ESD course positively influenced three self-efficacy factors. Since barely any pre-service teacher currently participated in or completed more than three ESD courses at the time of the study, there is room for a stronger focus on ESD in German teacher education.

Interdisciplinary science teaching is an issue in various countries. One example in Europe is Germany, especially regarding comprehensive schools. At the same time, German teacher education is primarily subject-specific. An examination of data on self-efficacy beliefs is helpful for understanding the qualifications of teachers for interdisciplinary science. Previous measurement instruments for teaching biology, chemistry, physics, and science lack a literature-based, theory-based, or curricular-valid measurement or a systematic obstacle to overcome. Thus, to meet these requirements, this research developed a draft for a new instrument to measure self-efficacy beliefs of interdisciplinary science teaching (SElf-ST). As the theoretical base, the instrument operationalizes a model of pedagogical content knowledge for teaching science and adapts it to self-efficacy beliefs. In a cross-sectional study (N = 114 pre-service and trainee teachers), a ten-factor-solution for self-efficacy beliefs resulted from an exploratory factor analysis (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin-criterion = 0.858, α = 0.70–0.86). Nine factors are linked to the theoretical model. An additional tenth factor emerged: Teaching Ethically Relevant Issues. Nine factors show low and medium correlations with teaching experience. Eight factors show at least low correlations with self-rated content knowledge in no less than one of the three subjects. In general, science-specific factors show rather low or medium correlations, and generic factors (e.g., Applying Media, and Applying Methods of Evaluation) show low or no correlations. This result is in accordance with the context specificity of self-efficacy beliefs. These results meet most of the research expectations and provide initial indications of the concurrent, curricular, and divergent validity of the SElf-ST instrument. The paper argues for the development of a new, theory-based instrument to measure self-efficacy beliefs of interdisciplinary science teaching.

Education is a central strategy in terms of sustainable development (SD) and can contribute to solving global challenges like biodiversity loss and climate change. Content knowledge represents one base for teaching education for sustainable development (ESD). Therefore, identifying teaching and learning prerequisites regarding SD challenges in teacher education is crucial. The focus of the paper was to assess and learn more about student teachers’ procedural knowledge regarding issues of biodiversity and climate change, by using an expert benchmark. The aims of the study are to describe and identify (i) differences between students’ and experts’ effectiveness estimations, (ii) differences in bachelor and master students’ procedural knowledge, and (iii) differences between procedural knowledge of students studying different ESD-relevant subjects. Student teachers at eight German universities (n = 236) evaluated the effectiveness of solution strategies to SD challenges. The results showed high deviations in the effectiveness estimations of experts and students and, therefore, differing procedural knowledge. The lack of student teachers’ interdisciplinary knowledge to reduce biodiversity loss and climate change seemed to be largely independent of their study program and ESD-relevant subject. One reason for this may be the generally low number of ESD-relevant courses they attended. This study suggests further longitudinal research in order to make clear statements about changes in SD-related knowledge during teacher education.