Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)

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 impo...

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Main Authors: Ann-Kathrin Dittrich, Irma Eloff, Wietske Boon, Lucas Weinberg, Maryam Rabani Nia, Kgadi Clarrie Mathabathe, Evi Agostini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-09-01
Series:Education Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/9/1000
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author Ann-Kathrin Dittrich
Irma Eloff
Wietske Boon
Lucas Weinberg
Maryam Rabani Nia
Kgadi Clarrie Mathabathe
Evi Agostini
author_facet Ann-Kathrin Dittrich
Irma Eloff
Wietske Boon
Lucas Weinberg
Maryam Rabani Nia
Kgadi Clarrie Mathabathe
Evi Agostini
author_sort Ann-Kathrin Dittrich
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-8712d4368daa4519afc4eac49f7923982025-08-20T01:55:30ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-09-01149100010.3390/educsci14091000Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)Ann-Kathrin Dittrich0Irma Eloff1Wietske Boon2Lucas Weinberg3Maryam Rabani Nia4Kgadi Clarrie Mathabathe5Evi Agostini6Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaDepartment of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaDepartment for Subject-Specific Education, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, AustriaCentre for Teacher Education, Department of Education, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Student Affairs, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaCentre for Teacher Education, Department of Education, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, AustriaThis 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/9/1000teacher educationteacher educators’ professionalismsustainabilityinstrument developmentquantitative research2030 Agenda
spellingShingle Ann-Kathrin Dittrich
Irma Eloff
Wietske Boon
Lucas Weinberg
Maryam Rabani Nia
Kgadi Clarrie Mathabathe
Evi Agostini
Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
Education Sciences
teacher education
teacher educators’ professionalism
sustainability
instrument development
quantitative research
2030 Agenda
title Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
title_full Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
title_fullStr Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
title_full_unstemmed Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
title_short Assessing the Professionalism of Teacher Educators in Relation to Sustainability: Developing the Teacher Education and Sustainability Scale (TESS)
title_sort assessing the professionalism of teacher educators in relation to sustainability developing the teacher education and sustainability scale tess
topic teacher education
teacher educators’ professionalism
sustainability
instrument development
quantitative research
2030 Agenda
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/9/1000
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