Sustainability-Oriented STEM Professional Development Program: Developing Teachers’ Competencies
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Abstract
This study examines the effects of a six-day sustainability-oriented STEM professional development (PD) program on teachers’ conceptual understanding of sustainability and sustainable development, their sustainability literacy, and their capacity to integrate these concepts into STEM instructional practices. A qualitative holistic case study design was employed, drawing on comparative analysis of pre- and post-program data. The participants consisted of 16 volunteer teachers from different subject areas with varying levels of professional experience. Data were collected using a researcher-developed open-ended questionnaire comprising 10 items and were analyzed through qualitative content analysis involving open coding and thematic comparison. The findings indicate that prior to the program, teachers’ understandings of sustainability and sustainable development were largely fragmented and predominantly focused on environmental dimensions, while STEM was commonly perceived as a discipline-based approach. Following participation in the program, most teachers developed more multidimensional and systems-oriented perspectives integrating environmental, economic, and social dimensions. These conceptual shifts were reflected in instructional practice, as teachers demonstrated increased competence in designing planned, problem-based STEM activities grounded in the engineering design process and explicitly aligned with sustainability themes. However, a small number of teachers exhibited limited or no change in specific conceptual or instructional dimensions, highlighting the non-linear and context-dependent nature of professional learning in sustainability education. Overall, the results suggest that sustainability-oriented STEM PD can support transformative learning by strengthening the alignment between conceptual understanding, sustainability literacy, and pedagogical implementation, underscoring the importance of practice-oriented and interdisciplinary professional development designs.
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Sustainability Literacy, Sustainability-Oriented STEM Education, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), Teacher Professional Development, Qualitative Case Study
This research was conducted using data obtained from the project titled “Sustainability-Oriented STEM Professional Development Program” (Project No. 1129B372401814), supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) under the 2237A Scientific Education Activities Support Program.
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