This study aimed to investigate what kind of
conceptions elementary pre-service teachers (EPT) have of the concepts: species
identification (SI), biodiversity (BD) and sustainable development (SD) and how
well they understand the relationships between these three concepts. The data
of this survey has been collected in Finland and Sweden in 2011. The EPTs (186)
were asked to describe the three concepts SI, BD and SD and their
relationships. Special emphasis was given to the use of mind maps or concept
maps to explain the relationships. The EPTs´ understanding of the three
concepts and their relationships were studied in inductive content based
analysis. The results show, firstly, that the three concepts were connected to
each other via the EPTs´ knowledge or understanding. For example, the
importance of conserving the nature and the understanding of its function or
man´s interest in the nature and understanding of the basic biological
phenomena were emphasized as important matters necessary for comprehending the
multifaceted concepts. Secondly, the concepts were connected to each other via
man´s actions, e.g. when describing the relationships between the concepts
man´s actions were repeatedly mentioned. Man´s action and the way of living
have an effect on the conservation of BD. Furthermore, people benefit from BD
and take this into account when evaluating the importance of SD. Thirdly,it was
found that the students had difficulty in understanding the relationships of
the concepts,  either the connections
between the concepts were not identified at all or they were not clearly
described. Especially the relationships between SI knowledge and BD or SD were
difficult to understand. Therefore,
it is of key importance that the concepts be defined precisely and used consistently
throughout teacher education to ensure that prospective teachers understand
them and their relationships and use them with confidence. This supports their competency as future teachers in subject related matters
and pedagogical content knowledge.