The aim of this research was to study student teachers’ perceptions of
their competence concerning sustainable development (the coverage and usefulness of SD in
their pedagogical studies) and of their opportunities to influence pupils’ way
of taking responsibility of the environment. The data were collected using a
questionnaire and interviews. The results show that the student teachers regarded
the teaching of SD as being important and useful. Themes such as solving
conflicts related to environmental problems, discussion of the practical
solutions of environmental problems and processing the themes concerning social
sustainability were seen as the central ones by the student teachers. They were
familiar with the obligatory contents of SD in the national core curricula.
They also regarded the contents of SD as subject bound, future oriented and
including personal meanings. However, the student teachers lack a holistic
understanding of SD and of its teaching at school. SD should be included in the
pedagogical study program due to the shortage and incoherence of SD studies.
Results show that content-based and pedagogical SD studies as presented in the
national core curricula should also be included in the compulsory studies for
all Finnish subject student teachers.