PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY AND READINESS TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Numerous studies have highlighted the pivotal role of environmental education (EE) in addressing environmental problems. As teachers are expected to foster environmental literacy (EL) among their learners, they must be environmentally literate themselves and ready to integrate environmental concepts across disciplines. This study assessed the EL and EE teaching readiness of 622 randomly-selected pre-service teachers (PSTs) in a state university in the Philippines. The study found that the majority of the respondents had average levels of environmental knowledge, have positive environmental attitudes and often practiced actions reflecting pro-environmental behavior. PSTs also had a very high perceived readiness to integrate environmental concepts into their teaching. A significant difference in the environmental knowledge of PSTs was observed using their program (p < .01), year level (p = 0.038), and their exposure to a standalone environmental course (p < .01) as grouping factors. The environmental attitude was found to be significantly different between males and females (p=.004), across programs (p=.004), and exposure to an environmental course (p=.003). Environmental behavior significantly differed when PSTs were grouped as to year level (p < .01) and program (p=.014). PSTs in their senior year and those exposed to at least one environmental course had the highest levels of readiness to integrate EE. Lastly, environmental knowledge, attitudes, and pro-environment behavior were found to be significantly related to PSTs' readiness to teach EE. Consideration of the findings in the crafting of the Environmental Education course syllabus for PSTs was recommended.