How Learning About Climate Change Affects Intention and Willingness to Teach: A Pre–Post Study With Physics Pre-Service Teachers

Thomas Schubatzky^1*Sarah Wildbichler²Rainer Wackermann³Mieke De Cock⁴Lana Ivanjek⁵Magdalena Micoloi⁶Gesche Pospiech⁶

• ¹University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
• ²Universitat Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
• ³Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Bochum, Germany
• ⁴Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
• ⁵Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz, Linz, Austria
• ⁶Technische Universitat Dresden, Dresden, Germany

Climate change education is essential for equipping future generations to tackle environmental challenges. As the global climate crisis intensifies, it is increasingly important for educators to incorporate climate change topics into their curricula. This pre-post study investigates the impact of N = 71 physics pre-service teachers' (PST) conceptual understanding of climate change on their intention to teach the subject. We applied an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model and conducted multigroup path analysis to examine how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control predict physics PSTs' teaching intentions. The study utilized a pre-post approach, analysing changes after an intervention designed to enhance climate change understanding. Findings indicate that conceptual understanding significantly predicts self-efficacy and attitudes. Post-intervention, the relationships within the TPB model mainly remained consistent, with an amplified effect of conceptual understanding on self-efficacy and attitudes and an additional direct effect on the physics PSTs' willingness to teach about climate change. The results underscore the importance of targeted educational interventions in improving teachers' confidence and attitudes toward teaching climate change by fostering their understanding of climate change. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive teacher education programs to effectively prepare educators for climate change instruction.