A Case for Sustainability Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Multicultural Teacher Education

Overview & Synopsis

If education is going to offer a remedy for rather than exasperate the problem of the ecological and cultural crisis currently being faced, teacher learning must be at the forefront of the discussion. Current efforts to educate for sustainability rely upon teachers who are knowledgeable, skilled, and committed agents for change. The same is true for efforts to provide equitable education for students from culturally, linguistically, ethnically, and racially diverse populations. But how do institutions of higher education prepare preservice teachers to assume these roles? This article draws upon literature in the fields of sustainability education, multicultural education, and teacher learning to advance the discussion of how to equip preservice teachers to educate for sustainability. Using a generalized framework based in research on discipline-specific pedagogical content knowledge, a vision for sustainability pedagogical content knowledge is proposed. The framework describes the subject matter knowledge, orientations, curricular knowledge, and instructional strategies needed for teachers to enact sustainability education in diverse school environments. It draws upon a wealth of resources from the fields of environmental education, place-based education, and eco-justice education.