Preservice Elementary Teachers' Ambivalence Toward Their Agency in Climate Change Action

• In Event: Teacher Leadership Within STEM

Abstract

Drawing from scholarship in science education on agency and emotions, pre- service elementary teachers’ (PSETs) expressions of agency and emotions were examined. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine PSETs at the beginning and end of a semester-long science course on climate change to learn how they perceived of their agency in climate change. In doing so, we also attended to their emotional expressions as they indicate personal relevance, which informs action. Using open, iterative coding, the 18 interviews were analyzed, uncovering two sets of ambivalence within their perceptions of agency. Ambivalence in relation to time was evidenced as PSETs prioritized their agency in the future as teachers, rather than as current college students or citizens.

Author

• Elizabeth Hufnagel, University of Maine