Exploring Indian Teacher Candidates’ Sensemaking of Sustainable Energy Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Empowering Diverse Educators: Exploring Emotional Labor and Cultural Capital in Teacher Education (Table 8)

Abstract

The research examines how teacher candidates from the Indian state of Kerala make sense of sustainable energy education. Transitioning to sustainable energy sources is considered the fundamental strategy to mitigate the ongoing climate crisis, and such a transition requires not only technological advancement but also a change in the mindset of the citizens. This change could be realized through education. By utilizing the sensemaking framework proposed by Spillane et al. (2002), this qualitative interpretive study provides an in-depth analysis of the sensemaking processes of our future educators from India, which is the world’s largest democracy, with the highest population and the third largest greenhouse gas emitter globally. The findings provide insights into the way teacher candidates perceive sustainable energy education.

Authors

• Arya Karumanthra, Indiana University

• Gayle A. Buck, Indiana University