Professionalization of Teacher Students of Basic Social and Science Studies through Transdisciplinary Project Work in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The best possible preparation of future teachers for everyday school life through an ideal combination of theory and practice is one of the central challenges of teacher training. The early inclusion of different elements of practice in the first phase of teacher education is a promising approach that has so far been little studied empirically. The present qualitative evaluation study refers to an innovative teaching-learning setting, in which students of basic social and science studies work together with relevant practitioners on real-world tasks in the context of education for sustainable development (ESD) according to the idea of transdisciplinary cooperation. In order to obtain empirical evidence regarding the effect of the format on the professionalization of the students, their learning processes were tracked over the course of one semester. For this purpose, qualitative data was collected through focus groups and from students’ written reflections to identify questions about specific learning moments as well as supporting and inhibiting factors of the learning process. The data show that in addition to the project seminar setting and the collaboration between the students, especially the cooperation with the practitioners influences the learning processes of the students. Finally, the results are discussed against the background of the professionalization of the prospective teachers and in relation to the transfer potential of innovations through the presented setting.