Students’ Perception of the Teaching Profession as Antecedents of Sustainability in Teacher Education

Abstract

Sustainability and sustainable development have increasingly become critical issues in teacher education and development. Since sustainable development in education is impossible without the professional competence of teachers, there has been a growing pressure for the reorientation of teacher education all over the world and Kenya in particular. However, the transformations in higher learning in Kenya have not been examined to establish the extent to which sustainability have been integrated. This paper explores students’ perception of the teaching profession as an antecedent of sustainability in teacher education in Kenya. The present research was based on the socio-psychological model of sustainable behavior. Ex post facto cross-sectional design was used and purposive sampling methods was used to select four institutions of higher learning in Kenya. A structured self-response questionnaire and interview schedule. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics using statistical tools with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. A sample of 376 respondents filled the questionnaire, resulting in a response rate of 94%. The observed mean age was 22 years with standard deviation of 2.23. Among respondents 216(57.4%) were male while 160(42.6%) we female. Research findings indicate that high 220(59%) percentages of respondents perceived sustainability in teacher education followed by moderate 148(39%) with a combined perception levels of 98%. This presents an implication that the idea of sustainability in teacher education has great potential for future developments in the programme. These study findings present significant implications for teacher preparation strategies for sustainable development in education. The study findings also shed light on the state of preparedness as well as advances made in Kenyan higher education in compliance with global trends in best practices for teacher education in face of sustainable development.