Fostering Pro-Environmental Attitudes in Future Early Childhood Educators: The Development and Effectiveness of an STSE-Based Training Model

Abstract

The growing planetary crisis linked to sustainability, viewed within a global context alongside the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, has increased demands for Education for Sustainable Development and ecological citizenship to be included in teacher preparation, especially at younger grades where values toward the environment are formed. Yet, pre-service early childhood teachers often start in the profession with very few pedagogical models for authentically embedding sustainability within science-themed learning. The present study developed and validated a model for STSE-based environmental education training to enhance pro-environmental attitudes among prospective early childhood teachers. The study was anchored on one of the ten stages of the Research and Development model by Borg and Gall (Yuyun et al., 2025; Nawali et al., 2024; Siantoro et al., 2024; Untoroseto & Triayudi, 2023), which consists of: needs analysis, planning, preliminary product development, expert validation, prototype revision, main field testing, and operational product revision. The product comprised two combined training and training manuals: a scenario book of the STSE training model in early learning experiences, containing science learning and supporting materials. Across the dimensions of usefulness, accuracy, and feasibility of use, the model was validated by three domain experts who represented early childhood education, environmental education, and educational technology. These experts were considered target users, and the validation employed a four-point summated rating scale anchored in R&D conventions (Yuyun et al., 2025; Siantoro et al., 2024). Instrument validation was carried out according to international guidelines for the validation of attitude scales in pre-service teachers (Keleş, 2017; Toro-Troconis et al., 2023). This was supported by corrected item-total correlation analyses, with all 24 items exceeding the conventional >0.300 threshold (Keleş, 2017; Toro-Troconis et al., 2023), and by testing for reliability of subscales with Cronbach's alpha α = 0.897 across the groups of five attitude aspects among these same 24 items (lengthy details not reported here). Effectiveness testing used a one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design with 40 fifth-semester undergraduate students from the ECE teacher education program at Universitas Mataram, Indonesia, after they had completed their field practicum (Sidiropoulos, 2018; Khazen et al., 2025). Five university professors, who had different expertise in upper secondary education and training meeting designs, operationalized the STSE syntax of invitation, exploration, discovery/creation (integrative), explanation/problem-solving practices, and action-taking (Bascopé et al., 2019; Rasis et al., 2023; Yıldırım & Sevi, 2016). In accordance with established methodological norms for sustainability education research, the data were analyzed via Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test and paired-samples t-tests for each of the attitude dimensions (Sidiropoulos, 2018; Hernawan et al., 2022; Sari & Pujiastuti, 2022; Toro-Troconis et al., 2023). Important gains in all four dimensions of attitude (caring for the environment, appreciation of the environment, responsibility toward the environment, and enthusiasm for learning about and protecting the environment) were statistically significant (p < .001). The strongest pre-post effect was in the enthusiasm dimension (t = −7.053, p = .000). The mean effect summed across all dimensions was also significant (t = −34.374, p = .000). Expert judgment rated the product as highly useful, highly accurate, and highly feasible. Methodological Contributions: The findings enhance future research designs by pioneering the application of R&D-based training design in ECE teacher preparation (Siantoro et al., 2024; Nawali et al., 2024). The findings are theoretically tied to theories such as STSE pedagogy and environmental attitude shaping in pre-service teachers (Bascopé et al., 2019; Keleş, 2017). In practical terms, the study provides a feasible training program that can be integrated into university teacher education courses to apply SDG 4.7 and ESD (González et al., 2020; Agut et al., 2025; An & Kwon, 2025).