An Empirical Study on the Influencing Factors of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies of Pre-Service Teachers in Yunnan Province: A Mediated Model Analysis of Sustainable Leadership, ESD Holism, and ESD Pluralism

บทคัดย่อ

Amid the escalating challenges of global climate change and sustainable development, education is considered the core force in promoting a sustainable future. Cultivating pre-service teachers with professional action competence in education for sustainable development (ESD) is of enormous strategic significance for achieving educational reform and social sustainable development. However, the current systematic empirical quantitative research on pre-service teachers’ ESD competence is still relatively limited. To this end, the specific research objectives are as follows: 1) To study the levels of sustainable leadership, ESD holism, ESD pluralism, and professional action competence in ESD among pre-service teachers. 2) To examine the direct causal relationship between the variables, including the direct impact of sustainable leadership on ESD holism, ESD pluralism, and professional action competence in ESD, as well as the direct impact of ESD holism and ESD pluralism on professional action competence in ESD. 3) To test the mediating effect of ESD holism and ESD pluralism in the path of sustainable leadership on professional action competence in ESD. The research target sample is pre-service teachers from normal colleges in Yunnan Province. A total of 527 valid questionnaire data were collected through offline questionnaire surveys, and path analysis was performed using PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equation modeling).

The research results are as follows: 1) The mean scores of pre-service teachers on all major variables were at a high level. 2) The results of PLS-SEM revealed that sustainable leadership has a significant positive impact on ESD holism, ESD pluralism, and professional action competence in ESD. Additionally, ESD holism and ESD pluralism also significantly predict professional action competence in ESD. 3) The mediation effect analysis found that ESD holism and ESD pluralism play a partial mediating role in the path of sustainable leadership affecting professional action competence in ESD.