Analysis of the Perception and Experience of Elementary School Teachers and Students Regarding Education for Sustainable Development

This study compared the level of implementation in the educational field to develop future directions for improvement by comparing and analyzing the awareness and practice of elementary school students and teachers regarding education for sustainable development (ESD). A survey was conducted from November to December 2024, targeting 20 elementary school teachers and 300 elementary school students in five regions. The results showed that elementary school students had a high level of empathy for the necessity of ESD. In particular, students in the upper grades and in medium-sized cities had high awareness and showed a strong interest in environmental topics. Nevertheless, the interest in and class experience with socio-economic topics were low. Elementary school teachers also had empathy for the necessity and direction of ESD and recognized environmental topics as important. Despite this, while recognizing the importance of socio-economic topics, the proportion of those covered in actual classes was low. The teachers pointed out the following difficulties: lack of teaching and learning materials, lack of support at the school level, and lack of teacher expertise. A comparison of the perception and experience of elementary school students and teachers showed that both groups had empathy for the necessity of ESD and showed high awareness and experience with the environment and some social topics. On the other hand, the awareness and experience with socio-economic topics were low. The perception of elementary school teachers leads to actual class implementation, which is closely related to the learning experience of elementary school students. Therefore, it is necessary to expand teacher training for the balanced integration of ESD topics, develop practical teaching and learning materials, design customized classes considering learner characteristics, and establish a cooperative system between schools and the local community.