Facing Economic Gap: Assessing the Multidimensional Sustainability Awareness of Pre-Service Science Teachers

Abstract This study aims to determine the levels of awareness among pre-service science teachers regarding sustainable development. This exploratory study employed a descriptive survey model, with a total of 41 volunteer pre-service teachers in their fourth year of the Science Teaching program at a state university in the Black Sea Region of Türkiye forming the study group. The “Sustainable Development Awareness Scale,” a 37-item 5-point Likert-type scale developed by Atmaca et al. (2019), was used as the data collection tool. In the study, the responses of the pre-service teachers to the scale items were analyzed in terms of percentage (%) and frequency (f), and descriptive statistics were used to determine their awareness levels regarding sustainable development. The study’s results revealed that pre-service science teachers scored above the average on both the overall scale and its factors. Additionally, it was found that the pre-service teachers’ highest average scores were in the “society” factor, while their lowest scores were in the “economy” factor.