Greening the Future: Cultivating Ecological Consciousness and Praxis in Science Pre-Service Teachers through Photovoice
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21057086Keywords:
ecological consciousness, ecopedagogical continuum, ecopedagogy, photovoice, pre-service teachers, sustainability education, teacher education, transformative praxisAbstract
Amid intensifying ecological challenges, teacher education is tasked with cultivating ecological consciousness that goes beyond awareness toward critical and transformative engagement. Grounded in ecopedagogy and critical pedagogy, this study examines how science pre-service teachers perceive, interpret, and respond to environmental issues through Photovoice. This qualitative research engaged 15 third-year science pre-service teachers from a teacher education institution in Pangasinan, Philippines, during the First Semester of SY 2025-2026. Participants documented local environmental realities through Photovoice and engaged in guided reflection using the SHOWED technique. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Five interrelated orientations emerged: affective–instrumental engagement, critical ecological literacy, relational and planetary consciousness, constructive hope and regenerative imagination, and praxis through an emerging eco-teacher identity. These are synthesized in the Ecopedagogical Continuum of Ecological Consciousness (ECEC) Model, which conceptualizes ecological consciousness as a dynamic, recursive, and non-linear process. The study’s key contribution lies in demonstrating that ecological consciousness is present but unevenly developed and partially depoliticized. Participants demonstrate strong connection, awareness, and willingness to act, yet their perspectives remain largely individualized and only partially connected to broader ecological and systemic contexts. The ECEC Model is proposed as a conceptual, diagnostic, and pedagogical framework for understanding ecological consciousness as a process in formation and highlights the need to scaffold toward structurally informed and transformative ecological praxis.
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