This study, conducted at the University of Valencia, involved 167 undergraduate pre-service teachers in the Primary Education degree program. Initial assessments revealed limited familiarity with ecofeminism among participants (only 12% recognized the term), with some expressing essentialist views about women's relationship with nature. These were reflected in statements such as "Because of our qualities and the ability to create life inside of us. Ecofeminism is a philosophy that recognizes the interconnectedness between ecological degradation and social issues, particularly gender inequity. The educational intervention was structured in three phases: first, students completed a WebQuest exploring global ecofeminist movements; second, they analyzed ecofeminist cultural products including a novel and a film; and finally, they created their own ecofeminist comics targeting specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format where most or all of the information that learners work with comes from the web. It's a structured approach to using online resources for educational purposes. In the case of this article, it was an initial task where students had to identify actions that could be considered ecofeminist and make presentations to the rest of the class about these movements or actions.
The researchers measured environmental attitudes using the Environmental Attitudes Inventory and gender equality competence using the Teacher Efficacy for Gender Equality Practice scale. While pre-service teachers already exhibited high environmental attitudes at baseline (particularly in "ecocentric concern" and "personal conservation behavior"), significant improvements were observed in all three dimensions of gender equality competence: knowledge and awareness, pedagogical knowledge, and attitudes.
The comics created by students addressed a wide range of SDGs, with the most popular being SDG 14: Life Below Water (28%), SDG 13: Climate Action (25%), and SDG 15: Life on Land (19%). Notably, the comics featured characters from diverse regions, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and included people with disabilities, helping to move environmental education beyond the white, Western perspective often criticized in the field.
Student reflections revealed that they viewed ecofeminism as a valuable approach for introducing environmental and social issues simultaneously, empowering girls by providing female role models, developing critical thinking, and incorporating diverse perspectives. Many expressed enthusiasm about implementing ecofeminist principles in their future classrooms.
The authors argue that their findings empirically demonstrate that it is not only desirable but possible and worthwhile to introduce ecofeminist content into teacher education curricula, aligning with goals to achieve SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 5: Gender Equality, and various environmentally-focused SDGs. They suggest that this approach can help prepare teachers who will be "essential agents to pollinating the change needed to attain the all-important sustainable development.
The Bottom Line
This 2025 study presents an innovative educational approach using ecofeminism as a theoretical framework to enhance environmental awareness and gender equality competence among pre-service teachers in Spain. Researchers implemented a three-phase intervention where students explored ecofeminist philosophy, analyzed cultural products with ecofeminist themes, and created educational comics with female protagonists addressing environmental issues. Although quantitative analysis showed no significant change in environmental attitudes (which were already high at baseline), significant improvements were observed in all dimensions of gender equality competence. Qualitative findings revealed that creating comics helped students articulate complex topics in accessible ways and develop meaningful connections between environmental sustainability and social justice.