Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge of Food Systems

Informed consumers are critical to improving the sustainability of food systems. Given that a goal of a formal education is to cultivate civic engagement, schools are one place where people can learn how to make informed, sustainable food choices. Before they can teach their students, however, teachers themselves must be familiar with the complex social and environmental tradeoffs associated with a food production system that prioritizes economy. This study investigated what pre-service teachers (PSTs) know about food systems so that programs can better prepare teachers to educate others on these concepts. Specifically, the researchers inquired about PSTs knowledge about food systems tradeoffs over time scales, and paid close attention to the language used to describe their knowledge (or lack thereof).

The researchers interviewed twelve elementary PSTs who were completing a teaching credential program in Northern California. Interviewees were asked about concepts related to food systems without naming them; as a result, each interview varied based on the interviewees' knowledge. When analyzing the interview data, the authors looked at the language PSTs used to frame their knowledge, specifically whether it was expressed confidently or tentatively. In addition, the data were analyzed to understand whether PSTs were aware of when they did know something and how participants understood short-, medium-, and long-term tradeoffs. Finally, the researchers noted where the participants might have had experience with the social and/or environmental impacts of the food system, which previous research has shown to increase understanding.

The study found that interviewees were overall most comfortable with the short- and medium-term social and environmental food systems tradeoffs. All PSTs mentioned social and/or environmental impacts over these time scales. In addition, all PSTs acknowledged their own ignorance on a subject at some point during the interview. The authors felt this finding was especially encouraging because it meant that PSTs could proactively work to fill gaps in their knowledge; they did not need to first learn what they did not know.

In the short-term, or over several months to ten years, interviewees confidently expressed knowledge about farmworker injustices and agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides. Participants' descriptions of organic farming were more tentative, and several participants acknowledged gaps in their knowledge. Over the medium-term, which researchers defined as several decades, participant PSTs talked about pesticide tradeoffs confidently. Interviewees were more hesitant around the environmental impact of fertilizers, and were more likely to acknowledge ignorance. Only three interviewees (25% of participants) discussed any long-term impacts, which would be seen over the course of many decades or lifetimes. When asked about fossil fuels, all of the PSTs acknowledged a gap in their knowledge. The PSTs who mentioned long-term tradeoffs felt more confident describing the causes and effects of climate change—though some of these were incorrect and common misconceptions. The authors hypothesized that long-term tradeoffs may be most difficult to comprehend because the PSTs lack direct experience due to the very long time scale over which these tradeoffs take place.

This was an exploratory study with very few participants, thus the findings cannot be generalized more broadly. In other words, more research is needed to understand PSTs' knowledge of social and environmental impacts of food systems. Furthermore, because the participants in this study came from an agricultural area, their knowledge may be higher on certain topics than it might be for another group of PSTs.

The authors recommend that teacher education programs incorporate sustainability education. Specifically, they recommend that these programs be designed around the concept of tradeoffs, draw on PSTs' previous experiences and knowledge, and offer varied learning experiences to help PSTs teach about complex tradeoffs inherent in sustainability. Furthermore, the authors believe that environmental education research generally should move away from the deficit model, which is identifying what is not known. Rather, this study's findings suggest that research should instead work to help participants become more self-aware about what they know and do not know.