Inkeri Rissanen, one of the MTT-leaders, got funding from the Research Council of Finland for a project Developing Teachers’ Mindsets for Transformation: Fostering Cultural Change Towards Sustainability. The project, starting in fall 2024, will explore the interconnectedness of the eco-crisis, climate change and social inequalities. The whole MTT group sends the most heartfelt congratulations for Inkeri and her team! The project’s abstract is below.
In addressing the eco-crisis, climate change, and social inequalities, transforming cultural structures supporting unsustainable lifestyles is crucial. Teachers are key agents of cultural transformation for sustainability; yet, the purposes teachers set for their work are sometimes in stark contrast with the ideal of teachers as change agents. TeacherMind explores, what are the core features of teachers’ mindsets for transformation, and how can these be influenced in teacher education. It focuses on teachers’ core beliefs concerning the ability of humans and cultures to change, which earlier research has found influential for the willingness to act towards cultural change. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected to explore the role of these beliefs in teachers’ transformative mindsets, and a teacher intervention developed to influence them. TeacherMind will deliver a teacher education toolkit and a freely accessible online course for supporting teachers’ mindsets.