Education for sustainable development: comparative analysis of internship programs in preparing biology teachers

Alem Abdildauly, A. S. Bakhtaulova, Svetlana Kazbekovna Turasheva, M. Haas

2025

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DOI 10.1088/1755-1315/1544/1/012015
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Abstract The issue of training highly qualified pedagogical staff continues to be of paramount importance, undergoing periodic transformations in response to the modernization and enrichment of approaches to teaching biological sciences. This research undertakes a comparative examination of educational frameworks in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and the United States with regard to the preparation of future biology educators. It also outlines a conceptual model for enhancing students’ research proficiency, formulating targeted recommendations derived from the analysis of these programs. The structure and scope of both academic and field-based internships were scrutinized, given their role in consolidating competencies and translating theoretical knowledge into practice. The necessity of fostering research-oriented skills in biology teacher preparation is substantiated. A review of school-level biology curricula served as the basis for proposing modules and subject areas essential for laboratory investigations, experimental modeling, and supervised research projects. Adopting these elements aligns with reformed education content, cultivating subject-specific expertise alongside functional literacy. The analysis is grounded in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) to ensure comparability across contexts. Findings highlight how well-structured internship programs foster subject knowledge, practical skills, and research capabilities, essential for promoting environmental literacy and supporting United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Based on this comparison, a model is proposed for integrating sustainability-related competencies into biology teacher training, ensuring future educators can address ecological and sustainability challenges in school curricula. The distinctive contribution of this work lies in its integrative comparative perspective and in the formulation of concrete recommendations for higher education institutions engaged in training biology teachers.