Initial teacher training in the framework of a European research project: the DEMETER case study

Abstract

The research involved 9 Primary Education students whose thesis was carried out within the Erasmus+ project DEMETER, aimed at implementing interdisciplinary teaching methodologies to address sustainable development goals. Starting from the hypothesis of the value of farms as learning contexts, teachers and farmers have been supported in co-designing didactic activities and involved in joint training. The student-teachers, at the end of their paths, answered, an open-ended and Likert scales questionnaire to investigate whether and how the project framework had supported them in designing their didactic activities and helped them develop a reflective and collaborative posture. The thematic analysis of the answers shows as strengths of their experience the facing up to an international context, peer-education, relationship with expert teachers and farmers, and the meaningfulness of pedagogical documentation. They report as challenging the need to combine theory and practice and to tailor the didactic practices to different contexts.