Designing Visual Arts Education for Sustainability: An Arts-Based Approach to Fostering Ecological Awareness in Pre-Service Teachers

Visual arts education (VAE) offers a promising pedagogical space for addressing sustainability challenges by engaging the cognitive, emotional, and ethical dimensions of learning. This study examines how engagement with contemporary visual arts and art-based pedagogical practices can foster ecological thinking, ecological literacy, and sustainability awareness among pre-service teachers. The research was conducted over one academic year (2022/2023) within two visual arts courses attended by a total of 69 second- and third-year students enrolled in a teacher education programme. Using a qualitative, interpretative research design, the study investigated how selected contemporary artworks addressing ecological themes were pedagogically contextualised and discussed, and how students engaged with these artworks through dialogue, reflection, and their own art-making processes. Data were collected from students’ written reflections, group discussions, and visual works, and analysed using an interpretative framework informed by visual hermeneutics and sustainability education discourse. The findings indicate that engagement with contemporary visual art can foster the development of ecological literacy by enabling students to integrate experiential, affective, reflective, and relational dimensions of sustainability into their understanding of environmental issues. In line with the objectives of SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), the study contributes to existing literature by demonstrating the pedagogical potential of visual arts education within teacher education and Education for Sustainable Development.