Research Article

On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students

Volume: 16 Number: Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION October 28, 2025
TR EN

On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students

Abstract

Sustainability in English Language Teaching (ELT) is a current paradigm that entails language education as a vehicle for empowering individuals to address environmental challenges on global platforms and to cultivate environmental consciousness and socially responsible mindsets. ELT teacher candidates have critical roles in shaping future generations’ habits for sustainability while teaching English as the ‘lingua franca’ language of globalisation. As educators-in-training, their personal sustainability habits, such as zero-waste and recycling, can reflect on their teaching strategies and set powerful examples for their students. This study explores ELT teacher candidates’ awareness and practices of zero-waste and recycling to reveal their attitudes towards sustainability. Two questionnaires were administered by 288 ELT students from three universities, and the outcomes were obtained through statistical analyses. The results showed that the overall zero-waste and recycling scores of participants was high, and significant differences were found due to age and gender.

Keywords

References

  1. Aksan, Z., & Çeliker, D. (2017). The development of a recycling awareness scale for prospective science teachers. Educational Studies, 43(5), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2017.1312289
  2. Altıntaş, S., Ozdinc, I., & Ceyhan, G. D. (2024). Teachers’ knowledge and views on developing zero waste education within the sustainable development goals framework. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2024.2363653
  3. Arıkan, A., & Zorba, M. G. (2024). Raising pre-service English language teachers’ awareness of sustainable development goals through literary texts. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 25(8), 1681–1695. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2023-0256
  4. Artvinli, E., & Bayar, V. (2018). Recycling as a value in primary and secondary curriculums. Osmangazi Journal of Educational Research, 5(1), 18–34. http://ojer.ogu.edu.tr/Storage/OsmangaziJournalOfEducationalResearch/Uploads/OJER-V5-N1-2.pdf
  5. Avan, Ç., Şeker, F., & Aydınlı, B. (2023). Investigation of preschool teacher candidates' views on zero waste. Journal of Human and Social Sciences, 6(2), 486–506. https://doi.org/10.53048/johass.137701
  6. Bedir, H. (2021). English language teachers’ beliefs and perceptions on sustainability: English language teachers’ beliefs and perceptions. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 13(2), 1880–1895.
  7. Bilsborough, K. (2022). Sustainability in ELT. Cambridge University Press & Assessment. https://www.cambridge.org/pedagogy
  8. Bowden, R. (2010). Teaching English for sustainability. Journal of NELTA, 15, 1–2.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Other Fields of Education (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

October 23, 2025

Publication Date

October 28, 2025

Submission Date

May 7, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 18, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 16 Number: Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION

APA
Babanoğlu, M. P., Ağçam, R., Adıgüzel, M. F., Dündar, E., Öztürk Karataş, T., Badem, N., & Kutlu Demir, Ö. (2025). On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students. Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 16(Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION), 71-92. https://doi.org/10.51460/baebd.1694319
AMA
1.Babanoğlu MP, Ağçam R, Adıgüzel MF, et al. On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students. WAJES. 2025;16(Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION):71-92. doi:10.51460/baebd.1694319
Chicago
Babanoğlu, Muzaffer Pınar, Reyhan Ağçam, M. Fatih Adıgüzel, et al. 2025. “On the Trail of Future’s Eco-Conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-Waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students”. Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 16 (Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION): 71-92. https://doi.org/10.51460/baebd.1694319.
EndNote
Babanoğlu MP, Ağçam R, Adıgüzel MF, Dündar E, Öztürk Karataş T, Badem N, Kutlu Demir Ö (October 1, 2025) On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students. Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 16 Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION 71–92.
IEEE
[1]M. P. Babanoğlu et al., “On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students”, WAJES, vol. 16, no. Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION, pp. 71–92, Oct. 2025, doi: 10.51460/baebd.1694319.
ISNAD
Babanoğlu, Muzaffer Pınar - Ağçam, Reyhan - Adıgüzel, M. Fatih - Dündar, Esin - Öztürk Karataş, Tuçe - Badem, Nebahat - Kutlu Demir, Özge. “On the Trail of Future’s Eco-Conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-Waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students”. Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 16/Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION (October 1, 2025): 71-92. https://doi.org/10.51460/baebd.1694319.
JAMA
1.Babanoğlu MP, Ağçam R, Adıgüzel MF, Dündar E, Öztürk Karataş T, Badem N, Kutlu Demir Ö. On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students. WAJES. 2025;16:71–92.
MLA
Babanoğlu, Muzaffer Pınar, et al. “On the Trail of Future’s Eco-Conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-Waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students”. Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, vol. 16, no. Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION, Oct. 2025, pp. 71-92, doi:10.51460/baebd.1694319.
Vancouver
1.Muzaffer Pınar Babanoğlu, Reyhan Ağçam, M. Fatih Adıgüzel, Esin Dündar, Tuçe Öztürk Karataş, Nebahat Badem, Özge Kutlu Demir. On the Trail of Future’s Eco-conscious English Teachers: Recycling and Zero-waste Awareness and Practices of ELT Students. WAJES. 2025 Oct. 1;16(Special issue 4 - SUSTAINABILITY ON EDUCATION):71-92. doi:10.51460/baebd.1694319