Below, recent doctoral graduate Aigul Rakisheva reflects on her time and achievement at the College of Education.
What is your dissertation about, and what motivated you to pursue this topic?
Aigul: My dissertation examines how sustainability education (SE) training influences pre-service teachers’ readiness to teach about sustainability and broader socio-ecological issues. A particularly meaningful part of this work is that I co-developed and co-taught the training with Professor Lindgren. It was an invaluable experience to collaborate closely with an expert in the field and to benefit from her insightful feedback, which strengthened both the design of the training and my development as a researcher and educator. I was especially interested not just in what participants know, but in how confident they feel, how emotionally connected they are to these issues, and whether they actually plan to bring sustainability into their classrooms. This topic is both professional and very personal for me. I used to teach Geography for future teachers, and now, as an educational researcher and also as a parent, I think a lot about the kind of world future generations will inherit. Sustainability isn’t just another subject; it’s something that will shape students’ lives in very real ways. At the same time, I kept noticing that many teachers care about these issues but don’t feel prepared to teach them. That really stayed with me. So, I wanted to understand: what actually helps future teachers feel ready and confident to teach sustainability in meaningful ways?
What is one key insight or finding you would like a broader audience to take away?
Aigul: One key insight is that building teachers’ confidence and emotional connection matters just as much as, if not more than, increasing their knowledge. In my study, participants didn’t show large gains in factual knowledge over a short training period, but they did show meaningful increases in teaching self-efficacy and emotional engagement. And those were the factors that really predicted whether they intended to teach sustainability. In simple terms, teachers are more likely to bring sustainability into their classrooms when they feel capable and personally connected to the topic, not just when they know more facts.
How does your work speak to current challenges or opportunities in sustainability education?
Aigul: One major challenge is the gap between recognizing the urgent importance of SE and actually teaching it in classrooms. Many teachers support it in principle, but they often face real barriers, like limited training, lack of resources, or uncertainty about how to integrate it into their specific subject areas. What my work highlights is an important opportunity: teacher education programs can help close this gap by providing training grounded in effective pedagogical approaches, along with practical resources and teaching strategies. Based on my research and evaluation, I also offer recommendations to better support teachers in bringing sustainability into their classrooms.
What was the most meaningful or surprising part of your PhD journey?
Aigul: One of the most meaningful aspects was seeing how participants in my study transformed over time, not necessarily by becoming “experts,” but by becoming more confident, reflective, and motivated educators. A surprising finding was how powerful the emotional dimension (what I measured as “affect”) was. Participants’ sense of care and connection to socio-ecological issues played a significant role in shaping their intentions to teach sustainability. This reminded me that education is not just cognitive, it is deeply human and emotional.
What advice do you have for future/current PhD students?
Aigul: One of the most important things I learned during my PhD is to stay connected to your “why.” There will be difficult moments, times when progress feels slow or uncertain, and it’s your sense of purpose that helps you keep going. I also learned to value progress over perfection. It’s easy to wait for the “perfect” time to write or to feel like you need a full day to be productive, but in reality, consistent small efforts matter much more. Even writing 100 words a day adds up over time, and those small steps often lead to meaningful results. Another key lesson was learning to embrace feedback, even when it’s challenging. It can be uncomfortable, but it almost always strengthens your work and helps you grow as a researcher. At the same time, I realized how important it is to take care of yourself. Your well-being isn’t separate from your productivity; it’s a crucial part of it. And finally, I would say this: trust that your work matters. Even if the impact isn’t immediately visible, the work you’re doing has value, and over time, it will make a difference.
How do you see your work evolving in the future?
Aigul: I see this work expanding in several directions. First, I’m interested in conducting longitudinal research to better understand whether the changes in teachers’ confidence, affect, and intentions actually translate into classroom practices over time. Second, I hope to collaborate with teacher education programs, not only locally, but also more broadly, to design and scale sustainability training models that are practical, adaptable, and impactful. Ultimately, my goal is to contribute to a future where teachers feel prepared, not overwhelmed, to address sustainability in their classrooms, helping students become informed, engaged, and empowered citizens.
Congratulations, Aigul!