This has been an ongoing study of my PhD research. I have been presenting preliminary parts of the study but now I would like to present the final findings of the study.

The main purpose of this study was to find ways in which education for sustainable development (ESD) can be integrated into teacher education. It was a grounded theory study that sought to generate a theory out of the collected data that would explain how ESD could be integrated into teacher education. The research problem was based on the fact that ESD issues are in all academic disciplines and there is no any single academic discipline that can claim ownership of ESD but all academic disciplines contribute to the integration of ESD into teacher education. However, according to the academic structure and setting of teacher education system in Uganda, teacher trainers and their trainees specialize at least in one or two academic discipline. Becher (1989) argues in his book academic tribes and territories that academic disciplines like social cultural tribes have their own traditions with heroes, taboos and rituals and categories of thought, which provide the members of the field with shared concepts of theories, training procedures, methods, specialized vocabulary, a systematic research strategy, techniques for replication and validity, techniques for investigation, checks and balancing, understanding and responding to the world, quality controls, punishment and reward mechanisms, (Hativa & Goodyear, 2002). Therefore, the main question was how could a teacher educator who has been trained and specialized in a particular academic discipline with such attributes as mentioned above be in position to integrate ESD which requires transdisciplinary knowledge in his teaching and learning activities? In other words, how can ESD be integrated into teacher education in spite of teacher´s professional academic specialization (academic tribalism)? In order to find ways in which ESD can be integrated into teacher education, this study was guided by four research questions. These were: What are teacher´s perceptions of ESD? What competencies teachers consider to be important for integration of ESD in teacher education? In which ways can teacher subject specialization (academic tribalism) affect his/her ability to integrate ESD in teacher education? And, in which ways can teachers transcend their professional academic tribalism and integrate ESD in teacher education? Since the study sought to let a theory emerge out of the collected data, there was no a priori theory chosen in advance to guide the study. However, a detailed understanding of the conceptual background to all key concepts in the study such as sustainable development, education for sustainable development, teacher education and teacher´s professional academic tribalism was conducted. This study was conducted in four universities which have faculties or colleges of teacher education in Uganda. Data was collected from teacher educators, since they have the task of integrating ESD in their teaching and learning activities in order to enable in and pre-service teachers to learn issues of ESD in their teaching and learning activities, so that after their training, they can also integrate ESD in their respective places of work.

The study employed Straussian grounded theory research design which is located within the qualitative research paradigm. A grounded theory design was chosen because the researcher wanted to develop a theory grounded in the collected data that could explain how the complex phenomena of ESD integration into teacher education can be achieved. Secondly, the choice of the grounded theory approach was also informed by the researcher´s philosophical underpinnings, that is, relativist ontology, a subjectivist epistemology, an interpretivist methodology, and a balanced axiology. Purposive and theoretical sampling were conducted until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews, observation and document analysis. The units of analysis were the teacher educators. Data analysis procedures include: constant comparative data analysis, open coding, axial coding and selective coding techniques. Out of this rigorous process, a theory called integration of ESD as a relational teaching and learning process by considering multiple aspects was generated. Research trustworthiness was based on five criteria, that is, credibility, dependability, transferability, confirmability and reflexivity. Research ethical considerations are followed judiciously.

The core or central category which emerged through the process of selective coding is, integration of ESD as a relational teaching and learning process by considering multiple aspects. There are four phenomena which were developed during axial coding and these phenomena are: relational teaching and learning process by considering multiple aspects, key teachers’ attributes, enabling environment and tunnel vision teaching. The phenomenon relational teaching and learning process by considering multiple aspects has three properties. These are: relation between a teacher and the learners, relation of what is taught in school to ESD issues that exist in the local, national, regional and international community and relation of a teacher’s teaching subjects of specialization to other academic disciplines. This phenomenon addresses the question of how ESD can be integrated into teacher education. However, basing on the issues raised by the research participants during the interviews and also during the analysis of the data, it was discovered that in order teachers to be able to teach in a relational teaching and learning process by considering multiple aspects, they need to have key attributes and enabling environment. The phenomenon of key teachers attributes relate either to individual teacher educator or to a group of teacher educators. It has three properties. These are: teachers’ competences, skills and values. On the other hand the phenomenon enabling environment has five properties. These are school, local, national, regional and international communities. These two phenomena address the question of what teachers need to be in place in order to integrate ESD in their teaching and learning activities. Another phenomena which emerged also out of data analysis is tunnel vision teaching. This phenomenon has two properties and these are rote teaching and subject-centered-abstract teaching.

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