Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become a central priority in teacher education, including within Physical and Health Education (PHE). Although international research has explored the intersection of PHE and sustainability, empirical evidence from the Canadian context remains largely absent. This study aims to assess Canadian preservice PHE teachers’ self-perceived competence across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability and to examine potential differences by gender and academic year.
In total, 532 undergraduate students enrolled in PHE teacher education programs completed the validated Physical Education for Sustainable Development–Future Teachers questionnaire. Differences across SD dimensions, gender and academic year were tested using quantitative analyses.
The social dimension received the highest mean score (M = 5.80, SD = 1.05), followed by the economic (M = 4.97, SD = 1.34, and the environmental dimension (M = 4.60, SD = 1.57), revealing a consistent imbalance across dimensions. No significant differences were observed based on gender or academic year.
This study provides one of the first large-scale, empirical examinations of sustainability competence among preservice PHE teachers in the Canadian context. By adopting a multidimensional approach, it extends existing European research and confirms international patterns while documenting an underexplored national setting. The identification of a clear imbalance in favor of the social dimension advances theoretical understanding of how sustainability competence is structured within PHE teacher education. Practically, the findings offer concrete guidance for curriculum development by highlighting the need to strengthen the integration of environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability in initial PHE teacher education programs. This work establishes essential baseline data to support future longitudinal and intervention-based research in Canada and beyond.
