Waste Education in Teacher Training: Exploring the Role of Context in Shaping Perceptions and Didactic Approaches

This study explores how 130 future teachers (FTs) perceive and address massive waste generation when it is framed through two socio-environmental contexts: waste export from affluent to vulnerable countries and microplastic pollution in natural environments. Using a mixed-methods design, we examine how each context shapes problem perception, attribution of responsibility, and proposed teaching activities. Both contexts foster a systemic understanding of waste issues. Economic drivers are identified as the main cause (means = 3.2/4), while institutional factors are downplayed in the export scenario and individual factors in the microplastics scenario. Proposed solutions center on institutional and economic measures. Ecological impacts are prioritized in both contexts; however, the export case elicits broader multi-sphere interpretations, whereas microplastics are viewed primarily as ecological–sanitary risks. Perceived responsibility is moderate (mean = 2.6/4) in both contexts, though waste export is interpreted more individually and microplastics more collectively. A disengaged profile predominates, particularly for microplastics (76.92%), with most FTs showing limited intention to change personal habits. In terms of didactic design, only 20% of activities in the export context and 50% in the microplastics context are action-oriented. Findings highlight the importance of carefully selected socio-environmental contexts in teacher education to promote systemic reasoning, shared responsibility, and action-oriented learning.