University teacher training for community environmental resilience

Abstract

Introduction: The global environmental crisis demands an urgent response from higher education. Municipal University Centers (CUM) face the challenge of training professionals qualified to manage environmental vulnerability from local contexts. However, deficiencies persist in the professional development of teachers that limit the development of comprehensive competencies for the mitigation of socio-environmental risks. Materials and Methods: An investigation with a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) development design was carried out. The sample included 25 teachers from the Mella CUM and 35 residents of the Ingenio community. Theoretical methods (analysis-synthesis, historical-logical, inductive-deductive, modeling) and empirical methods (documentary review, class observation, survey, interview) were used. Results: The diagnosis revealed critical shortcomings: predominance of a theoretical and decontextualized approach to environmental education (70% of observed classes), disconnection from local environmental problems (70% of teachers identified less than two problems correctly) and scarce mastery of active and participatory methodologies. Discussion: The results show a gap between environmental discourse and its pedagogical implementation, which limits the capacity of CUMs to act as agents of local change. Conclusions: A contextualized professional development strategy was designed, based on an integrative pedagogical model with a glocal approach, which articulates the SDGs with local problems, interdisciplinarity and community participation. The strategy is considered relevant and feasible to transform teaching practice and strengthen community resilience.