Integrating sustainability education into teacher training remains a key challenge, particularly in minority language contexts where environmental and cultural dimensions intersect. This study examines how education about sustainability can be effectively integrated into teacher training in such a setting. Specifically, it examines the effects of three elective environmental education courses ‒ introduced during the 2020 curricular accreditation ‒ on the environmental attitudes of students enrolled in Hungarian-language teacher training in Serbia.
The research involved a sample of 150 students over three academic years (2022–2025) and employed a quantitative design using three validated psychometric instruments (RevNEP, ENV, and CHEAKS) to assess ecological worldviews, environmental values, emotions, and behavioural intentions. Data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics, revealing statistically significant positive changes in students’ environmental attitudes: RevNEP indicated stronger ecological worldviews, ENV showed growth in pro-environmental values, and CHEAKS demonstrated the development of affective and behavioural dimensions.
The results suggest that the substantive characteristics of the specialization itself, and the students’ motivations have a greater influence on attitude formation than the academic year itself. The study underscores the dual function of minority teacher education: fostering sustainability-oriented awareness while preserving cultural identity. These findings, based on multi-year quantitative evidence, strengthen the empirical understanding of attitude formation in sustainability education and hold direct implications for curriculum development and international discourse on teacher training.