The concept of sustainable development is a foundational concept in educational contexts which seems to be interpretable in various terms. With reference to four syllabuses in the Swedish curriculum, our aim is to identify possible ways of conceiving how the concept may be developed in relation to perspectives bringing forth the relation between knowledge about and knowledge for sustainable development.In the analysis, Bernard Williams's distinction between thin and thick concepts is applied. With this analysis, a phronesian strategy is suggested to bring world-guidedness and the action-guidingness together within a holistic interpretation. The phronesian strategy will require action of the pupils and sensitivity to the individual and society as a whole.The four syllabuses in social science seem to combine theoretical perspectives with more or less explicit implications of practical and action-oriented educational methods and goals. However, an individualistic attitude and approach to problems and solutions in our world seems to be favoured, which pedagogically could be questionable.
Education for sustainable development (ESD) raises critical questionsregarding what knowledge should be taught and what the learning outcomes should be. The aim of this thesis is to explore epistemological, ethical, and critical dimensions of ESD. There are two empirical sites. One is a transdisciplinary educational project with upper-secondary Swedish students (n=208) from 16 different schools; the other involves teachers (n=158) at a large Swedish upper-secondary school implementing ESD.The research design is emergent, combining empirical and theoretical studies. A questionnaire instrument to explore students' epistemic beliefs (personal theories of knowledge and knowing) was constructed. Exploratory factor analysis identified five dimensions: transdisciplinary, certain, quick, collaborative, and simple knowledge. These showed predictive power in a multiple regression analysis. Another instrument was constructed to examine teachers' ESD competences. Four dimensions were identified.Wicked sustainability challenges require the individual, education, and society to adopt new ways of thinking, learning, and acting. Calls for transformation, supported by supranational organizations, have contributed to an increased focus globally on competence-oriented knowledge in the curriculum. Ethical competence, action readiness, and normative competence are nested concepts explored theoretically in this thesis. Philosophizing with is a central method, which invites epistemology as a voice into the analysis. Transdisciplinary and pluralistic ESD allow for ethical issues to surface in the classroom. It is theorized that an ESD teacher needs to be both morally Preface When I first began to work as a teacher in upper-secondary school, there were five lecturers, holding doctorate degrees, in physics, mathematics, technology, Swedish and English, at my school. I was inspired by them and started as a "shadow" PhD-student in English literature without funding. For a few years I tried to combine full-time teaching with research studies, but in the end I had to choose. Many years later, falling back on a long teaching experience of English and Swedish, an opportunity of funding from a governmental grant (Kammarkollegiet) emerged, and I was able to accept a position as a PhDstudent at the Centre for Educational Sciences and Teacher Education [CUL, Centrum för utbildningsvetenskap och lärarforskning] in Gothenburg. I got a licentiate degree in pedagogical work in 2014, and now, this second leg of research studies, towards a doctorate degree, the municipality of Uddevalla has kindly made it possible for me to study half-time, teaching half-time. Special thanks to my headmaster Tomas Ländström for being instrumental in making this professional development possible, and thanks to Stefan Einarsson, head of Uddevalla gymnasieskola, for investing in this knowledge project, endorsed by the local educational administration of Uddevalla municipality. Thank you! I wish to express deep gratitude to my two supervisors Professor Olof Franck and Associ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.