Education for sustainable development in the senior Earth and Environmental Science syllabus in Queensland, Australia

Abstract

In Queensland, Australia, a new senior Earth and Environmental Science (EES) syllabus has been approved for first implementation in 2019. Given the natural alignment between EES and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this study employs document analysis to investigate the extent to which the intended curriculum reflects the tenets of ESD. An exploratory content analysis examined the frequency of keywords to identify any prominent sustainability themes that might underpin the syllabus, while a curriculum key guided a deeper analysis according to four tenets of ESD: Learning content; Pedagogy and learning environments; Societal transformation; and Learning outcomes. These analyses found that the ESD tenets reflected in the syllabus is limited chiefly to sustainability learning content, while broader notions of ESD, like the promotion of transformative learning, are marginalised or absent. Instead, the syllabus reflects a technical orientation to curriculum, underpinned by a neoliberal agenda. It is argued that the Queensland EES syllabus represents a missed opportunity to engage students with ESD. In a policy climate where achievement and accountability dominate educational discourse, there is an inherent risk that ESD will fall by the wayside, given it is not prioritised in the intended curriculum. Implications for curriculum development are also discussed.

Are the sustainability-oriented skills and competencies of business graduates meeting or missing employers’ needs? Perspectives of regional employers

“…These are as follows: the ability to be self-critical; the ability to anticipate and estimate consequences; the competency for evaluation; the ability to motivate and inspire others and the ability to analyse interdependencies. It is recognised in the literature that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) must have three key features: the intent to develop citizens prepared to take action, the need for a holistic approach to ESD and the goal for education to be transformational (Tomas et al, 2019). There is, however, a debate in the literature as to whether some competencies are personal attributes of an individual and whether there may be specific competencies that some individuals will never be able to master (Sultana, 2009).…”

“…Our research differs from the existing literature in relation to its context: the focus is on regional employers and their perspectives. The employers are based in a region that is heavily focused on expanding resource extraction, and research has found that the high school curriculum in this region is underpinned by a neoliberal agenda and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is not prioritised in the syllabus (Tomas et al, 2019). Place-based approaches are important since climate change mitigation initiatives are being undermined by economic interests (Muroi & Bertone, 2019).…”

Reflection of an Online Climate Change Course and Its Pedagogies: Retrospection and Prospect

“…Future improvement could focus on simplifying the contents further for the first-year learners, simplifying the English used in the learning materials and in class, as well as designing more interactive activities using different online platforms, particularly games [6,19]. For a better learning experience, it is worthwhile to invest in good internet, and institutional support could be provided.…”

“…DESD strived to make sustainability a part of people's mentality so as to promote actions for sustainability [3]. Courses on sustainable development were rolled out by universities in response to DESD and elements of sustainability were embedded into the curricula of pre-primary, primary and secondary education [4][5][6]. Pedagogies suited to ESD were also developed during DESD [7].…”

Monitoring Progress of Change: Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within Documents of the German Education System

“…Concerning the criterion of independence, particularly (self-)reporting by countries or organizations has, given its political nature, sometimes remained uncritical in focusing on achievements and success stories instead of creating transparency regarding failures, problems, and effective ways for improvement [22]. Regarding the encompassing and long-term nature of the approach, the majority of current international monitoring projects evaluate ESD in specific educational contexts such as within institutions or programs [17], certain subjects (e.g., [23][24][25]) or only consider specific educational sectors (e.g., [26,27]). These institution-, field-, or subject-specific insights are decisive for a detailed and differentiated understanding of aspects of the education process.…”