Teaching for sustainable development : teachers' perceptions

Abstract

The United Nations General Assembly declared the period from 2005 to 2014 as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The reason for the decade is a growing concern for future generations and their ability to deal with the very real and adverse consequences of decades of environmentally ‘unconscious’ decisions made by their predecessors. When curricula are not focused on sustainable development, what role do teachers have in educating students to make ecologically sound decisions? This qualitative study was composed of a series of semi-structured interviews with four teacher participants at both middle school and high school who all strove to teach about sustainable development in their classrooms. Six themes were identified: motivations, teaching style, teachers’ perceptions of the impact on students’ learning, modeling, spirituality, and challenges to teaching about sustainable development. The teacher participants’ perceptions on empowerment, action projects, student response, and assessment are also discussed.