ERIC Number: EJ1110366
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1881
EISSN: N/A
Knowledge outside the Box--Sustainable Development Education in Swedish Schools
Gyberg, Per; Löfgren, Håkan
Educational Research, v58 n3 p283-299 2016
Background: Sustainable development, as an area of knowledge, appears in several different places in the curriculum and does not fit neatly within the scope of traditional subject areas. In many countries, including Sweden, it has long been upheld as an important tool for increasing understanding of, and dealing with, environmental problems. It is not clear, however, what role education can actually have in the making of a more sustainable future. Even though there are several potential ways for sustainable development to be involved in education, the concept raises many questions when transferred to the school context. Purpose: This paper investigates how teachers deal with the difficulty of defining and approaching sustainable development as an area of knowledge in Swedish schools. Sample: This article is based on semi-structured interviews with 40 teachers, 13 of whom were lower secondary school teachers (pupil age 12-15) and 27 were upper secondary school teachers (pupil age 15-18). The study involves teachers in all subjects where sustainable development is a goal in the syllabus. The study is also based on participant observation in one upper secondary class. A total of 17 different schools were involved, from a wide range of locations in Sweden. Design and methods: The paper builds on qualitative data and the analysis of transcribed interviews and group interviews with teachers in Swedish lower and upper secondary schools. Group interviews, involving three or more people, were conducted on eight occasions. The pupils at an upper secondary school were also observed while they were working on a course called "policy and sustainable development." Data were transcribed and analysed thematically. Findings: The analysis suggests that, according to the teachers' experiences, the demands of equivalence and measurability in school have increased and that this affects how sustainable development is approached in teaching and learning. Three main categories of knowledge were identified. The study also presents two representations that model how teachers may approach knowledge about sustainable development--metaphorically termed "the Accountant" and "the Adventurer"--and their different effects on knowledge.
Descriptors: Sustainable Development, Environmental Education, Role of Education, Teaching Methods, Semi Structured Interviews, Teacher Attitudes, Secondary School Teachers, Course Descriptions, Public Policy, Figurative Language, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Foreign Countries, Content Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Sweden
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A