Children as courseware collaborators: Using participatory research to produce courseware integrating science and sustainable development

Abstract

UNESCO’s 2014 report on education for sustainable development (ESD), Shaping the Future We Want, shows that there have been worldwide advances in integrating ESD into school curriculums. Although there is a global curriculum in ESD, children as the end users of the curriculum are not actively involved in constructing sustainable discourses. Cognisant of children’s role in materials development, this research investigates how teachers can collaborate with children in producing teacher-made courseware using participatory action research (PAR). The study was conducted with 37 teachers enrolled in a graduate course on second-language teaching. Its goal was to produce courseware that promotes ESD and science concepts, such as global warming and the environment. Using PAR, the children collaborated with the teachers in designing the content. Interviews, focus-group discussions and surveys show that the courseware promoted excitement, science and ESD concepts, but suggested revising and trimming some videos and reading texts.