Education for Sustainable Development, Curriculum Reform and Implications for Teacher Education in a Small Island Developing State

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been identified as a viable means of securing a sustainable present and future. However, the existing body of literature related to Sustainable Development (SD) and ESD varies. Additionally, there is a paucity of studies conducted within the context of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Jamaica which are unique in their biodiversity, culture, economy and society. As a member state of the United Nations, Jamaica is expected to devise and implement strategies towards SD, guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is a need for these strategies to be contextually appropriate and relevant as efforts are pursued to engage in curriculum reform seeking to improve learnersí knowledge, values, competencies and dispositions towards sustainable lifestyles. Consequently, curriculum reform should be carefully aligned with teacher education and its implementers. With this in mind, this paper seeks to i) contextualise ESD, ii) review salient components of curriculum reforms in Jamaica and iii) proffer implications for teacher education in a small island developing state in light of ESD curriculum reforms.

How the concept of nature-based solutions for climate adaptation could be introduced in Master's curricula. Insights from France

“…This is particularly the case of the mountainous, forested and maritime environments. Note that similar results on understudied environments were reported for ESD in small islands (Clark, 2022). Therefore, it is necessary to introduce further the concept of NBaS in these areas.…”

“…Therefore, questions about how environment-oriented courses are given appear relevant. This necessity has been revealed and illustrated in several papers (Clark, 2022;Le et al, 2022;Lozano and Barreiro-Gen, 2019;Farinha et al, 2020), where this aspect was usually introduced through the notion of "Education for Sustainable Development". However, very few studies were dedicated specifically on Masters programs (Trencher et al, 2018) and NB(a)S. Indeed, only one paper (Oral, 2022) was focussed on NBS to provide recommendations for increasing ecological education in Turkish higher education institutions.…”

Lacks, Necessities and Wants of Prospective English Teachers in ELT Departments: A Needs Analysis and Sustainability

“…Needs analysis with ongoing and dynamic characteristics could be thought as an initial step for those who are concerned about sustainable education which is seen as a search and negotiation rather than a tangible objective (Holfelder, 2022). Consistent with the thoughts of Clark (2022), the circular methodology of needs analysis process will allow those seeing education as a transformative process to leave a more sustainable environment both educationally and naturally. This means more studies to show more comprehensive results, and the relation between needs analysis and sustainability as they have basic similarities in their nature.…”

“…From this perspective, needs has close relationship with the sustainable education that seeks and searches for an ideal curriculum construction and suitable material design. Education itself is accepted as a transformative process allowing anyone ñboth as teachers and learners ñ in this process, to be aware of the responsibilities for future generations to get benefits (Clark, 2022).…”

Local food resilience in an effort to anticipate extreme climate in small islands of the Bird’s Head Papua

“…For education, the average respondent only graduated from elementary school due to the lack of junior and senior high schools in their places, and they needed further access to reach the big island area of Waisai. Thus, education disparities still need attention, especially in small and outermost islands [25,26]. The average monthly income depends on weather conditions; with an average of half a month, fishing activities can reach 2.725 thousand rupiahs.…”