Education for Sustainability in Primary English Education

Abstract

In English-speaking countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, English language forms the basis for communication and understanding about the world in which we live, the way we communicate to others and how we seek to make sense of what is happening around us. In all areas of the curriculum, including education for sustainability (EfS), students' skills in using and manipulating spoken and written language will determine the quality of their understanding and beliefs, and support their efforts to take reasoned action for the future. Students need to know about, and be able to use, appropriate language for specific purposes across all eight learning areas. This chapter presents some of the recent curriculum developments in primary English education in the Australian and New Zealand contexts. It reviews situated literacies of place, provides some curriculum models as examples for developing language and literacy so that students can take action, provides examples of literature that focus on environmental issues which can be incorporated into studies about EfS, and highlights the language knowledge and skills that students require to develop conceptual understanding about the environment and sustainable practices.