Education for Sustainability in Regional New South Wales, Australia: An Exploratory Study of Some Teachers' Perceptions

Abstract

The recent United Nations global summit in South Africa highlighted the importance of education in matters of economic and environmental sustainability. However, education about the environment is somewhat 'constrained' compared with more holistic notions such as education for sustainability (EfS). The literature suggests that EfS has considerable scope for developing students' views of sustainability in a global context with the concept seen as best delivered via an action-oriented, integrated-curriculum approach. Such an approach faces many barriers including teachers' views about EfS and its implementation. This study reports on an inquiry into some NSW primary and secondary teachers' views of EfS. Few of the participants were familiar with the concept of EfS in a formal sense, but they reported that they were already incorporating aspects of EfS into their teaching, suggesting broad agreement with the characteristics required for effective EFS presented in the literature. The teachers seem well aware of the socially-situated nature of EfS and its connection to issues of social justice. Examination of school curriculum in New South Wales suggests that it provides scope for delivering EfS, and if the new environmental education policy for schools is implemented effectively, it may help raise the profile of EfS.