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Education for sustainable development in the senior Earth and Environmental Science syllabus in Queensland, Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2020

Louisa Tomas Open the ORCID record for Louisa Tomas [Opens in a new window] ,
Reece Mills Open the ORCID record for Reece Mills [Opens in a new window] ,
Donna Rigano  and
Maryam Sandhu
Louisa Tomas*
Affiliation:
College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Reece Mills
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Donna Rigano
Affiliation:
College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Maryam Sandhu
Affiliation:
Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: Louisa.Tomas@jcu.edu.au
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Abstract

In Queensland, Australia, a new senior Earth and Environmental Science (EES) syllabus has been approved for first implementation in 2019. Given the natural alignment between EES and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this study employs document analysis to investigate the extent to which the intended curriculum reflects the tenets of ESD. An exploratory content analysis examined the frequency of keywords to identify any prominent sustainability themes that might underpin the syllabus, while a curriculum key guided a deeper analysis according to four tenets of ESD: Learning content; Pedagogy and learning environments; Societal transformation; and Learning outcomes. These analyses found that the ESD tenets reflected in the syllabus is limited chiefly to sustainability learning content, while broader notions of ESD, like the promotion of transformative learning, are marginalised or absent. Instead, the syllabus reflects a technical orientation to curriculum, underpinned by a neoliberal agenda. It is argued that the Queensland EES syllabus represents a missed opportunity to engage students with ESD. In a policy climate where achievement and accountability dominate educational discourse, there is an inherent risk that ESD will fall by the wayside, given it is not prioritised in the intended curriculum. Implications for curriculum development are also discussed.

Keywords

education for sustainable developmentEarth and environmental sciencecurriculum analysissenior schooling
Type
Article
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 44 - 62
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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