Education for Sustainable Development in Compulsory School Technology Education : A problem inventory

Awareness of sustainability issues is increasingly demanded in society. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a requirement stated in the Swedish curriculum. Findings (Schools Inspectorate, 2012) indicate considerable variations in how teachers in Sweden work with value related issues. It is also found that schools/teachers commonly lack a holistic approach and a common stance in this assignment. Reportedly ESD seems dependent on the personal interests and abilities of individual teachers (ibid.). In order to develop teaching about sustainable development within the Technology subject we need knowledge about how ESD is carried out today (content and work methods). We also need to know how the concept of sustainability is interpreted by concerned key actors in schools (teachers and principals). During the spring of 2013 a pilot study focusing technology teachers’ work with sustainable development within their technology classes is being performed. Based on interviews (teachers and principals) we analyze what are perceived to be the main difficulties associated with the integration of sustainability into technology education. Findings confirm previous research stating that knowledge about sustainability is vague among teachers. Most teachers and principals in the study are primarily (in some cases only) aware of the environmental/ecological aspect of sustainability. The study also points to a discrepancy between perceived and actual need for improving teachers’ competence in ESD. Since ESD is not well defined, fully understood and established among those responsible for the actual teaching there is an evident risk of ESD being treated as ‘one further requirement’ rather than as the asset it actually represents to technology education. It is suggested is that the planning, organization and implementation of future ESD efforts must be coordinated carefully with all concerned parties in advance and be supported more substantially than previous efforts.QC 20150617