Integrating Global Sustainability into Teacher Education in American South: A Self-Study
Location
PARB 227 (Second Floor)
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
Many institutions of higher education in the United States are expanding various initiatives to incorporate sustainability in undergraduate and graduate curriculums and changing the operations of campus facilities to be more sustainable. There also have been increasing calls for integrating education for sustainability into teacher education programs and practices. How to implement the vision of sustainability education in teacher education programs? This research embraces the framework that education for sustainability has evolved from the study of the environment to a broader study of humans’ relationship with the environmental resources that support life on the planet. It is becoming an inclusive area of study that encompasses elements of many disciplines and address concepts such as environmental conservation, respect for limits, as well as ethics, justice, and ecological citizenship. Sustainable development encompasses social, economic, ecological, and political dimensions of complex problems that are simultaneously local and global. This presentation employs a self-study design to systematically research and reflect upon one teacher education faculty’s curriculum and pedagogical innovations to engage and empower teachers in American south to teach about issues related to global sustainability.
The following research questions guided this inquiry: How can teacher educators integrate global sustainability issues into teacher education curriculum? What instructional resources, strategies and learning activities can be effectively integrated into existing courses to help candidates develop competences and commitment to teaching sustainability? How to assess teacher candidates’ learning in sustainability? How do teacher candidates respond to our curriculum and pedagogy for sustainability education? What are the major challenges when implementing them in the classes?
Keywords
Curriculum & Instruction, Teacher Education, Sustainability Education
Professional Bio
Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Kennesaw State University.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
ZONG, GUICHUN and Jiang, Binbin, "Integrating Global Sustainability into Teacher Education in American South: A Self-Study" (2022). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 44.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2022/2022/44
Integrating Global Sustainability into Teacher Education in American South: A Self-Study
PARB 227 (Second Floor)
Many institutions of higher education in the United States are expanding various initiatives to incorporate sustainability in undergraduate and graduate curriculums and changing the operations of campus facilities to be more sustainable. There also have been increasing calls for integrating education for sustainability into teacher education programs and practices. How to implement the vision of sustainability education in teacher education programs? This research embraces the framework that education for sustainability has evolved from the study of the environment to a broader study of humans’ relationship with the environmental resources that support life on the planet. It is becoming an inclusive area of study that encompasses elements of many disciplines and address concepts such as environmental conservation, respect for limits, as well as ethics, justice, and ecological citizenship. Sustainable development encompasses social, economic, ecological, and political dimensions of complex problems that are simultaneously local and global. This presentation employs a self-study design to systematically research and reflect upon one teacher education faculty’s curriculum and pedagogical innovations to engage and empower teachers in American south to teach about issues related to global sustainability.
The following research questions guided this inquiry: How can teacher educators integrate global sustainability issues into teacher education curriculum? What instructional resources, strategies and learning activities can be effectively integrated into existing courses to help candidates develop competences and commitment to teaching sustainability? How to assess teacher candidates’ learning in sustainability? How do teacher candidates respond to our curriculum and pedagogy for sustainability education? What are the major challenges when implementing them in the classes?
