Search

Formal education for sustainable development (ESD) is in large part dependent on capacity-building and training of teachers as they are the individuals who must both deliver ESD at the classroom level as well as utilize their own knowledge, values, and skills in support of sustainability. In this paper, teacher educators within a higher education institution in Jamaica who infused ESD in their course delivery analyze data collected from approximately 140 of their students pre- and post-intervention to ascertain whether individuals' awareness and knowledge of sustainable development (SD) and ESD had changed because of the infusion process. Preliminary findings indicate that students' understanding of SD broadened after the courses, with most students believing that SD involves social, economic, and environmental improvements that do not come at the expense of our natural resources. Additionally, students' thoughts about ESD shifted, with students highlighting aspects of the interdisciplinary nature of ESD, and ESD as involving equitable, inclusive education. The findings are significant in highlighting how intentional infusion of ESD into courses can enhance students' knowledge and awareness of SD and ESD.

COVID-19 caught the world off-guard, bringing disruption and chaos to all sectors, including education. Within Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the experiences were varied, as were the responses of educational stakeholders at all levels to the crisis of the pandemic. Stakeholders' experiences and responses should inform educational planning and policy, and it is against that backdrop that this research was conducted. This research captures the insights from three webinars sponsored by the Caribbean Centre for Educational Planning, which focused on challenges faced by educational institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the education system. The transcripts from those webinars were used to construct this paper using a generic qualitative research design. The webinars pulled on the expertise of panelists from across the Caribbean and North America. The findings reveal that most stakeholders were unprepared for the challenges occasioned by COVID-19, which translated into further difficulties adapting to online/blended teaching/learning, psycho-social stresses, heightened economic challenges, and disruptions to examinations. In response to these challenges, among the stakeholders, training was implemented, open communication increased, technical and infrastructural resources were upgraded, health and safety protocols were enforced/reinforced, and domestic and international groups collaborated to bolster access for all students. Lessons learned included the need for collaboration, equity, access, and opportunities, and exercising the courage to radically rethink the region's 'educational futures' by incorporating the shared perspectives of key stakeholders in educational planning and policy making.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a significant field for the Caribbean region and one that has been steadily developing from the 1980s onwards. The current ESD for 2030 framework offers an opportune moment for reflection on progress to-date, current challenges and future prospects for the field. With this in mind, this article shares perspectives gathered from qualitative interviews with those working in the foreground of the field across four Caribbean countries. Thoughts shared include the need to redefine and recontextualise development and education in the region, incorporate indigenous and traditional knowledge in ESD, and ensure more coherence amongst efforts within countries. The insights offered highlight significant areas for researchers and practitioners to capitalise on as ESD and the wider education systems within which it is framed are re-envisioned towards more resilient and sustainable societies.

Caribbean nations are amongst those considered the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. This necessitates climate change education (CCE) to enhance the mitigation and adaptation capacities of the region's populace. CCE is necessary at all levels of the education system, from pre-primary through to the tertiary level. To facilitate this, teachers must be exposed to CCE, understanding what climate change is, its impacts, and how to respond to climate change. Additionally, in order to facilitate students' (as well as their own) abilities to visualise various climate futures and respond to the range of emotions associated with climate change, teachers' own visioning skills must be developed. This article focuses on educators' engagement' with a low-carbon visioning exercise in a CCE course for educators at a regional university in the Caribbean. Thematic analysis of the document and interview data offers illustrations of the possibilities of visioning for awakening students to alternative future possibilities and engendering hope.

Mentoring within higher education develops capacity of early-career academic staff and doctoral students. For students in taught Master's degree programs who may not envision themselves moving on to doctoral studies, research competencies are still needed as they include transferable skills and enable professionals to undertake research within their contexts. Those working within educational settings, for instance, can carry out action research to address issues within their institutions. This generic qualitative study explored the experiences of mentors and mentees in relation to researcher development of graduate research students in education at a Caribbean university. The study found that mentoring relationships enhanced students' research capabilities, resulted in students identifying themselves as researchers, and enabled those working within the education sector to translate these research skills into their professional contexts. The findings of the research are useful with respect to fostering a culture of mentorship among academic staff within the discipline of education.

This paper offers a rationale for how ESD related learning at postgraduate level can be assessed. It proposes a framework for evaluating whether assessments in Master's level programmes align with the pedagogical approach of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). If assessment is to contribute to the overall learning process, then the nature of the assessment should reflect the pedagogy, values and principles associated with ESD. Utilising an Appreciative Inquiry model, existing models of competences for sustainable development have been used to develop the framework. The framework is not aimed at the performance of the students; rather, it is applied to the course itself to identify if assessment opportunities are in keeping with an ESD approach. The framework is applied to three examples from Master's programmes, with which the authors are affiliated in England and Jamaica. The findings identify key characteristics that should feature in assessing learning for sustainability. The framework enabled the authors to gauge the extent to which their assessment regimes are in line with the aims, purpose and content of their programmes. While the examples cited are from the field of education, the framework can be applied to any Master's programmes containing elements of sustainable development.

The pursuit of sustainable development for individuals, societies, and nations is important for the global community given its emphasis on pursuing a harmonious balance between societal, economic, and environmental imperatives. With respect to formal education, teachers are critical agents in delivering sustainable development content, and facilitating skills and action competencies to achieve such goals. Consequently, understanding teachers' perspectives of sustainable development is necessary. This research utilised a survey design to gather views from 296 teachers from 12 high schools in rural and urban areas of Jamaica. The data revealed most teachers' views exhibited systems thinking perspectives. Additionally, the research found that, to a lesser extent, teachers associated citizen participation with sustainable development. These findings hold importance for the reorientation of teacher education as part of Education for Sustainable Development to ensure that critical issues surrounding sustainable development, such as the development of systems thinking and citizen participation, are emphasised.

The development, quality and impact of environmental and sustainability education (ESE) in the Caribbean have received increased attention from a growing body of education researchers over the past few decades. This is not surprising given that the region has been grappling with various environmental, social, and economic sustainability issues, and education remains widely regarded as a key mode of response by a range of stakeholders, networks and commentators. Drawing on local to wider perspectives and initiatives, formal and non-formal ESE activities have been undertaken, to enhance knowledge and awareness, develop values, hone skills, and promote behaviours consistent with sustainable development. Whilst this increased engagement is significant and heartening, I argue that there is still scope for a renewal of focus in ESE in the Caribbean, honing in on four main areas: climate change education, the environment and violence nexus, teacher education, and universities as models of and for sustainability. These areas are consistent with regional sustainability imperatives and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as ripe for deeper research-practice interlinkages. An overview of existing fields of educational inquiry in the Caribbean is offered, along with the four foci for further and future research, with the hope that new, emerging and established academics (as well as practitioners) work productively together to engage these crucial issues and critical imperatives for ESE.

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to focus on the role of higher education in the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, discussing both challenges and opportunities. Drawing on the example of The University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Education (SOE) (Mona Campus in Jamaica), this paper illustrates how higher education can move SDG 4 forward in a realistic and significant way. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the literature and case study experiences implementing education for sustainable development-related activities within a SOE, opportunities and challenges regarding SDG 4 and higher education institutions (HEIs) are identified and outlined. The SOE at the UWI campus is used as an illustrative case study to highlight the ways in which HEIs can drive SDG 4 through teaching, programme and course development, research and outreach activities. Findings: Based on the literature examined, along with the case study, the paper argues that HEIs must help to shape and lead the SDG 4 agenda by being integrally involved and no longer watching from the side lines. A framework to aid HEIs in achieving outcomes associated with SDG 4 is then proffered. The intent is that this will not only help shape discourse but also shape actions, as the demand for higher education increases across the globe. Originality/value: This paper uses a Caribbean regional HEI as the basis for the framework proposed to aid HEIs in achieving SDG 4 outcomes. This brings to the fore discourse from the global south, as space that is often missing from the discussion.

This paper offers a rationale for how ESD related learning at postgraduate level can be assessed. It proposes a framework for evaluating whether assessments in Master’s level programmes align with the pedagogical approach of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). If assessment is to contribute to the overall learning process, then the nature of the assessment should reflect the pedagogy, values and principles associated with ESD. Utilising an Appreciative Inquiry model, existing models of competences for sustainable development have been used to develop the framework. The framework is not aimed at the performance of the students; rather, it is applied to the course itself to identify if assessment opportunities are in keeping with an ESD approach. The framework is applied to three examples from Master’s programmes, with which the authors are affiliated in England and Jamaica. The findings identify key characteristics that should feature in assessing learning for sustainability. The framework enabled the authors to gauge the extent to which their assessment regimes are in line with the aims, purpose and content of their programmes. While the examples cited are from the field of education, the framework can be applied to any Master’s programmes containing elements of sustainable development.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is critical for Caribbean countries such as Jamaica as the country grapples with various sustainability issues. The integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education therefore becomes a necessary undertaking. At the formal level, reorienting curricula at all levels is important and advocated for in various international documents such as "Agenda 21" and by agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With this in mind, this study utilised a qualitative content analysis approach to undertake a preliminary exploration of ESD content in TVET curricula at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9) in Jamaica. Analysis of three of the subjects as taught in the TVET area of Resource and Technology revealed that though ESD issues, perspectives and skills are integrated into various components of the curriculum, many of the ESD issues, perspectives and skills the research sought to identify were not evident in the curricula. Additionally, based on the analysis, it was felt that the curriculum lacks alignment among the components (objectives, content, learning experience, assessment, teaching strategies) that reflected ESD content, and that there is need for integration of more such content in the curricula to ensure that TVET and ESD yield the relevant benefits.

The Small Island Developing State of Jamaica, in the Caribbean region, is facing significant environmental, economic, and social challenges. Violence has become a serious challenge for Jamaica and several other countries in the region; the level of violence against and among children is particularly disturbing. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact that schools, normally thought of as safe havens for children, are themselves increasingly becoming sites of violence and discipline issues. Violence in schools, whether gang violence, bullying, or other forms of physical and mental violence, undermines the role schools play in children's intellectual, social, and moral development. As violence has been deemed a major public health problem in the region, with a range of social and economic impacts, programs that address violence and discipline issues by promoting education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED) become critical educational imperatives. This article describes what ESD learning involves as well as the Change From Within (CfW) program in Jamaica, an intervention initiative that focuses on addressing violence in schools as well as promoting ESD among all school stakeholders--principals, teachers, students, parents, and community members. Restorative Justice Circles are also explained.

AbstractThe Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information (MoEYI) in Jamaica engaged in curriculum reform, producing the National Standards Curriculum (NSC) for Grades 4–9. This paper reports on a content analysis of the Grades 4–6 curriculum to determine the representation of Climate Change (CC) content, pedagogies, and activities for supporting Climate Change Education (CCE). The analysis revealed that the NSC includes many CC concepts throughout all three Grades, mostly in Grade 6 Science and Social Studies. In addition, various instructional strategies relevant to CCE are included, for instance, drama, field trips, class discussions, and the use of information and communications technology. However, there are some gaps in the content related to the impact of CC and mitigation measures. The presence of CC content and pedagogical tools in the NSC necessitates an emphasis of these areas in teacher preparation and development programmes to ensure readiness to teach CC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is critical for Caribbean countries such as Jamaica as the country grapples with various sustainability issues. The integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education therefore becomes a necessary undertaking. At the formal level, reorienting curricula at all levels is important and advocated for in various international documents such as Agenda 21 and by agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With this in mind, this study utilised a qualitative content analysis approach to undertake a preliminary exploration of ESD content in TVET curricula at the lower secondary level (grades 7-9) in Jamaica. Analysis of three of the subjects as taught in the TVET area of Resource and Technology revealed that though ESD issues, perspectives and skills are integrated into various components of the curriculum, many of the ESD issues, perspectives and skills the research sought to identify were not evident in the curricula. Additionally, based on the analysis, it was felt that the curriculum lacks alignment among the components (objectives, content, learning experience, assessment, teaching strategies) that reflected ESD content, and that there is need for integration of more such content in the curricula to ensure that TVET and ESD yield the relevant benefits.

The demand for higher education has been increasing in Jamaica as in many other Caribbean countries. Those who respond to such demands, pursuing further studies in higher education, will need to navigate many obligations and challenges. Additionally, some individuals may be First Generation (FG) adult learners and may lack the tacit knowledge and emotional sustenance to help them succeed. Consequently, adult learners pursuing postgraduate studies will need support in understanding themselves as learners and how to succeed. This study reports findings on challenges that non-traditional adult learners in a Jamaican higher education context face in pursuing postgraduate studies. Using the photovoice research method, qualitative data were collected from 10 adult learners through photographed representations of prompts, photovoice focus group discussions, and participants’ reflections. The main findings revealed that the adult learners experienced multiple conflicting emotions as they engaged in their postgraduate programmes of study; experienced challenges balancing their multiple roles and responsibilities, some of which were linked to their status as FG adult learners; and characterised the COVID-19 pandemic as having a dualistic nature, one that exacerbated challenges whilst also offering them opportunities to focus on their studies as well as themselves. The article makes recommendations for supporting these adult learners at the institutional and personal levels as they pursue their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a significant field for the Caribbean region and one that has been steadily developing from the 1980s onwards. The current ESD for 2030 framework offers an opportune moment for reflection on progress to-date, current challenges and future prospects for the field. With this in mind, this article shares perspectives gathered from qualitative interviews with those working in the foreground of the field across four Caribbean countries. Thoughts shared include the need to redefine and recontextualise development and education in the region, incorporate indigenous and traditional knowledge in ESD, and ensure more coherence amongst efforts within countries. The insights offered highlight significant areas for researchers and practitioners to capitalise on as ESD and the wider education systems within which it is framed are re-envisioned towards more resilient and sustainable societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Caribbean region, issues such as pollution, habitat destruction, and crime and violence, alongside global phenomena such as climate change and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, pose challenges to sustainable development. Within this context, Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) becomes a critical imperative for the region's populace to engender knowledge, values and attitudes, and behaviour consistent with sustainability. ESE initiatives in the region have gained momentum in the past decades. So too has the research to undergird the practice. Despite this, the published work of regional scholars is not as prominent as the work of those in other parts of the world. This Special Issue on ESE in the English-speaking Caribbean, therefore, seeks to help redress, in part, this gap by highlighting work from both established and emerging scholars in the field. These theoretical and empirical contributions focus on ESE and curricula, teacher education, ESE and values education, ESE and faith systems, sustainability and assessment and other areas of inquiry. The current global ESD for 2030 Framework offers an opportune moment to highlight, reflect on and offer recommendations on ESE research in the region, in order to further inform practice in both the formal and non-formal realms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing groups facilitate the development of research students' written communication skills, which are critical for the competent preparation of theses and publications. This paper describes a Thesis Writing Group for social science doctoral students. Participants indicated that the group not only served a practical role, providing an impetus for the consideration and production of different components of their theses, but also served psychological purposes, fostering positive attitudinal changes such as enhanced motivation, increased confidence and a more positive outlook on the writing process.

In cases where environmental education is institutionalised within schools, the curriculum can affect what and how students learn about "nature" and the "environment". In Jamaica, schools are considered important settings for environmental education; the curriculum therefore includes environmental issues. Using content analysis, representations of "nature" and the "environment" in the nation's primary level Curriculum Guides were examined. Findings indicate that although many units emphasise an anthropocentric view of nature, this is tempered by depictions of nature's fragility and, in some instances, nature's "divine" dimensions. Several curricular units also facilitate student's creative engagement with nature, allowing for multiple views of the natural world. (Contains 7 tables.)