Integrating sustainability into curricula: Teachers’ perceptions, preparation and practice in Qatar

Abstract

As the global citizens, decision-makers, scholars and researchers come to face the irreversible dangers and harms of the ever-increasing trends of wasteful consumption and production, they realize that their current lifestyles engender their respective societies, communities, and the planet as a whole. Although late and limited, several policies and initiatives have been undertaken to slow down such harms and to call for alternative consumption and production methods including zero-waste, clean production, renewable energy sources, and demand side management, amongst others. One area that has been growing in importance to tackle such grand challenges from a grassroots level is Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Along with providing students with the skills and knowledge sets on sustainable development concepts and goals, ESD places a significant emphasis on teachers' capacity building and readiness. This study attempts to primarily investigate the perceptions of Grade 8 teachers in the context of Qatar on ESD integration, as well as the challenges they face for such endeavor. Using thematic text analysis for Grade 8 textbooks, semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 stakeholders, and a questionnaire conducted with 157 Grade 8 teachers in the State of Qatar, the findings reveal a stressing need for a more holistic and integrated embedding of sustainability values that do not contradict with the local ones, and that move beyond subjects' compartmentalization. Furthermore, the findings indicate that more alignment between the education policies regarding ESD and their respective application in classrooms is highly requested. Although the study showed no statistical significance in teachers' perceptions on ESD integration based on their gender, nationality, or age, results suggest a critical difference in teachers' perceptions congruent with their subject of teaching and specialization, and the extent of their schools’ involvement in ESD initiatives. In addition, findings suggest that teachers are aware of sustainability concepts, but not all knowledgeable, skilled or empowered to integrate them into their teaching. Drawing from the findings and analyses, and applying design thinking approach, the study proposes a preliminary framework for a transdisciplinary and holistic integration of sustainability values within K-12 curricula to empower teachers as the critically important agents of change.