Pedagogic Practice, ESD Principles and the Perspectives of Students, Teachers, and Educational Stakeholders

Abstract

In this chapter, I analyze how power relations and cultural values in pedagogic practice observed in geography lessons at five English-medium secondary schools in Pune relate to the principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The analysis of geography teaching contents and methods is structured according to the selection, sequence, pacing, and evaluation criteria of knowledge and skills by Bernstein (1975). Pedagogic practice in the observed lessons is strongly framed by the regulations formulated by educational institutions at the state and national level. Teachers’ agency is bound by an overloaded, fact-oriented syllabus that prescribes a strongly framed teacher–student communication with limited space for students to develop critical-thinking and argumentation skills. The analyses shed light on the role of the textbook in determining the authoritative position of the teacher, as the textbook governs the method of communicative interaction and learning content. Students, teachers, and educational stakeholders reveal similar perspectives on geography education and the role of ESD. These findings suggest that there is a need for strengthening teacher’s agency and a more open framing of textbooks for transformative pedagogic practice as inspired by ESD.