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whole_PedersenKristinLynne2006_thesis.pdf (18.68 MB)

From rhetoric to practice : integrating sustainability with Tasmania's Essential Learnings Framework

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thesis
posted on 2023-05-27, 18:21 authored by Pedersen, KL
With reference to Tasmania's new state curriculum - the Essential Learnings Framework (ELs) - this research explores the merits and practical relevance of Education for Sustainability (EfS). The work considers the contextual nature of sustainability in the application of an integrative approach to EfS in two public primary schools. The first section identifies EfS as an integrative educational principle that is conceptualised at the global level, yet accessed through very specific means of delivery at the local scale. Particular attention is given to the potential for place-based education, school/community partnerships and collaborative leadership to facilitate the shift from EfS as a global ideal to a powerful local practice in individual schools. I examine the strategies through which architects of the Australian education system translate the global demands ofEfS into educational policy and curriculum standards. The ELs framework is then explored to map its conceptual foundations as an integrative approach to learning and its links to the principles ofEfS. The second section reports on case studies from two primary school communities attempting to implement EfS through the ELs :framework in specific practical projects. Using a mixed method investigation inspired by a whole systems methodology, each case study was explored through adaptive and locally grounded investigations. The case studies reveal that EfS is subject to individual and group interpretations, local community politics, and different capacities, all of which affect the extent to which EfS can be successfully translated through the ELs. I discuss the varied interpretations of sustainability exhibited by stakeholders in each case study, and consider the parameters these place upon school communities attempting to integrate curriculum, place, partnerships and leadership through a common curriculum framework. The research suggests that in order to maximise the potential for the ELs :framework to address EfS through integrative learning approaches, individual school communities must engage in open and responsive debates about what it means to create a sustainable future.

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Copyright the author - The University is continuing to endeavour to trace the copyright owner(s) and in the meantime this item has been reproduced here in good faith. We would be pleased to hear from copyright owner(s). Embargoed until 2008. Thesis (MEnvSt)--University of Tasmania, 2006. Includes bibliographical references.

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