TEACHING AND LEARNING EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Education and information have important roles to play in influencing social-ecological change. Teacher education has the potential to shape the knowledge, skills and attitudes of future generations thus creating a more sustainable world. Contemporary focus of education has moved from content acquisition and knowledge about sustainability to an education for change which equips learners with essential skills, attitudes, and motivations for living and thinking sustainably (Sterling, 2001; Huckle and Sterling, 1996). University teachers and researchers must actively and attentively assess knowledge and challenge assumptions, philosophies and frameworks in order to engage in critical discourse on a wide range of sustainable issues. The holistic and integrative approach of home economics, involving social and ecological dimensions, means that it is ideally placed to contribute a great deal of experience and ideas developing innovative knowledge systems for sustainability. Home economics has a significant role to play in demonstrating the link between responsible caring consumption and the concept of citizenship reflecting the aims of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005- 2014. This action research project, funded by the Ubuntu Network and Irish Aid, aims to examine and promote knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of year one pre-service home economics teachers in relation to ethical and ecological consumerism. This presentation focuses on the initial knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of a cohort of incoming pre-service teachers and documents the development of a novel cross-curricular educational intervention utilised to support the inclusion of sustainable education methodologies, content and approaches within specific subject specialisms. Students on the Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme were engaged in critical thinking and dialogue in relation to ethical and ecological consumerism. Subsequently, a comparison is drawn between pre-service teacher's pre and post-intervention knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable consumption. It is hoped that this project will have a positive influence on the intended behaviour and future practice of home economics teachers in relation to sustainability. Such investigations link ESD and research, action and reflection with the ultimate goal of reorienting existing teacher education programmes towards facilitation of higher order thinking and skill development.