Mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development …
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page, make a loose association with text on a page, or are incorporated by writers
or editors for some reason unknowable to the researchers. One suggestion is to have
textbook creators think more carefully about the images they use and make an effort
to connect these images directly with values (V) or social practices (P). A good
example of this connection can be found in Table 4 Example 2.
4.2 Finding 2: Lack of Synthesis Between Topics, Images,
and Text
The analysis also found that the sub-topics used in EFL textbooks predominantly
concern the Use of Resources (UoR) at the expense of other topics like Biodiversity (BDY) and Pollution (PO), as illustrated in Fig. 2. Particularly, the connection
between what we use (UoR) and the waste that is produced (PO) is not strong within
the sample texts. As Caravita et al. mention, “Pollution and the use of resources are
crucial topics that particularly involve values and beliefs, and that are central in an
education for a sustainable future” (2008, pp. 108–109). As such, the connection
and overlap between topics around pollution (PO) and the use of resources (UoR)
could be significantly strengthened within a lesson or textbook chapter as well as
throughout the different chapters and topics within a single textbook.
Furthermore, the lack of topic synthesis and overlap could be considered problematic from the perspective of furthering sustainability learning, because sustainable
development is a complex and dynamic topic that requires integrating and synthesizing many fields of study. In fact, one of the ways of integrating sustainable development into university programs is by holistically considering subject material. Filho
notes the importance of “the holistic handling of sustainable development issues,
integrating them with social and economic matters, as well as with biological and
ecological issues, hence enhancing the quality of education provided to students as
well as the quality of research” (2011, pp. 432–433).
ESD, when integrated into curricula, is a powerful tool for strengthening students’
educational and research capabilities. Many examples of this kind can be found in
the corpus. For instance, a unit called, “Small actions; Big results,” discusses the
costs associated with wasting water, and then introduces ways to recycle paper waste
(Pollution, PO) in order to conserve water resources. Furthermore, the unit ends with
activities, as seen in Fig. 6, which prompt students to recycle what they learned from
the reading and challenges students to relate the topic to their lives. Overall, the unit
succeeds in synthesizing concepts from two different subtopics (UoR and PO) as
well as pushing students to think about their own values in terms of the conservation
of resources. In terms of integrating sustainable development into the curriculum,
the unit does an effective job of introducing important ESD concepts while teaching
students English. In other words, EFL textbooks using environmental topics should
consider integrating topics and showing environmental issues from several different
points of view to holistically introduce sustainable development issues.
559
page, make a loose association with text on a page, or are incorporated by writers
or editors for some reason unknowable to the researchers. One suggestion is to have
textbook creators think more carefully about the images they use and make an effort
to connect these images directly with values (V) or social practices (P). A good
example of this connection can be found in Table 4 Example 2.
4.2 Finding 2: Lack of Synthesis Between Topics, Images,
and Text
The analysis also found that the sub-topics used in EFL textbooks predominantly
concern the Use of Resources (UoR) at the expense of other topics like Biodiversity (BDY) and Pollution (PO), as illustrated in Fig. 2. Particularly, the connection
between what we use (UoR) and the waste that is produced (PO) is not strong within
the sample texts. As Caravita et al. mention, “Pollution and the use of resources are
crucial topics that particularly involve values and beliefs, and that are central in an
education for a sustainable future” (2008, pp. 108–109). As such, the connection
and overlap between topics around pollution (PO) and the use of resources (UoR)
could be significantly strengthened within a lesson or textbook chapter as well as
throughout the different chapters and topics within a single textbook.
Furthermore, the lack of topic synthesis and overlap could be considered problematic from the perspective of furthering sustainability learning, because sustainable
development is a complex and dynamic topic that requires integrating and synthesizing many fields of study. In fact, one of the ways of integrating sustainable development into university programs is by holistically considering subject material. Filho
notes the importance of “the holistic handling of sustainable development issues,
integrating them with social and economic matters, as well as with biological and
ecological issues, hence enhancing the quality of education provided to students as
well as the quality of research” (2011, pp. 432–433).
ESD, when integrated into curricula, is a powerful tool for strengthening students’
educational and research capabilities. Many examples of this kind can be found in
the corpus. For instance, a unit called, “Small actions; Big results,” discusses the
costs associated with wasting water, and then introduces ways to recycle paper waste
(Pollution, PO) in order to conserve water resources. Furthermore, the unit ends with
activities, as seen in Fig. 6, which prompt students to recycle what they learned from
the reading and challenges students to relate the topic to their lives. Overall, the unit
succeeds in synthesizing concepts from two different subtopics (UoR and PO) as
well as pushing students to think about their own values in terms of the conservation
of resources. In terms of integrating sustainable development into the curriculum,
the unit does an effective job of introducing important ESD concepts while teaching
students English. In other words, EFL textbooks using environmental topics should
consider integrating topics and showing environmental issues from several different
points of view to holistically introduce sustainable development issues.