Sustainability in the Primary Curriculum

Unit code: EEE3008 | Study level: Undergraduate
12
(Generally, 1 credit = 10 hours of classes and independent study.)
Footscray Park
N/A
Overview
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Overview

Sustainability, including its leading theme of climate change, is currently considered the world’s most urgent threat to the resilience of societies, economies, cultures and the environment. It is now widely agreed that, “if humanity does not urgently change its ways, several critical thresholds may be exceeded, beyond which abrupt and generally irreversible changes to the life-support functions of the planet could occur” (UNEP GEO5, 2012).

The field of Sustainability Education evolved with the aim of providing appropriate educational responses to the world’s pressing need to move towards sustainable ways of living. This unit will provide you with the basic knowledge and skills required for critically analysing environmental, socio-cultural and economic aspects of world issues. These foundational attributes will be further developed to foster competence in designing and implementing locally relevant programs that are adaptive and responsive to the needs of school communities. In this unit you will develop an understanding of the major Sustainability issues for the Earth and consider the integration of Sustainability Education across the curriculum with a focus on teaching and learning in the Primary School.



This unit connects the university student with their professional experiences and supports them to articulate and reflect on important questions by investigating personal, school-based, theoretical and socio-cultural explanations of experiences in educational settings, including the principles underpinning the creation of safe and secure classroom environments.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. Develop and articulate their environmental and sustainability literacy and understand and discuss major world sustainability issues;
  2. Conceptually map diverse communities’ sustainability issues;
  3. Investigate and evaluate Sustainability Education initiatives;
  4. Devise, implement and assess a local Sustainability Education program within a range of educational settings and age groups; and
  5. Design and integrate a technology based educational module in sustainability.

Assessment

For Melbourne campuses

Assessment type: Report
|
Grade: 30%
Write a critical assessment of a local Sustainability Education program.
Assessment type: Assignment
|
Grade: 70%
Design a computer based Sustainability Education module for school students.

Required reading

University students will be provided with an up-to-date reading list via the VU Collaborate system.

As part of a course

This unit is not compulsory for any specific course. Depending on the course you study, this unit may be taken as an elective.

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