Integrating Education for Sustainable Development in Tanzanian Ordinary Secondary School Curriculum
Teacher’ Perspectives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56916/jesi.v3i1.1174Keywords:
Education for sustainable development, ordinary secondary school curriculum, teachers’ perspectives, sustainable developmentAbstract
This article explores the perspectives of teachers towards integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Tanzanian ordinary secondary school curriculum. Using a qualitative approach and phenomenological design, the study explored teachers’ lived experiences through interviews and observation from 8 selected secondary schools in the Dodoma City Council. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that secondary school teachers are aware of the presense of ESD contents in the curriculum of the subjects they teach and are very supportive of the ESD initiatives beleving that ESD equip students with skills to protect the environment. However, their perspectives regarding the integration of ESD into ordinary secondary school curriculum varied across subjects, which suggests that the implementation of education for sustainable development is a contextual and contested field. The significant contribution of this paper is represented by its implications for the implementation of ESD in ordinary secondary schools in Tanzania. Having highlighted the potential of teachers perspectives of education for sustainable development, the curriculum developers can review how education for sustainable development is reflected in the school curricula and address areas that require attention to ensure students acquire comprehensive knowledge, skills and values on education for sustainable development.
References
Aleixo, A. M., Azeiteiro, U. M., & Leal, S. (2017). UN decade of education for sustainable development: perceptions of higher education institution’s stakeholders. Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education: Volume 4, 417-428.
Ambusaidi, A., & Al Washahi, M. (2016). Prospective teachers’ perceptions about the concept of sustainable development and related issues in Oman. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 10(1), 3-19.
Andama, E., & Suubi, U. M. (2015). Mainstreaming education for sustainable development in teacher education at Busitema University, Uganda. Stories of Change, 127.
Anyolo, E. O. (2015). Implementing education for sustainable development in Namibian schools (Doctoral dissertation, Itä-Suomen yliopisto).
Aydin, S., & Keles, P. U. (2021). Teachers Candidates' Awareness of Sustainable Development. Shanlax International Journal of Education, 9, 221-227.
Barak, B., & Avcı, G. (2022). Comparative analysis of Turkey and Germany (Bavaria) secondary education curricula in terms of education for sustainable development.
Beck, C. T. (2019). Introduction to phenomenology: Focus on methodology. Sage Publications
Bragdø, M. B. (2022). Education for sustainable development in social studies: A scoping review of results from Scandinavian educational research.
Christoforatou, E. (2021). Teacher education for sustainable development within national frameworks: Squaring the circle from a German perspective. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 13(1), 1-15.
Choi, M. Y., Jiang, D., Ru, G., Li, F., & Cao, X. (2009). Education for sustainable development practice in China. Hayama: Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (URL: http://enviroscope. iges. or. jp/modules/envirolib/view. php? docid= 2389).
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage publications.
Devine‐Wright, P. (2005). Beyond NIMBYism: towards an integrated framework for understanding public perceptions of wind energy. Wind Energy: An International Journal for Progress and Applications in Wind Power Conversion Technology, 8(2), 125-139.
Didham, R. J., & Ofei-Manu, P. (2015). 1 Education as a catalyst for change and sustainable development. to Action, 93.
Dittrich, A. K. (2025). An International Reconstruction of Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Perspectives on the Challenges of Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 09734082241309704.
Dube, C. (2017). The uptake of education for sustainable development in geography curricula in South African secondary schools. Schooling for sustainable development in Africa, 93-105.
Durrani, R., ur Rahman, F., & Anjum, S. (2021). Perceptions of Teacher Educators about Integration of (ESD) in Elementary Teachers Education Program. Journal of Development and Social Sciences, 2(4), 215-225.
Ephrem, A. (2016). Practicing sustainability approaches to education in selected universities in Tanzania: Challenges and prospects (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Dodoma).
Goyal, A., Kumar, P., & Shalini. (2024). Quality Education: A Key Component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Digital Technologies to Implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 127-151). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
Jaspar, J. C. (2009). Teaching for sustainable development: teachers' perceptions (Doctoral dissertation, University of Saskatchewan).
Kariuki, C. N., Mokaya, D. C., & Kinuthia, D. (2016). Infusing Climate Change Content into Kenya’s Secondary School Taught Curriculum: Successes and Challenges. Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology.
Kilama, B., George, C., Katera, L., & Rutatina, N. (2016). Assessing Data for the Sustainable Development Goals in Tanzania. Report Highlights. Dar es Salaam.
Kimaro, A. R. (2018). Integrating environmental education (EE) for sustainability into primary school curriculum in Tanzania: Exploring stakeholders’ views and perceptions (Doctoral dissertation).
Kimaryo, L. (2011). Integrating environmental education in primary school education in Tanzania: Teachers’ perceptions and teaching practices (Doctoral dissertation, Åbo Akademis förlag-Åbo Akademi University Press).
Kongela, S. M. (2023). Sustainability potential awareness among built environment stakeholders: Experience from Tanzania. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 41(2), 301-319.
Kuzich, S. (2011). Education for sustainability: Implications for curriculum and pedagogy. Development, 4(2), 203-211.
Mirza, M. S. (2020). Teacher Educators’ Preparedness for Re-Orienting Teacher Education Programs for Sustainable Development in Pakistan. Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE), 14(1).
Mwaura, K. N. (2007). An investigation into awareness about education for sus-tainable development (ESD): A study of the faculty of education at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. On line Unpublished master’s the-sis). Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
Mwendwa, B. (2017). Learning for sustainable development: Integrating environmental education in the curriculum of ordinary secondary schools in Tanzania. The Journal of Sustainability Education.
Müller, U., Hancock, D. R., Stricker, T., & Wang, C. (2021). Implementing ESD in Schools: Perspectives of Principals in Germany, Macau, and the USA. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9823.
Njeru, A. N. (2013). Identifying the barriers to implementing education for sustainable development in Kenyan secondary schools: A case of southlands of Nairobi (Doctoral dissertation).
Nyatuka, B. O. (2020). Education for sustainable development in Kenya: rhetoric and reality in basic education. Global Journal of Transformative Education, 2(1), 86-98.
Paaske, D. M., Segura-Bonilla, O., & Hernandez-Milian, J. (2021). ESD for managers in the Danish lower secondary educational curriculum. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 13(1), 154-166.
Rieckmann, M. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. UNESCO publishing.
Sætre, P. J. (2016). Education for sustainable development in Norwegian geography curricula. Nordidactica: Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, (2016: 1), 63-78.
Shava, G. N., Chasara, T., & Hahlani, O. S. (2021). Sustainable development goal (SDG) 4 on quality in education, current issues in Zimbabwe higher education, educating for the future. Int. J. Innov. Soc. Sci, 146, 154.
Shelton, D. (2008). Stockholm declaration (1972) and rio declaration (1992). Max Planck encyclopedia of public international law.
Shulla, K., Filho, W. L., Lardjane, S., Sommer, J. H., & Borgemeister, C. (2020). Sustainable development education in the context of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 27(5), 458-468.
United Republic of Tanzania [URT]. (2023). Education and Training Policy. Ministry of Education, Science and Technology: Dar-es-Salaam: MoEST
United Republic of Tanzania [URT]. (2016). Education Sector Performance Report 2016/17: Dar es Salaam: MoEST
United Republic of Tanzania [URT]. (2005). Minister for Education Budget Speech for the Financial Year 2005, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Vasconcelos, C., Silva, J., Calheiros, C. S., Mikusiński, G., Iwińska, K., Skaltsa, I. G., & Krakowska, K. (2022). Teaching sustainable development goals to university students: A cross-country case-based study. Sustainability, 14(3), 1593.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Konga Lufunyo Jonas, Abdon Ephrem
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
