Browsing by Author "Roofe, Carmel"

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    Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Infusion into Curricula: Influences on Students’ Understandings of Sustainable Development and ESD
    (Brock Education, 2022) Ferguson, Therese; Roofe, Carmel; Cook, Loraine D.; Bramwell-Lalor, Sharon; Hordatt Gentles, Carol
    Formal education for sustainable development (ESD) is in large part dependent on capacitybuilding and training of teachers as they are the individuals who must both deliver ESD at the classroom level as well as utilize their own knowledge, values, and skills in support of sustainability. In this paper, teacher educators within a higher education institution in Jamaica who infused ESD in their course delivery analyze data collected from approximately 140 of their students pre- and post-intervention to ascertain whether individuals’ awareness and knowledge of sustainable development (SD) and ESD had changed because of the infusion process. Preliminary findings indicate that students’ understanding of SD broadened after the courses, with most students believing that SD involves social, economic, and environmental improvements that do not come at the expense of our natural resources. Additionally, students’ thoughts about ESD shifted, with students highlighting aspects of the interdisciplinary nature of ESD, and ESD as involving equitable, inclusive education. The findings are significant in highlighting how intentional infusion of ESD into courses can enhance students’ knowledge and awareness of SD and ESD.
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    Technical and Vocational Education and Training Curricula at the Lower Secondary Level in Jamaica: A Preliminary Exploration of Education for Sustainable Development Content
    (Sciendo, 2019-01-09) Roofe, Carmel; Ferguson, Therese
    Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is critical for Caribbean countries such as Jamaica as the country grapples with various sustainability issues. The integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education therefore becomes a necessary undertaking. At the formal level, reorienting curricula at all levels is important and advocated for in various international documents such as Agenda 21 and by agencies such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With this in mind, this study utilised a qualitative content analysis approach to undertake a preliminary exploration of ESD content in TVET curricula at the lower secondary level (grades 7ñ9) in Jamaica. Analysis of three of the subjects as taught in the TVET area of Resource and Technology revealed that though ESD issues, perspectives and skills are integrated into various components of the curriculum, many of the ESD issues, perspectives and skills the research sought to identify were not evident in the curricula. Additionally, based on the analysis, it was felt that the curriculum lacks alignment among the components (objectives, content, learning experience, assessment, teaching strategies) that reflected ESD content, and that there is need for integration of more such content in the curricula to ensure that TVET and ESD yield the relevant benefits.