z-logo
open-access-imgOpen Access
Technical and Vocational Education and Training Curricula at the Lower Secondary Level in Jamaica: A Preliminary Exploration of Education for Sustainable Development Content
Author(s) -
Carmel Roofe,
Therese Ferguson
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
discourse and communication for sustainable education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2255-7547
pISSN - 1691-6301
DOI - 10.2478/dcse-2018-0017
Subject(s) - curriculum , vocational education , content analysis , education for sustainable development , curriculum development , sustainability , sustainable development , qualitative research , pedagogy , sociology , political science , social science , ecology , law , biology
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 7-9) 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.

The content you want is available to Zendy users.

Already have an account? Click here to sign in.
Having issues? You can contact us here