Teaching Sustainability in Australian Schools

抄録

The Australian national curriculum has been adopted by Education Ministers in all Australian states and territories. There are eight key learning areas, including Science, in the Foundation to Level 10 program and three cross-curriculum priorities that include Sustainability. Thus, Sustainability is not taught as a separate discipline, but is integrated into the key learning areas wherever possible. There are three Organizing Areas relevant in the curriculum for teaching about Sustainability: Systems, World Views and Futures. Teachers have access to an array of resources to help in their teaching, including lesson plans, field work suggestions and work samples. In the senior secondary school curriculum (levels 11 and 12), Sustainability is again taught through established disciplines and subjects, including Biology, Geography and Earth & Environmental Science. The latter field may be taught under different titles – in New South Wales, for example, Earth & Environmental Science is a distinct Subject in levels 11 and 12, while in Victoria there are two so called Study Designs that cover the key learning area: Environmental Science and Outdoor and Environmental Studies.