IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i11p3896-d178471.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Development in Geography Education for Middle School in China

Author

Listed:
  • Fengtao Guo

    (School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China)

  • Joseph Lane

    (Division of Social Science and History, Delta State University, Cleveland, MS 38733, USA)

  • Yushan Duan

    (School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China)

  • Joseph P. Stoltman

    (Department of Geography, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA)

  • Olga Khlebosolova

    (The Department of Ecology and Geography, The Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting, Moscow 117997, Russia)

  • Hao Lei

    (Institute of Curriculum and Instruction, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

  • Weiguo Zhou

    (School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China)

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) had become a priority in many school systems. Geography has a tradition of investigating human-environment interactions and geography education is vital to make sense of sustainable development (SD). In this paper, the authors aimed to contribute to the implementation of ESD and SD in middle school geography, in The People’s Republic of China. This research employed a series of methods to analyze the content in (SD) in middle school geography standards and textbooks. The research surveyed geography teachers ( n = 237) and assessed geography students ( n = 246). Results exemplified both positive and negative conclusions from the data. Primarily, the findings suggested that geography education was important to ESD implementation, although the requirements for SD are low in the selected middle schools. The SD content was reflected clearly in the content standards and textbooks, but it was not evenly distributed in geography education. Many geography teachers in China have ample geography and interdisciplinary knowledge and they can use textbooks and other teaching methods to teach SD. The students’ performance, in a sample of four key schools, was considered “OK”, however there was still room for improvement. Most students were familiar with people, resources, environmental problems, and climate change, however, most were unable to grasp the factual knowledge about SD, such as international events and documents, latest predicted data, and research on global warming, as well as the indicators used in the specific SD assessment. Suggestions include providing students with more practical activities and a chance to do hands-on experiments, as well as building student organizations and clubs, improve Teachers’ knowledge, and understanding through teacher training program and build a platform for communicating ideas of SD through modern communication technology. Ideas of SD should be integrated into students’ daily life.

Suggested Citation

  • Fengtao Guo & Joseph Lane & Yushan Duan & Joseph P. Stoltman & Olga Khlebosolova & Hao Lei & Weiguo Zhou, 2018. "Sustainable Development in Geography Education for Middle School in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3896-:d:178471
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/3896/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/11/3896/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Franziska Bertschy & Christine Künzli & Meret Lehmann, 2013. "Teachers’ Competencies for the Implementation of Educational Offers in the Field of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent, 2015. "Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, March.
    5. Nicole Garner & Antje Siol & Ingo Eilks, 2015. "The Potential of Non-Formal Laboratory Environments for Innovating the Chemistry Curriculum and Promoting Secondary School Level Students Education for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-21, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Saifullah Khalid Malik & Zhanyong Qi & Mussarat Iqbal & Samina Zamir & Balqees Fatima Malik, 2023. "Education for sustainable development: Secondary school teacher's awareness and perception of integration," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1515-1525, June.
    2. Fengtao Guo & Yushan Duan & Shanbo He & Qian Gong & Zeyang Yao, 2022. "Analysis of Sustainable Development Questions of College Entrance Examination Geography Papers in China: 2010–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-24, January.
    3. Delfín Ortega-Sánchez & Almudena Alonso-Centeno & Miguel Corbí, 2020. "Socio-Environmental Problematic, End-Purposes, and Strategies Relating to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the Perspectives of Spanish Secondary Education Trainee Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-10, July.
    4. Fengtao Guo & Michael E Meadows & Yushan Duan & Changhai Gao, 2020. "Geography Pre-Service Teachers’ Perspectives on Multimedia Technology and Environmental Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Jiaqi Li & Haoming Xia & Yaochen Qin & Pinde Fu & Xuan Guo & Rumeng Li & Xiaoyang Zhao, 2022. "Web GIS for Sustainable Education: Towards Natural Disaster Education for High School Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-18, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Mirjam Braßler & Sandra Sprenger, 2021. "Fostering Sustainability Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours through a Tutor-Supported Interdisciplinary Course in Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    3. Julia Lohmann & Jennifer Breithecker & Ulrike Ohl & Petra Gieß-Stüber & Hans Peter Brandl-Bredenbeck, 2021. "Teachers’ Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Physical Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-26, December.
    4. Birgitta Nordén & Helen Avery, 2021. "Global Learning for Sustainable Development: A Historical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-31, March.
    5. Kifah Imara & Fahriye Altinay, 2021. "Integrating Education for Sustainable Development Competencies in Teacher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Maria Victoria G. Violanda & Dennis V. Madrigal, 2021. "Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): A Journey Towards Sustainable Future," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 20(1), pages 172-180, June.
    7. Yi-Chen Lai & Li-Hsun Peng, 2019. "Effective Teaching and Activities of Excellent Teachers for the Sustainable Development of Higher Design Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    8. Silvia Albareda-Tiana & Salvador Vidal-Raméntol & Maria Pujol-Valls & Mónica Fernández-Morilla, 2018. "Holistic Approaches to Develop Sustainability and Research Competencies in Pre-Service Teacher Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Nina Kolleck & Helge Jörgens & Mareike Well, 2017. "Levels of Governance in Policy Innovation Cycles in Community Education: The Cases of Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Issa Ibrahim Berchin & Ana Regina de Aguiar Dutra & José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, 2021. "How do higher education institutions promote sustainable development? A literature review," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1204-1222, November.
    11. Quentin Ssossé & Johanna Wagner & Carina Hopper, 2021. "Assessing the Impact of ESD: Methods, Challenges, Results," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-26, March.
    12. Gemma Tejedor & Jordi Segalàs & Ángela Barrón & Mónica Fernández-Morilla & M. Teresa Fuertes & Jorge Ruiz-Morales & Ibón Gutiérrez & Esther García-González & Pilar Aramburuzabala & Àngels Hernández, 2019. "Didactic Strategies to Promote Competencies in Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, April.
    13. Ismaila R. Abubakar & Faez S. Al-Shihri & Sayed M. Ahmed, 2016. "Students’ Assessment of Campus Sustainability at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    14. Primiano Di Nauta & Enrica Iannuzzi & Michele Milone & Claudio Nigro, 2020. "The Impact of the Sustainability Principles on the Strategic Planning and Reporting of Universities. An Exploratory Study on a Qualified Italian Sample," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    15. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent & Ingrid Mulà, 2021. "Current Practices and Future Pathways towards Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-9, August.
    16. Lukas Scherak & Marco Rieckmann, 2020. "Developing ESD Competences in Higher Education Institutions—Staff Training at the University of Vechta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-19, December.
    17. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Antje Brock, 2018. "Development of an ESD Indicator for Teacher Training and the National Monitoring for ESD Implementation in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Pablo Ruiz-Palomino & Ricardo Martínez-Cañas & Pedro Jiménez-Estévez, 2019. "Are Corporate Social Responsibility Courses Effective? A Longitudinal and Gender-Based Analysis in Undergraduate Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, October.
    19. Paun, Dorothy, 2018. "Corporate sustainability reporting: An innovative tool for the greater good of all," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 925-935.
    20. Alfonso Rodriguez-Dono & Antoni Hernández-Fernández, 2021. "Fostering Sustainability and Critical Thinking through Debate—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3896-:d:178471. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.