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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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
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    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.
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    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. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.

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