Education for Sustainable Development in Schools of Education in Lebanon: Actual Situation and Future Prospects

النوع : Mémoire

In its efforts to improve the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the educational systems of all countries, The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highly recommends reorienting teacher preparation programs towards ESD. The reason is that teachers must possess the appropriate knowledge and skills if they are to impart change in their students’ attitudes and behaviors. This study explores the integration of ESD into teacher preparation programs at the levels of the Schools of Education (SoED) and faculty members; as well as the exposure of students to ESD and their ability of integrating it into teaching. The assumptions were that ESD is not properly integrated at SoED, that faculty members do not integrate ESD in their teaching, and that students are insufficiently exposed to the subject. The sample of the study included 9 SoED, 24 faculty members, and 114 senior education students. Data was collected through 3 different types of questionnaires. It was found out that: SoED will need to implement further steps to translate their enthusiasm about ESD into action; faculty members need to make more efforts to integrate it in teaching; and students need to be exposed to more information about it.