EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHRISTIANITY: PEDAGOGIES AND PROSPECTS

Kuok Ho Daniel Tang

Abstract


With rising arguments on the fluid idea of education for sustainable development where an established framework is lacking, this review aims to look into the Christian bible for messages of sustainability and how these messages could enhance education for sustainable development in themes and pedagogies. This review examined only the old and new testaments of the bible common to most, if not all Christian denominations. It examined verses with clear connection to sustainability encompassing the environmental, social and economic aspects, particularly the environmental aspect. Discourse analysis of the verses comprising instructions, dialogues and lines of letters was conducted by delving into the historical and sociocultural contexts of the verses to exegete their sustainability implications. This review yielded ten verses with sustainability themes ranging from human responsibilities, ecological value, balance and conservation, responsible consumption and production, conservation of resources, traditional wisdom, equity, social welfare and sustainability to anthropogenic causes of environmental degradation. The main pedagogies for education for sustainable development implicated from this review are problem-based learning, experiential learning, exploratory learning, scenario- and simulation-based learning, reflective learning and deep learning, with specific references to the biblical sustainability themes. This review constitutes one of the very few literature probing sustainability and its pedagogies from Christianity’s perspective by qualitatively examining the most pertinent biblical verses. It contributes to the enrichment of sustainability education and pedagogies through religious wisdom. It is crucial in advancing sustainability education in religious studies.

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Keywords


Bible; education for sustainable development, environment, learning, pedagogy, responsible consumption

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v8i4.3678

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