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

Authors

  • Kuok Ho Daniel Tang Environmental Science Program, Division of Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University- Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, 2000 Jintong Road, Tangjiawan, Zhuhai, GD 519087, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v8i4.3678

Keywords:

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

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.

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

Author Biography

  • Kuok Ho Daniel Tang, Environmental Science Program, Division of Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University- Hong Kong Baptist University United International College, 2000 Jintong Road, Tangjiawan, Zhuhai, GD 519087, China
    Dr. Daniel Tang Kuok Ho is an assistant professor of the Environment Science Program of BNU-HKBU United International College. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Chartered Environmentalist registered with the Energy Institute, UK. He is also a registered EIA consultant with vast experience in managing environmental projects particularly environmental impact assessment and management plans. He is active in research related to climate change, environmental management, environmental education, sustainable development and occupational health and safety.

References

Agbedahin AV (2019). Sustainable development, Education for Sustainable Development, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Emergence, efficacy, eminence, and future. Sustainable Development 27(4). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: 669–680. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1931.

Arbuthnott KD (2009). Education for sustainable development beyond attitude change. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 10(2). Emerald Group Publishing Limited: 152–163. DOI: 10.1108/14676370910945954.

Ashford NA (2004). Major challenges to engineering education for sustainable development: What has to change to make it creative, effective, and acceptable to the established disciplines? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 5(3). Emerald Group Publishing Limited: 239–250. DOI: 10.1108/14676370410546394.

Barker KL and Burdick DW (1985). The NIV Study Bible, New International Version. Washington, DC: Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Christie BA, Miller KK, Cooke R, et al. (2013). Environmental sustainability in higher education: how do academics teach? Environmental Education Research 19(3). Routledge: 385–414. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.698598.

Dale A and Newman L (2005). Sustainable development, education and literacy. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 6(4). Emerald Group Publishing Limited: 351–362. DOI: 10.1108/14676370510623847.

Davidson AB and Streane AW (1916). The Book Ezekiel. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Combridge: Cambridge University Press.

Davis EF (2009). Learning Our Place : The Agrarian Perspective of the Bible. Word & World 29(2): 109–120.

Ellicott C (2015). Ellicott’s Bible Commentary, Volume 1. Delmarva Publications, Inc.

Ellis G and Weekes T (2008) Making sustainability ‘real’: using group‐enquiry to promote education for sustainable development. Environmental Education Research 14(4). Routledge: 482–500. DOI: 10.1080/13504620802308287.

Ezeh M-NE (2015). A Christian Approach to Education for Sustainable Development. Journal of US-China Public Administration 12(5): 337–344. DOI: 10.17265/1548-6591/2015.05.001.

Fausset AR, Brown D and Jamieson R (1961). Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s Commentary on the Whole Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House.

Henry M (2005). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible. CCEL.

Houghton J (2007). The Search for God: Can Science Help? Cheltenham, UK: John Ray Initiative.

Ideland M and Malmberg C (2015). Governing ‘eco-certified children’ through pastoral power: critical perspectives on education for sustainable development. Environmental Education Research 21(2). Routledge: 173–182. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2013.879696.

Jackson L (2017). ‘Asian’ Perspectives on Education for Sustainable Development. Educational Philosophy and Theory 49(5). Routledge: 473–479. DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2016.1223501.

Jan B and Jeffrey U (2018). Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: An enabling role for accounting research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 31(1). Emerald Publishing Limited: 2–24. DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-05-2017-2929.

Kamp L (2006). Engineering education in sustainable development at Delft University of Technology. Journal of Cleaner Production 14(9): 928–931. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2005.11.036.

Keil CF and Delitzsch F (2014). Commentary on the Old Testament. Titus Books.

Kevany KD (2007). Building the requisite capacity for stewardship and sustainable development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Kevany K, Huisingh D, and García FJL (eds) 8(2). Emerald Group Publishing Limited: 107–122. DOI: 10.1108/14676370710726580.

Kopnina H and Meijers F (2014). Education for sustainable development (ESD): Exploring theoretical and practical challenges. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 15(2): 188–207. DOI: 10.1108/IJSHE-07-2012-0059.

Læssøe J, Schnack K, Breiting S, et al. (2009). Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Response from Education. Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lozano FJ and Lozano R (2014). Developing the curriculum for a new Bachelor’s degree in Engineering for Sustainable Development. Journal of Cleaner Production 64: 136–146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.08.022.

Lozano R, Barreiro-Gen M, Lozano FJ, et al. (2019). Teaching sustainability in European higher education institutions: Assessing the connections between competences and pedagogical approaches. Sustainability (Switzerland) 11(6): 1–17. DOI: 10.3390/su11061602.

Luetz JM, Buxton G and Bangert K (2018). Christian Theological, Hermeneutical and Eschatological Perspectives on Environmental Sustainability and Creation Care—The Role of Holistic Education BT - Reimagining Christian Education: Cultivating Transformative Approaches. In: Luetz JM, Dowden T, and Norsworthy B (eds). Singapore: Springer Singapore, pp. 51–73. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0851-2_4.

Milton JI (2016). Ruth: A Discourse Analysis of the Hebrew Bible. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 59(4). Evangelical Theological Society: 825.

Moo DJ and Moo JA (2018) Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World. Michigan: Zondervan Academic.

Museka G and Madondo MM (2012). The quest for a relevant environmental pedagogy in the African context: Insights from unhu/ubuntu philosophy. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment 4(10). Academic Journals: 258–265.

Nousheen A, Yousuf Zai SA, Waseem M, et al. (2020). Education for sustainable development (ESD): Effects of sustainability education on pre-service teachers’ attitude towards sustainable development (SD). Journal of Cleaner Production 250: 119537. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119537.

O’Flaherty J and Liddy M (2018). The impact of development education and education for sustainable development interventions: a synthesis of the research. Environmental Education Research 24(7). Routledge: 1031–1049. DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1392484.

Orr DW (2004). Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Washington, DC: Island Press.

Parry RSJ (1911) Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Poole M (2010) Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Holy Bible, volume 1—Genesis to Job. Hendrickson, USA.

Rauch F (2002) The Potential of Education for Sustainable Development for Reform in Schools. Environmental Education Research 8(1). Routledge: 43–51. DOI: 10.1080/13504620120109646.

Tang KHD (2018) Correlation between sustainability education and engineering students’ attitudes towards sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 19(3). Emerald Publishing Limited: 459–472. DOI: 10.1108/IJSHE-08-2017-0139.

Tang KHD (2019a) Are We Already in a Climate Crisis? Global Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering 1: 25–32.

Tang KHD (2019b) Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Rainforests’ Adaptive Capacity and Ecological Plasticity. Climate Change Facts, Impacts and Solutions 1: 1–5.

Tang KHD (2019c) Climate change and paddy yield in Malaysia: A short communication. Global Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering 1: 14–19.

Tang KHD (2020a) Personality traits, teamwork competencies and academic performance among first-year engineering students. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. DOI: 10.1108/HESWBL-11-2019-0153.

Tang KHD (2020b) Anticipations for and Perceived Barriers of Development among the Sarawak’s Highlanders. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities 28(2).

Tang KHD (2020c) Hydroelectric dams and power demand in Malaysia: A planning perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production 252: 119795. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119795.

Tang KHD and Al Qahtani HMS (2020) Sustainability of oil palm plantations in Malaysia. Environment, Development and Sustainability 22(6): 4999–5023. DOI: 10.1007/s10668-019-00458-6.

Tang KHD and Yap P-S (2020) A Systematic Review of Slash-and-Burn Agriculture as an Obstacle to Future-Proofing Climate Change. Proceedings of The International Conference on Climate Change 4(1 SE-Articles). DOI: 10.17501/2513258X.2020.4101.

Tang KHD (2021). The effects of climate change on occupational safety and health. Global Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering 3: 1–10

United Nations Environment Programme (2021) Religions and environmental protection. Available at: https://www.unenvironment.org/about-un-environment/faith-earth-initiative/religions-and-environmental-protection.

Warburton K (2003) Deep learning and education for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 4(1). MCB UP Ltd: 44–56. DOI: 10.1108/14676370310455332.

White A (2010) Religious environmentalism as a vital contribution to sustainability. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy 4(3). Emerald Group Publishing Limited: 268–278. DOI: 10.1108/17506201011068255.

Wright T (2004) The Evolution of Sustainability Declarations in Higher Education BT - Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability: Problematics, Promise, and Practice. In: Corcoran PB and Wals AEJ (eds). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 7–19. DOI: 10.1007/0-306-48515-X_2.

Downloads

Published

2021-04-13

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 4 (2021)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).