Sustainable development is an integral part of a successful and planned society.
Therefore, this mixed-methods study investigated the status of education for
sustainable development (ESD) at all three elementary levels of Punjab, Pakistan.
This study explained the status of ESD in: (1) social study curriculum, (2) social study
books, (3) perception of elementary teachers on ESD, (4) perception of curriculum
experts on ESD presence in the curriculum of all three elementary levels, and (5)
students’ knowledge and attitude toward economic, social, and environmental
sustainability. The mixed methods, convergent design with a parallel database variant
was used to achieve the objectives. The content analysis, interviews, and
questionnaires were a source of data collection. The sample of the study was
comprised of social studies curriculum and textbooks of elementary level, 40 teachers
from forty elementary schools, 5 curriculum experts, and twelve hundred elementary
students. It is found that the term sustainable or sustainable development has not been
practiced in the curriculum and in textbooks. Content analysis of the curriculum
showed that curriculum at elementary level needs to be improved. Moreover, it has
found that most of teachers try to provide the best services to teach their students on
sustainability but there was an extreme need of teachers training and refreshing
courses on ESD. Key challenges recognized in the curriculum and social study
textbooks of elementary level grade 6th,7th, and 8th were lack of sustainable
development competencies, no teacher training for sustainable development, and lack
of advanced terminology in the curriculum regarding SD. This study also found that
there is an extreme need to prepare a curriculum that covered the best knowledge and
practices on sustainability and its development. Further, this study recommended that
the Government of Punjab need to either develop a social study curriculum about ESD according to developed countries, or fellow best practices and frameworks of the
curriculum of other countries. The curriculum developers may use the study findings
to revise the social studies curricula at the elementary level. The textbook writers
might use the findings to write textbooks with a focus on ESD content and ESD
competencies. Teachers might use the findings to improve their students’ knowledge
of sustainability issues and their competencies regarding sustainability. Policymakers
might use the findings of the study to devise policies regarding the implementation of
education for sustainable development. Future researchers may use the findings to
plan further research in the area of education for sustainable development.
Keywords: Education for sustainable development, Social Studies curriculum, Social
Studies Textbooks, ESD Competences, Curriculum Experts.