The paper analyzed the concept of sustainability in geography textbooks, developed and published by The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at the national level. As the textbooks hold a critical role as a resource in the teaching-learning process at all levels of education. The present paper explores the content of geography textbooks, topics associated with sustainability. A content analysis approach is used to analyze the content available in the form of texts, visuals, activities, and exercises of grade 6th to 8th to explore the kind and extent of promotion to sustainability education in Indian formal school education. The UNESCO’s Earth Charter (EC) framework of education for sustainability and Bloom’s taxonomy (six cognitive categories) has been used to analyze the topics linked to sustainability. The study reported an over-emphasis on the principle of ecological integrity with an anthropocentric approach. The explicit mention of the definition of sustainable development and its principle was reported in grade 8th. At entry level of middle grade, activities focused on appreciating and caring for flora and fauna around them. Textbooks focuses more on providing the distribution, and factual information for remembering rather than promoting holistic thinking for addressing sustainability issues.

Authors:
Bharti Dahiya, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Bharti Dahiya is a University Doctoral Student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences in India

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