title: Integrating education for sustainability into secondary science classes: Practices and perceptions of New Zealand teachers

authors: Gundersen, Mandy

abstract: Global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss necessitate a collective shift towards sustainable living. Education for Sustainability aims to equip students with the essential knowledge, skills, attitudes and agency to meet sustainability goals and forge a better future. It is a holistic approach, yet single-subject school structures at the secondary level mean it must be integrated into subjects such as science. However, there is limited research, particularly in New Zealand, on how this integration is practiced in secondary science classes.

Grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, this study interviewed five New Zealand secondary science teachers to understand their conceptualisations of sustainability and sustainability education. It explored how their understanding was translated into practice through detailed descriptions of lessons and units. The study provides insights into how these teachers integrate sustainability across junior science, the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level One science standards, and senior science subjects, while also elaborating on the benefits they believed students received and the challenges they faced in this integration.

This research found that these New Zealand teachers had a broad understanding of sustainability and recognised key components of sustainability education. They saw sustainability as a way to make science engaging and to develop scientific literacy among their students. To incorporate sustainability into science, they had all designed units which included place-based approaches, integrated topics, considered multiple perspectives, and interwove mātauranga Māori, or New Zealand indigenous knowledge. The boundaries of science as a subject, senior-level assessment requirements, and the time needed for some sustainability-focused activities were noted as challenges to sustainability’s integration.

The research recommends that for the effective integration of sustainability, support is required, particularly regarding teacher education and the provision of resources that exemplify sustainability in science. Furthermore, curriculum and assessment changes designed to incorporate sustainability must remain clear about the required science content to ensure students are robustly prepared for senior science studies.

text: Integrating education for sustainability into secondary science classes: Practices and perceptions of New Zealand teachers Global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss necessitate a collective shift towards sustainable living. Education for Sustainability aims to equip students with the essential knowledge, skills, attitudes and agency to meet sustainability goals and forge a better future. It is a holistic approach, yet single-subject school structures at the secondary level mean it must be integrated into subjects such as science. However, there is limited research, particularly in New Zealand, on how this integration is practiced in secondary science classes.

Grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, this study interviewed five New Zealand secondary science teachers to understand their conceptualisations of sustainability and sustainability education. It explored how their understanding was translated into practice through detailed descriptions of lessons and units. The study provides insights into how these teachers integrate sustainability across junior science, the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement Level One science standards, and senior science subjects, while also elaborating on the benefits they believed students received and the challenges they faced in this integration.

This research found that these New Zealand teachers had a broad understanding of sustainability and recognised key components of sustainability education. They saw sustainability as a way to make science engaging and to develop scientific literacy among their students. To incorporate sustainability into science, they had all designed units which included place-based approaches, integrated topics, considered multiple perspectives, and interwove mātauranga Māori, or New Zealand indigenous knowledge. The boundaries of science as a subject, senior-level assessment requirements, and the time needed for some sustainability-focused activities were noted as challenges to sustainability’s integration.

The research recommends that for the effective integration of sustainability, support is required, particularly regarding teacher education and the provision of resources that exemplify sustainability in science. Furthermore, curriculum and assessment changes designed to incorporate sustainability must remain clear about the required science content to ensure students are robustly prepared for senior science studies.

year: 2025

title: Indigenous psychologies globally – a perspective from Aotearoa/New Zealand

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: Maori

abstract: Discusses indigenous psychology from a global perspective and then from the perspective of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

text: Indigenous psychologies globally – a perspective from Aotearoa/New Zealand Discusses indigenous psychology from a global perspective and then from the perspective of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

year: 2004-06

title: Using ontologies to reason about the usability of interactive medical devices in multiple situations of use

authors: Bowen, Judy

subjects: Ontologies

abstract: Formally modelling interactive software systems and devices allows us to prove properties of correctness about such devices, and thus ensure effectiveness of their use. It also enables us to consider interaction properties such as usability and consistency between the interface and system functionality. Interactive modal devices, that have a ﬁxed interface but whose behaviour is dependent on the mode of the device, can be similarly modelled. Such devices always behave in the same way (i.e. have the same functionality and interaction possibilities) irrespective of how, or where, they are used. However, a user’s interaction with such devices may vary according to the physical location or environment in which they are situated (we refer to this as a system’s context and usage situation). In this paper we look at a particular example of a safety-critical system, that of a modal interactive medical syringe pump, which is used in multiple situations. We consider how ontologies can be used to reason about the effects of different situations on the use of such devices.

text: Using ontologies to reason about the usability of interactive medical devices in multiple situations of use Formally modelling interactive software systems and devices allows us to prove properties of correctness about such devices, and thus ensure effectiveness of their use. It also enables us to consider interaction properties such as usability and consistency between the interface and system functionality. Interactive modal devices, that have a ﬁxed interface but whose behaviour is dependent on the mode of the device, can be similarly modelled. Such devices always behave in the same way (i.e. have the same functionality and interaction possibilities) irrespective of how, or where, they are used. However, a user’s interaction with such devices may vary according to the physical location or environment in which they are situated (we refer to this as a system’s context and usage situation). In this paper we look at a particular example of a safety-critical system, that of a modal interactive medical syringe pump, which is used in multiple situations. We consider how ontologies can be used to reason about the effects of different situations on the use of such devices.

year: 2012