The urgency of addressing environmental degradation, resource depletion, and social inequalities has elevated the importance of education for sustainability (Sterling, 2001). This abstract investigates the promise of interdisciplinary learning to advance sustainability education, drawing on a range of academic sources as well as in-school work and development. The paper provides an extensive insight into how interdisciplinary learning can drive forward the sustainability education agenda.

Implementing education for sustainability in Secondary Schools is faced with many challenges and barriers (McDonald, 2023), however interdisciplinary learning and teaching can help overcome these barriers. For Jacobs (1989) interdisciplinary learning and teaching involve the integration of knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to address complex real-world problems, fostering critical thinking, collaboration, and transferable skills. Thereby allowing learners to develop a comprehensive grasp of complex sustainability challenges through cultivating critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a profound engagement with real-world sustainability issues.

This paper underscores the promise of interdisciplinary learning in promoting education for sustainability, by using practical ways of addressing implementation barriers to help prepare future generations to address the pressing sustainability challenges.

Authors:
Elani McDonald, Educational Development Institute at Qatar Foundation, Qatar

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Elani McDonald is is currently working at Educational Development Institute at Qatar Foundation in Qatar

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