Education for sustainable development: Continuing Professional Development for teachers

The main aim of this project was to generate new knowledge about engaging teachers with sustainability issues in a low-resource context; the overall research question being: ‘What is the meaning of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in a low-resource context?’ At present teachers in Somalia receive no CPD on ESD. This is in part an issue of low levels of teacher training in general due to lack of resources. To the extent that teacher training exists in Somalia at present, it focuses only on general pedagogical skills and on the existing curriculum, which does not have an ESD component. 

Methodology

The core research design and conceptual framework for researching ESD CPD for teachers in Somalia was based on a combination of coursework and teacher reflection derived from the World Wildlife Fund Teacher Development on education for sustainability. 

Key Findings

• The sustainability agenda was prioritized and highlighted in Somalia during the project lifetime.
• The inclusion of SDGs into the curriculum was advocated for by the project participants and the government.

The reflections/lessons learnt on the Project and the Coursework were shared.

Key Recommendations

• The project participants recommended the project to be continued, up scaled for many others to benefit, and learn from it.
• Government Officials especially in the Ministry of Education and Culture have recommended the project to support integrating sustainability into the curriculum of Somali education. They called for the project implementors to support this.