Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), a UN campaign started in 2005 aimed at creating an educated populace equipped to take on matters of sustainability, is pushing governments, institutions, and people to act more responsibly in a rapidly changing world. Prior research shows that students often do not think of sustainability as including the non-environmental aspects, namely society and economy. When students' definitions and understandings of sustainability broaden, they may see the environment as relational rather than as a separate entity, which can internalize the impact of their actions on the environment. Incorporating poetry into lessons about sustainability stimulates critical thinking and engagement with the material. Connections among all three pillars of sustainability may be more challenging to make, especially for students who are accustomed to single-discipline learning. Through poetry, students are given the space to think more deeply about sustainable development. This research investigated how students conceptualized sustainability—including not just environmental aspects, but also social and economic issues. This study also used poetry to teach sustainability and looked at the ways that an interdisciplinary approach can further learning.
The researcher collected drawings and questionnaires from 16 and 17-year-old students taking an advanced geography class in an affluent area of rural England. Students drew their idea of a sustainable city before and after the lesson in which the class read and analyzed the poem “A Vision” by Simon Armatage, which is about the future of a city. The drawings allowed participants to emphasize whichever aspects of cities and sustainability most mattered to them. The researcher also administered questionnaires before and after the lesson to gauge students' attitudes, understanding, and behavior regarding sustainability. In the initial questionnaire, students wrote a definition of sustainable development in their own words. The post-lesson questionnaire also included questions about the lesson itself and if students thought it helped them learn. Additionally, the teacher chose five students, representing varying academic abilities, for interviews. The data were analyzed by identifying themes throughout them. The themes fell within the widely accepted categories of sustainability: environment, society, and economy, with additional subcategories—such as energy, employment, or healthcare—to provide for further depth. The drawings, questionnaires, and interviews were verified against each other to ensure legitimacy among each of the three differing types of data.
Overall, the study found that the interdisciplinary approach of using poetry to teach about sustainability was very effective. Some students said they felt uncomfortable using poetry, but most students enjoyed it, often citing the added challenge. The poetry and consequent analysis elicited emotional responses in some students. Because poetry is more open to interpretation, the students had space to make the connections for themselves and reflect on the issues, which made it more engaging overall.
The results showed that before the lesson, students' understandings of sustainability were heavily skewed towards the environmental aspects, such as sustainable transportation and housing. Environmental topics came up most often in the pre-lesson drawings, questionnaires, and interviews. The drawings were even more heavily related to the environment than the questionnaires. The researcher hypothesized that this could be due to the relative ease of drawing environmental issues compared to economic or social issues. Within the pre-lesson questionnaires, many students mentioned resources and used definitions mimicking the Brundtland Report definition of sustainability, which emphasizes meeting needs of those alive now and those in further generations.
In the post-lesson drawings, environmental themes were still most prevalent, but less so than before. The drawings included more visuals representing employment (economy), governance (society), and social justice (society). The post-lesson questionnaire definitions showed a broader understanding because the students discussed societal and economic issues at more frequency. In the questionnaire, society had the most mentions, environment the second most mentions, and economy with the fewest mentions, though still a significant amount.
This study did not gather data on whether information from the lesson is sustained long-term. Thus, the researcher recommends a similar, but more longitudinal study. Additionally, this study was conducted with a small group of students in rural England, and results may not be generalizable to other students in different setting.
The success of the interdisciplinary approach in this study has wide implications. Education is often very segregated by discipline, but this research shows that students learn better and process information more when they are exposed to an interdisciplinary approach. The author recommends the use of interdisciplinary learning as it requires students to step out of their comfort zone and forge the connections that are necessary for solving matters of sustainability. The interdisciplinary nature of the intervention in this study allowed students to process information in a new way.
The Bottom Line
Helping students broaden their understanding of sustainability may be critical to how they conceptualize their impact on the environment. This research found that using poetry helped students to gain awareness for all three aspects of sustainable development—environment, society, and economics. Initially, many students were conscious of environmental issues of sustainability, but demonstrated little knowledge about the other two. The author recommends an interdisciplinary approach to education for sustainable development that facilitates critical thinking and deep engagement with the material.