<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This article discusses different interpretations of sustainable development in education and if different interpretations of the concept are implemented in Curriculum, with the Swedish Curriculum of Upper Secondary School as an example. According to Agenda 21 sustainable development should be implemented in a multidimensional way. In 2011, a new school reform of upper secondary school was implemented in Sweden which further strengthened the position of sustainable development in school by inserting the term into more syllabuses. However, the multiple instances of the concept do not necessarily mean that a multidimensional interpretation of the concept is implemented in accordance with the objectives of Agenda 21. By using <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_dcse-2017-0020_ref_021_w2aab3b7b9b1b6b1ab1ac21Aa">Laclau and Mouffe’s (2008)</xref> idea of discursive struggle as a theoretical framework it is possible to discern how descriptions of sustainable development essentially give rise to one discursive formation in the curriculum. The articulations of sustainable development in the curriculum rests on an idea of the ecosystem that seem to enforce the natural scientific rationality instead of letting different rationalities contribute to the meaning. The descriptions of sustainable development in the curriculum can be interpreted as a hegemonic expropriation of elements of other discourses, such as the social and economic, into the environmental (ecological) dimension. These results are consistent with other international studies, and emphasises the importance of taking a critical stance to the writings of Curriculum when putting them into practice.</p></abstract>

This article discusses different interpretations of sustainable development in education and if different interpretations of the concept are implemented in Curriculum, with the Swedish Curriculum of Upper Secondary School as an example. According to Agenda 21 sustainable development should be implemented in a multidimensional way. In 2011, a new school reform of upper secondary school was implemented in Sweden which further strengthened the position of sustainable development in school by inserting the term into more syllabuses. However, the multiple instances of the concept do not necessarily mean that a multidimensional interpretation of the concept is implemented in accordance with the objectives of Agenda 21. By using Laclau and Mouffe’s (2008) idea of discursive struggle as a theoretical framework it is possible to discern how descriptions of sustainable development essentially give rise to one discursive formation in the curriculum. The articulations of sustainable development in the curriculum rests on an idea of the ecosystem that seem to enforce the natural scientific rationality instead of letting different rationalities contribute to the meaning. The descriptions of sustainable development in the curriculum can be interpreted as a hegemonic expropriation of elements of other discourses, such as the social and economic, into the environmental (ecological) dimension. These results are consistent with other international studies, and emphasises the importance of taking a critical stance to the writings of Curriculum when putting them into practice.

Education for Sustainable Development and Multidimensional Implementation. A Study of Implementations of Sustainable Development in Education with the Curriculum of Upper Secondary School in Sweden as an Example

Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

This article discusses different interpretations of sustainable development in education and if different interpretations of the concept are implemented in...

Education for Sustainable Development and Multidimensional Implementation. A Study of Implementations of Sustainable Development in Education with the Curriculum of Upper Secondary School in Sweden as an Example

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 114 - 126

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/dcse-2017-0020

Keywords
Sustainable development, education, politics, implementation, upper secondary school

© 2017 Ulrika Svalfors, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Education for Sustainable Development and Multidimensional Implementation. A Study of Implementations of Sustainable Development in Education with the Curriculum of Upper Secondary School in Sweden as an Example

Published Online: Jan 11, 2018

Page range: 114 - 126

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/dcse-2017-0020

KeywordsSustainable development, education, politics, implementation, upper secondary school

© 2017 Ulrika Svalfors, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Sustainable development, education, politics, implementation, upper secondary school