Transforming Educational Practices For A Sustainable Future In Secondary Schools
Abstract
The world is undergoing rapid changes in the knowledge landscape. The National Education Policy (NEP)- 2020 proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure to create a new system that is aligned with the aspiration goals of 21st century education, including Sustainable Development Goal-4 (SDG4), while building upon India’s traditions and value systems. In this context, the Government of India has taken initiative to transform educational practices in secondary schools for a sustainable future. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) views education as the key for unlocking progress in all the global development goals. It teaches individuals to make informed decisions and take action, both individually and collectively, to change the society and protect the planet. It equips people of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values and ability to tackle issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, overuse of resources and inequality that impact the well-being of people. This necessitates teachers to take a shift from traditional methods of teaching to the new pedagogical approaches and transform educational practices for a sustainable future. The present study is an attempt to explore the perceptions of teachers towards transforming educational practices in secondary schools for a sustainable future. The researchers used a well developed and standardized questionnaire as the tool for collection of data from a sample of 120 teachers (20 Headmasters and 100 School Assistants) working in 20 selected secondary schools located in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh using Stratified Random Sampling technique. Mean score values, standard deviations and independent t-tests were used for analysis of data. The findings of the study revealed that the demographic variables – Gender and Teaching Experience have no influence on the perceptions of teachers towards transforming educational practices in secondary schools for a sustainable future. However, ‘designation’ of teachers has a significant positive influence on their perceptions, with Headmasters perceiving higher towards transforming educational practices for a sustainable future as compared to their counterparts working as School Assistants. The study suggests that teachers should develop positive attitude and right perceptions towards transforming educational practices in secondary schools for a sustainable future.
