Place‑Based Poetry Teaching for Sustainability Competence in EFL Teacher Education

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a central priority in various education policies, with Agenda 2030 emphasising the need for learners to not only acquire relevant knowledge about sustainability, but crucially also the competence to act for sustainable change (United Nations, 2015). Evaluations that have taken place in Sweden in recent years highlight shortcomings in how ESD is worked with in schools and have pointed towards lack of teacher competence as one of the contributing factors. Even when teachers are knowledgeable about Agenda 2030 and sustainable development, they might nevertheless still lack the competencies necessary to help students become independent and reflective thinkers and see their role as active agents for change. This reflective piece responds to the challenges presented by the Swedish School Inspectorate. This is done firstly through an account of how place-based learning and poetry pedagogy can intersect to support sustainable competencies within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education. Secondly, this paper showcases two iterations of a specific place-based excursion conducted with upper secondary school teacher education students at Lund University.