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MAPPING OF EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEW CURRICULUM OF KOSOVO AND CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Zeqir Veselaj, Zenel Krasniqi

Abstract

Kosovo, facing sustainability challenges that are challenging the global ecosystem, is moving towards broader inclusion of the education for sustainable development in its curriculum. This approach followed intensive curricular developments in the post-war Kosovo, especially in the new national curriculum adopted in 2011, a competency based curriculum and with many innovation in the educational system. This paper has been prepared by analyzing and comparing the inclusion of education for sustainable development in the new national curriculum and its practical implementation in pre-university level of education. During the research, the official curriculum documents of 2001 and 2011 are analyzed, as well the educational content that teachers and students face in terms of education for sustainable development. From the research has emerged that in many educational contents, work with students, but also in national curricula the education for sustainable development is often limited only within the concept of environmental education, which means that so far no clear and broad understanding of the complexity of sustainable development. The new curriculum, as one of its goals of pre-university education determines the development of responsibility to themselves, to others, to society and to the environment. Cross curricular education as one of the key areas of education for sustainable development in most curricular fields of the curriculum but more focus to the following areas: society and environment, life and work and health with wellbeing. Sustainable learning as component of new curriculum is considered teaching for and in service of the sustainable development of society, economy and environment. Through six curriculum levels, students planned to advance by developing and reinforcing knowledge and competence in the field of education for sustainable development. In real life in schools, the subject of environmental education, as elective one, covers field of sustainable development, but it also included the field of civics courses and natural sciences. The research results show that the curriculum framework sufficiently addresses this aspect, but learning, educational content and school based work is still incomplete and tentative. This research will provide specific recommendations for curriculum designers under the new curriculum to address in more concrete terms education for sustainable development even in lesson plans.

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