Education for Sustainable Development Through Curricular Themes of Environmental Knowledge: An Analysis on Vietnam’s Biology Curriculum

Abstract

Realized in the form of Environmental Education, Education for Sustainable Development has long been a priority in Vietnam’s education. Specifically, both refer to learning about the environment and protect- ing the environment in Vietnam. This approach aligns with Hungerford’s framework of a 3-year Environmental Education curriculum consisting of a list of themes on Environmental Knowledge for the development of environ- mental literacy in learners. For this study, we adopted the framework to explore which themes are covered in Vietnam’s 2018 Biology Curriculum for high schools (Grades 10–12). Additionally, we identified which SDGs could be integrated into the curriculum. The findings reveal that the curriculum covers 17 out of 26 Environmental Knowledge themes and has the possibility to integrate nine SDGs in various contents. The most emphasized SDGs in the Biology Curriculum are the SDG2, SDG3, SDG6, SDG14, and SDG15, which are also reflected in the nationalized SDG targets of Vietnam. In this context, we recommend teachers to consider the local characteristics and school resources in selecting textbooks and organizing educational activities to pro- vide personalized learning experiences for all students. Further research on the implementa- tion of the curriculum in integrating Education for Sustainable Development and the SDGs into Vietnam’s education is also needed.