INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION INTO 21ST CENTURY CURRICULUM: PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

This paper explores the integration of Sustainability Education (SE) into the 21st-century curriculum, emphasizing its significance in addressing urgent global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and ecological degradation. Grounded in the principles of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), SE fosters critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and systems-based understanding. The study outlines key pedagogical approaches—such as inquiry-based, experiential, project-based, and interdisciplinary learning—that promote transformative educational experiences. It also examines major challenges including curriculum overload, lack of teacher preparedness, weak policy support, and assessment limitations. By analyzing both the pedagogical potential and systemic barriers, the paper advocates for a collaborative, multi-stakeholder strategy to embed sustainability meaningfully into educational frameworks. The findings highlight the urgent need for education systems to evolve in response to global sustainability imperatives, ultimately empowering learners as active agents of change.