Re-imagining Science Teacher Learning About Sustainability Education Using Arts-inspired Methodologies Within a STEAM Framework

The Anthropocene, a phase in which development has reached a scale which affects vital planetary processes, is upon us. Cross-cutting curriculum themes which have drifted into education programmes for several decades have not been effective in mitigating sustainability-linked pressures. The contention in this paper is that creative, critical inquiry is required to change the tenor of science teacher education for sustainability. It argues for a more transformative epistemology through arts-inspired approaches in STEM subjects, by favouring a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) framework. This qualitative study was framed by critical theory, and drew on the conceptual domains of instructional content and learning context. Problem-based delivery, integration of subject content from several disciplines and problem-solving skills are tenets of this model. Teacher learning at a South African higher education institution was explored to answer the key question: ‘How can arts-inspired methodologies, such as reflexivity and collage inquiry, enable science teachers to reimagine teaching and learning about sustainability in the curriculum?’ Eleven purposively selected science teachers engaged in reflexive journalling, collage inquiry and lesson summary development. Reflexive journalling involved the teachers re-membering their connectedness to the natural world. Collages were used to represent ideas related to instructional content for adopting a STEAM approach. Findings revealed how teachers embodied connections to the environment and created new metacognitive pathways for a critique of their pedagogy which was underpinned by a STEAM approach. The study recommends a commitment to adopting multimodal pathways and a plurality of disciplines, using a STEAM for Sustainability Education approach.