Green Education and Sustainability in English Textbooks at the Intermediate Level in Pakistan: An Ecocritical Analysis

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is accepted globally as one of the key tools for attaining sustainable progress by the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) from 2005 to 2014. Many experts have noticed that the integration of sustainable development principles in the curriculum is one of the most important indicators impacting ESD success. In today’s industrial and technology-driven world, environmental challenges are becoming increasingly prevalent. Therefore, incorporating the teaching of ecological issues in educational institutions and creating awareness about these have become essential to protect and improve current ecosystems. The purpose of the study is to review the existing syllabus of English textbooks prescribed by the Federal Board of Education in Pakistan to explore if it integrates themes and issues related to the environment and the breadth and variety of themes pertaining to environmental concerns that are covered in these textbooks. Utilising Arran Stibbe’s (2015) Ecolinguistics framework, the present study conducts qualitative textual analysis to investigate how these textbooks frame environmental issues, evaluate concerns, and incorporate ideologies. The data has been collected from the English textbooks of intermediate level prescribed by the Federal Board of Pakistan. A variety of frames are used to draw attention to environmental issues, with the most common being crisis and moral obligation frames. Evaluative language exposes both positive and negative evaluations. This study makes a significant contribution to the discourse about environmental education.

Keywords

Ecolinguistics, environmental education, green curriculum, sustainable development.

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