Infusing Education for Sustainable Development into the Curriculum: Best Practice from Indonesia’s Science Curriculum Implementation

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a potential science education approach that provides knowledge and skills that encourage lifelong learning and help people find solutions to environmental, economic, and social problems. This approach can be infused into the curriculum in three ways: (1) as a contextual framework for predetermined lesson content (ESD on the curriculum), (2) as a contextual framework with the inclusion of limited ESD content (ESD in the curriculum), and (3) as mainly ESD-focused content, within the contextual framework of ESD (curriculum of ESD). The first method is used when it is not possible to change the structure of the subject matter. The second method applies the characteristics of ESD as a pedagogical approach to content that includes some ESD-related content and is used when subjects provide some opportunities for the development of such content. Finally, an ESD-focused curriculum applies the characteristics of ESD to the content of subjects arranged, presented in a structured and systematic context, and driven by the principles of ESD. This method is applied when both the curriculum design and subject content can be aligned with an ESD approach, including the development of new subjects that specifically study ESD.