Browsing by Author "Furustam, Reetta"

Aims. All choices, decisions, and actions in our daily lives, including educational practices, are decisions for the future and affect how sustainable future we will create. Understanding the consequences of our choices and recognising our limits is essential for our future. Eco social civilization has been suggested as a solution to maintain the boundaries and preventing human inequality. Craft and visual arts are based on experiences, emotions and actions which support student’s personal and cultural development and help to understand broad contexts. The aim of this Masters’ Thesis was to study how sustainable craft and visual arts education in primary school can contribute to transformation towards eco-social civilisation. Methods. The data for this study was collected by an online survey from primary school craft and visual arts teachers. The survey was collected between March and April 2022 from four different groups in social media and was answered by total of 31 teachers. The data was analysed by using quantitative methods and qualitive content analysis. Results and conclusions. The results indicated that this subject is important, and its dimensions were considered in teaching. The contents most often considered in teaching were saving energy, water and resource, using recycled materials, reducing consumption, teaching traditional techniques, well-being effects, compassion and empathy, and interaction and learning skills. Only some respondents made use of services provided by networks outside the school, mainly for information and brainstorming. The use of these services was perceived as burdensome. In addition to the lack of time, the amount of content to be taught was identified as a challenge. Teaching materials should be subject- and age-specific and collected in one place. Responses indicated that teachers should be given more information and resources on how to teach the subject. The school culture should be developed, and the content and objectives of local curricula should be refined to support sustainable development. Teacher training opportunities should also be improved.