Sustainable Thinking Development in Religious Education (RE) as a Part of Primary School Socially Oriented Learning as Teachers’ Professional Development Potential in Stockholm

Abstract

This article analyzes the organizational way to form sustainable thinking in socially oriented studies for teachers and students using the experience of Stockholms stads utbildningsförvaltning (Stockholm Education Administration). Deep studies of thematical publications, the curriculum, and websites for teachers were used as a pedagogical method. The article’s main goal is to find out what help teachers are given to make socially oriented lessons more sustainable.

Keywords:

• sustainable thinking
• socially oriented learning
• religious education
• primary school students
• teachers’ development potential in Stockholm

INTRODUCTION

Modern societies face a remarkable challenge of digital transition that is difficult to ignore. The problematic issue pedagogic science faces is thus the “digital person of the future” who has to be educated by teachers. In this case, the moral culture and the esthetics of an individual often receive extra significance.

Digitalization, artificial intelligence, and clip-thinking are the realities of our time and have many advantages, as UNICEF (2017) emphasized:

1. Digital technologies are bringing opportunities for learning and education to children, especially in remote regions and during humanitarian crises.

2. Digital technologies also allow children to access information on issues that affect their communities and can give them a role in helping to solve them.

3. Digital technologies can deliver economic opportunity by providing young people with training opportunities and job-matching services and by creating new kinds of work.

4. To accelerate learning, information and communication technology in education needs to be backed by training for teachers and strong pedagogy.

However, the amount of information available reduces the level of attention to serious moral attitudes among youth. Ethical culture and the mental development of the individual are vital part to society’s development. Thus, tools and content for moral education are an acute issue at this development stage, in particular for primary education.

It is hard to overestimate the importance of fine arts, literature, and the like for creative personality development. At question is a teacher’s ability to talk about equality, humanism, philanthropy, tolerance, respect for others’ needs, and the sustainable development of society. However, it is not enough just to “talk about” but to form a clear conviction in their necessity so that this categories becomes a way of life. Therefore, the educational potential development of religious education should be considered part of socially oriented studies in religious education (RE).

These classes should present a democratic image of the world including moral aspects to children whose attitudes are just being formed, complementing the material they receive in other subjects like science, history, and mathematics.

Religion is closely connected to the natural world. Francis Bacon (1983) popularized the Bible’s idea that God gave humanity the Book of Revelations and the Book of Nature as an ideal symbiosis for understanding the world around us. The Book of Revelations portrays God’s plan and the Book of Nature reveals His greatness:

laying before us two books or volumes to study, if we will be secured from error: first the Scriptures, revealing the will of God, and then the creatures expressing His power; of which the latter is a key unto the former: not only opening our understanding to conceive the true sense of the Scriptures by the general notions of reason and rules of speech but chiefly opening our belief, in drawing us into a due meditation of the omnipotence of God, which is chiefly signed and engraved upon His works. Thus much therefore for divine testimony and evidence concerning the true dignity and value of learning. (Bacon, 1893,  p. 26)

With these books a person can get a complete picture of the world; that is, that of the moral foundations of being in the Book of Revelations and that of scientific ideas in the Book of Nature.

The task of a modern school is to help a child in forming a holistic picture of the world and a “sustainable” attitude toward the environment. In this sense, RE helps to understand the surrounding world. RE teachers should form students’ sustainable thinking by providing philosophical ethics as a part of socially oriented learning in Swedish primary schools.

The purpose of this research is to clarify the concept of “sustainable thinking” from modern didactics’ point of view. In addition, it aims to characterize the potential of socially oriented education for the formation of students’ sustainable thinking with RE being an integral part in Swedish primary schools in Stockholm.

METHOD

Research Focus

This research examines RE’s potential and teachers’ effective instruments for its implementation using the example of the Swedish primary education system. Sweden supports initiatives dealing with implementing sustainable values on national and international levels (see Chorna, 2023).

Data Sources

Two hundred fifty-six databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and SAGE, were used to identify the degree to which the connection between religious education in Swedish School and Education for Sustainable Development has been studied. Additional sources included books, articles, reports, and websites for teachers.

Method

Techniques employed in this research included content analysis, content synthesis of teacher-focused websites, and analysis of thematic publications.

RESULTS

Literature Study

The following keywords were used in database searches: “religious education for ESD,” “religious education in primary school,” and “sustainable thinking.” They were determined by the goal of the research, which is to determine how education for sustainable development (ESD) is being implemented in religious education in Swedish primary schools (Grades 1–3).

Using content analysis it was found that the existing articles deal with the following:

1. RE literacy issues (Enstedt, 2022; Svalfors, 2017; von Brömssen et al., 2020)

2. Comparative analysis of the Swedish system of RE and other countries (Franken, 2021; Itulua-Abumere, 2013; Niemi, 2018; Niculescu & Norel, 2013; Scheie & Berglund, 2022)

3. Link between RE and ESD (Altmann et al., 2012; Kvamme, 2017; Narayanan, 2013; Riley & Danner-McDonald, 2013)

4. Swedish environmental policy (Kriström, 1997)

5. Interdisciplinary development of sustainable and critical thinking (Luccarelli et al., 2019)

No previous research was found on sustainable thinking development during RE in Swedish schools.

What Is Sustainable Thinking?

The analysis of modern research on the topic gives an overview of comparable terms for “sustainable thinking,” such as “resilience thinking” and “systems thinking.” Several definitions of these terms are given in the following:

Sustainable thinking

Sustainable thinking is a way of thinking about how we organize our lives and work—including our education system—so that we don’t destroy our most precious resource, the planet. … It must be much more than recycling bottles or giving money to charity. It is about thinking and working in a profoundly different way. (Tilbury, 2011,  p. 132)

Sustainable thinking is making decisions that do not cause negative consequences for current or future generations. (Deniz, 2016, p. 78)

Thinking ethically and sustainably means that you need to assess the consequences and impact of ideas, opportunities, and actions. Your attitudes, behaviors, values, and mindset are very important to make ethical decisions and act sustainably. Typically, an ethically thinking person does not just have profit but also the people and planet in mind. (Ethical & Sustainable Thinking, 2023, p. 18)

Considerable aspects of sustainable thinking include economic and financial value, social and cultural fitness, environmental appropriateness, social and political acceptance, intended and unintended consequences, and ultimate value for human beings. (Karim, 2022,  p. 56)

Resilience thinking

Resilience thinking addresses the dynamics of complex social-environmental systems and explores how such systems can be managed in the face of disturbances—it is a paradigm beneficial toward the aims and objectives of sustainable development. (Kharrazi et al., 2019,  p. 1411)

Resilience thinking is essentially systems thinking that embraces change as a requisite to persist. Resilience, adaptability, and transformability are core concepts in resilience thinking. (Ge et al., 2016,  p. 18)

Resilience thinking is a broader concept, encompassing all individuals and society. A resilient society featuring democracy, trust in institutions, and sustainable development lies at the heart of a resilient state. (Johansson, 2018, p. 12)

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is about understanding the underlying drivers, interactions, and conditions that influence our decisions, helping us articulate problems in new and different ways and expand our boundaries of time and space to avoid or reduce potential unintended consequences. It is the intentional process of understanding how to alter the components and structures that cause a system to behave in a certain way and identifying places where relatively small actions can lead to potentially transformative systemic changes. Systems thinking can empower people to realize their power and learn how to be self-determined, engaged, and informed citizens with a clear vision of the sustainable future they desire. It helps to gain a deep, holistic understanding of sustainability challenges, to develop multipronged strategies that reinforce one another, are sustained over time, and reflect a comprehensive understanding of the major forces driving and constraining change. (Voulvoulis et al., 2022,  p. 181)

Systems thinking requires a comprehensive understanding of the environment and the interaction of its elements in a phenomenological way, seeing reality by considering its interactions and not only the parts that integrate it. From a professional point of view, competency in systemic thinking helps to face reality in an integral, strategic, and multidisciplinary way for decision-making. (Marcos-Sánchez et al., 2022,  p. 18)

Systems thinking is a set of synergistic analytic skills used to improve the capability of identifying and understanding systems, predicting their behaviors, and devising modifications to them to produce desired effects. These skills work together as a system. (Arnold & Wade, 2015,  p. 671)

The nuances in meaning in the terms’ interpretations could be seen as a reflection of the different development stages of a society that is sustainably oriented. Sustainable thinking here comes first as the ability of a person to evaluate the results of their activity and its influence on future generations from an ethical point of view. Sustainable thinking could be seen as an understanding of the resource management process for the sustainable development of society. The last stage here is systematic thinking, which encompasses the creation of a global strategy for the sustainable development of societies on Earth.

For primary school students, sustainable thinking could be interpreted as a way of dealing with social, economic, and ecological issues. This includes the awareness of the influence of each person’s decisions on the sustainable development of global society. RE thus has educational potential for sustainable thinking as part of socially oriented learning in Sweden.

The Potential for Religious Education in Swedish Primary Schools for Sustainable Development Education

As the primary source of information on the main points of Swedish public policy, this article refers to a document titled “Comment Material to the Syllabus of Religious Knowledge. Primary School” (Skolverket, 2022a). This document was developed and recommended by the government agency in Sweden that oversees the management of the nation’s public education system for both adults and children known as Skolverket (in Swedish). “Comment Material” (and not syllabus) was chosen because it contains not only RE content but also a professional explanation of it, which, in this author’s opinion, may prevent misinterpretation of information. The analysis of the material focuses on the compliance of the data in this document with the objectives of the study.

In Swedish primary schools (Grades 1–3), RE is part of a socially oriented education along with history, geography, and the social sciences. It is a subject that is important to students’ understanding of the world around them and contributes to personal development. The understanding of one’s own and other people’s way of thinking and living deepens students’ knowledge of religions, as well as knowledge of the interaction between religion and society (Skolverket, 2022a).

The program of socially oriented learning consists of four parts (Skolverket, 2022b):

• “To live together.” Students become acquainted with the rules of coexistence in family, school, and modern society and are challenged by moral and ethical questions.

• “Living in the local area.” Students study the nature and culture of their country, including the sustainable use of natural resources and the role of Christianity, giving students a sense of community and belonging to Swedish society.

• “Living in the world.” This part gives students an idea of their place in the world and allows the teacher to implement the ideas of sustainable development. They show the connection between nature, humans, and society (social, financial, and other points in the modern world), talk about climate change and ways to minimize it, and improve knowledge of Sámi peoples, culture, and religion. The teachers use Sámi texts and stories, not religious tradition in general. Another important part of the program is information about the three main religions in Sweden (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism), which is aimed at helping the students to understand the pluralism in a multicultural society.

• “To the knowledge of reality.” This part of the program helps students to understand the material by searching information—for example, reading, interviewing, and observation; discussions on reliability of various information sources; the globe, both printed and digital maps as well as scales in size and direction; mental maps—for example, of the local area, school roads, or other places that are significant to the student; and timelines and the time concepts past, present, and future.

Therefore, RE is significant because children are given a base that complements the picture of the surrounding world step by step: “me and my family,” “my country,” and “my planet.”

Improving the educational process as well as teachers’ professional competencies is always relevant for practicing teachers in primary school considering students’ ages. Teachers of socially oriented lessons are no exception. The main tools necessary include different professional courses, seminars, forums, and so forth for which teachers might require sufficient sources of information. The practices of Stockholm’s department of The Swedish National Agency for Education (in Swedish - Skolverket) could be interesting from this perspective. This research demonstrates the experience in the City of Stockholm (Stockholms stad).

Possibilities for the Development of Sustainable Thinking for Teachers and Their Students at Stockholm Schools

The City of Stockholm’s education administration launched the Pedagog Stockholm (literally translated as “Educator of Stockholm” - https://pedagog.stockholm/) website, which includes useful resources to help teachers plan more interesting classes for children. In a single source, teachers may find information about ways to improve their professional skills, including attending courses, lectures, seminars, and events; available tools; teaching and learning (study methods and so forth); or job opportunities in schools throughout Stockholm.

The Pedagog Stockholm website could be useful in this research to determine opportunities that Stockholm schools’ teachers and students have for the development of sustainable thinking.

Using the website, teachers can choose the events that would help improve their skills. For this research, I chose categories such as “research,” “climate and environment,” “nature oriented,” and “community oriented.” “Religion” is not included among those offered. Due to the secular nature of Swedish education, RE is considered a tool for teaching students about the multicultural and multi-religious nature of the modern world.

The categories for information search were selected using two major criteria:

1. Their relevance to the research topic. As previously defined, sustainable thinking is a way of dealing with social, economic, and environmental issues. Therefore, the categories related to environmental research and social topics were chosen.

2. Compliance of the proposed material with the age and psycho-physiological characteristics of students in Grades 1–3.

The website’s content also highlights the possibilities teachers have for developing sustainable thinking and the implementation of the ideas of sustainable development during RE as a part of socially oriented education.

The material can be divided into several categories:

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• The course Source Criticism in a Changing World that Stockholm’s education administration implemented as part of the European Union–funded project 2019–22 helps teachers understand the importance of evaluating sources in school and society. The material is intended to be a starting point for an in-depth discussion of pedagogical practice. The course content is based on various source research strategies used by historians, as well as the pros and cons they have in relation to various modern school subjects (Pedagog Stockholm, 2022a).

• The technology “Create the Dream City” is intended to spread knowledge about town planning and involves students in developing Stockholm as a sustainable city. Students shape nature and land, plan road traffic and buildings, and place everything they want in their city, such as shops, restaurants, cultural events, and schools. All course materials are available free of charge so that teachers may download them (Pedagog Stockholm, 2022b).

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT DEAL WITH ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• This is a site for teachers and includes educational materials for water, waste, and the environment, including instructions for teachers, experiments and tasks, fairy tales and puzzles, and thematic videos. These materials help teachers make socially oriented lessons more entertaining for primary school students, turning their attention to environmental challenges. This could be a first step to forming students’ sustainable thinking (Pedagog Stockholm, 2023c).

• “Nature’s House,” part of the House of Science (at KTH Royal Institute of Technology), which is responsible for biology, geology, and sustainable development, hosts seasonal events. Students explore the world through their senses, feel the tropical heat, and discover biodiversity on land and in the water. The House of Science is a supplement to regular school education. The content of programs for schools is adapted to the latest curricula. Teachers introduce students to the biodiversity of the surrounding world with the global problems of climate, water, and air pollution (Pedagog Stockholm, 2021a).

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT DEAL WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Fältlabbet—Stockholms Mobile naturskola (“Stockholm’s Mobile Nature School”) is a mobile laboratory that meets teachers and their students close to school and shows them opportunities for exploring nature and living outdoors. Teachers can choose different themes depending on the time of year or for the whole year, with, for example, “wise climate choices,” which starts with the student’s local area. Students are encouraged to imagine the world if the average temperature on Earth was 4 °C warmer with all the consequences of such a change. Inside the classroom or outdoors, the students learn more about wise climate choices everybody can make to avoid the average temperature becoming 4 °C warmer. Teachers also get suggestions for pre- and post-work in the form of pre-comprehension tests, articles, and labs that can be used in the classroom (Pedagog Stockholm, 2024a).

• Eggeby gårds naturskola (Eggeby Farm Nature School), which is similar to Fältlabbet but is more socially oriented. Topics deal not only with the environment (birds, large animals) but also with sustainable development (environment and sustainable development, water, food chains), history (the Ice Age, ancient times, the Viking Age), and society (outdoor life and public rights). The content is adjusted according to the age of students, the season, and teachers’ wishes. Practical classes are followed up by theoretical ones (Pedagog Stockholm, 2023b).

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT DEAL WITH THE CRITICAL EVALUATION OF INFORMATION

• Stockholmskällan is a database containing archives of items related to the history of Stockholm. Teachers can find ideas and suggestions for lessons and ways of working based on the original material. Teachers can use it directly with students or draw inspiration when planning classes. The website contains multiple images, maps, documents, and literary advice. This is an effective tool for teaching critical learning, interpretation, and evaluation of sources as a basis for creating historical knowledge, understanding the present, and providing perspectives on the future. It is one of the main elements that can help with the implementation of sustainable development ideas in socially oriented learning using historical source material (Pedagog Stockholm, 2023a).

• Take a guided tour of Stadsarkivet (the City Archive, Stockholm), where students encounter original historical sources, contributing to their knowledge and understanding of the past. The tour guide explains the role of archives in a democratic society. Teachers also receive materials and documentation for work in class (Pedagog Stockholm, 2021b).

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS THAT DEAL WITH TEACHERS’ TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT

• Using technology to adapt educational material to their cognitive level is a way to make socially oriented lessons acceptable for children of primary school age. Teachers can take part in workshops to learn how to enhance lessons with technology. The possibilities of green screen technology (Pedagog Stockholm, 2024b), stop motion animation (Pedagog Stockholm, 2024c), and gamifying for visible learning (Pedagog Stockholm, 2022c), for example, can help increase engagement, motivation, and ultimately progress among primary school students in socially oriented classes.

Analysis of the content of this site shows that teachers of socially oriented education can improve the content of education with new tools, which in turn affects the perception of educational material by students.

Due to the proposed content, teachers were able to do the following:

1. Improve their level of pedagogical training, as well as gain skills in resolving conflict situations and developing a critical attitude toward information from various sources (internet, media, social networks)

2. Master various pedagogical methods and techniques; for example, the possibilities of green screen technology or the technology “create the dream city,” which will undoubtedly raise the methodological level of learning and make it more acceptable for primary school students

3. Diversify ways to conduct lessons or extracurricular activities (thematic excursions to archives, classes with visiting laboratories, and so forth)

The content of the site is not directly related to the content of RE in Swedish primary schools, but it allows the teacher to master the necessary competencies for the formation of sustainable thinking among students as a whole, showing them not only the beauty and integrity of the world around them but also existing global problems. In this case, religion’s role is to explain to students why it is necessary to preserve existing resources and multiply them for future generations.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This article analyzes opportunities for teachers at Stockholm Schools to implement sustainable development ideas in socially oriented learning. Conclusions are as follows:

1. Socially oriented studies, of which RE is a part, have the potential to promote the ideas of a sustainable future and explain the importance of a sustainable way of thinking.

2. Sustainable thinking may bring solutions to social, economic, and ecological challenges. It emphasizes the influence of personal choices on sustainable development globally.

3. RE in Swedish primary schools gives children a step-by-step version of the world around them (“me and my family,” “my country,” “my planet”) in socially oriented lessons.

4. Professional opportunities like courses, seminars, didactic materials, and so forth were found through content analysis of one of the main professional websites for teachers of socially oriented subjects in Stockholm’s primary schools that encourage teachers and students to implement sustainable development ideas in socially oriented learning. Encouraging teachers’ professional development helps promote environmental education and the implementation of sustainable development ideas in general, important to which is the critical evaluation of information and teachers’ technical development.

5. The practice of the Stockholm’s department of The Swedish National Agency for Education shows the way to encourage sustainable thinking in teachers and their students. The experience can be useful for other cities and countries.

However, this analysis does not provide insights into the Swedish education system in general. Further research could analyze the general Swedish experience through surveys of teachers and/or students by the activities of other educational administrations outside the City of Stockholm.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Viktoriia Chorna

Viktoriia Chorna, PhD, Docent, Researcher, is with the Institute of History and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden. [email protected], [email protected]