ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2589-8812

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Administrative and Instructional Leadership

First Advisor

Jenny Yang

Second Advisor

Stephen Kotok

Third Advisor

Seekhee Cho

Abstract

The purpose of this case study is to investigate the effects of an integrated curriculum with embedded sustainability themes on teaching and learning experiences at the primary school level. The researcher examined why and how the district chose to create the integrated curriculum and how the big ideas of sustainability were embedded. Through the perspectives of teachers and administrators, the researcher analyzed how incorporating sustainability themes changed the teaching and learning culture. The transdisciplinary approach moves past the traditional boundaries of a discipline allowing curriculum to address real world problems. Using a transdisciplinary approach by integrating sustainability themes into the curriculum offered students high-level thinking learning experiences. The researcher conducted a case study of the district’s integrated curriculum that incorporates sustainability at multiple schools. The participants in this study include administrators and teachers of students in kindergarten through sixth grade in a suburban school district. Virtual interviews with teachers and administrators and a virtual focus group were conducted. Documents were collected and analyzed. This study provides educators with a model of how schools can integrate sustainability themes through an integrated curriculum. It offers an in-depth description of one school district’s innovative approach.

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