Planet 2030 and Inclusion for Sustainable Develop-

ment

Eleni Kolokouri, Eftychia Nanni & Katerina Plakitsi

E. Kolokouri, Laboratory Teaching Staff, Department of Early Childhood Education,

University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece, e-mail: ekolokouri@uoi.gr

E. Nanni, Professor (under contract), Department of Early Childhood Education, University of

Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece, e-mail: e.nanni@uoi.gr

K. Plakitsi, Full Professor, Head of the Department of Early Childhood Education, University
of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece, e-mail: kplakits@uoi.gr

Abstract   The purpose of this chapter is to establish a broader context for

rethinking science education by connecting inclusive teaching and learn-
ing with sustainable development. It presents a teachers’ training course
on the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030)
and the connections with inclusive education, which was designed and
implemented by the researching @fise group of the University of Ioan-
nina, Greece. The course focuses on the concepts of Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals that are relevant to the dimensions of Science, Education and
Health (S|E|H) and are included in the science curricula for the early
grades. Furthermore, it responds to the need of teachers to connect the
contents of the school curriculum with real life situations as well as the
learners’ interests. The teachers developed educational material and
worked on the inclusion of this material in the science education curricula
for the early years. This course was introductory in bringing together S|E|
H in the school science curricula and in designing educational material
that could fit in inclusive classrooms. At the end of the course, parti-
cipants stressed the importance of raising public awareness and helping
members of society take action in order to benefit from the sustainable
development goals without any distinction.
 1. Introduction

Science education in the early years (pre-primary and primary edu-

cation level) is taught through a holistic approach in which cross-
disciplinary connections and relationships between academic discip-
lines are promoted. Reforms of the Greek national curricula in 2003
and 2011 have put science education on a cultural-historical basis.
One of the central goals is to make pupils understand the relations
and interactions that exist in the world we live by engaging them in
proper activities (Plakitsi et.al. 2013). The content of science educa-
tion in the early grades concerns topics such as human life, social
structures and relations, life of plants and animals, sustainable devel-
opment, places and people and a variety of scientific concepts (time,
energy, sound, planets, water cycle, light etc.). Learning is connec-
ted with explorations in authentic environments and discovery, de-
veloping a variety of skills and positive attitudes towards science as
well as the environment, using science process skills and finally with
promoting scientific literacy and active citizenship. The rapid emer-
gence of digital technology, robotics, nanotechnology, artificial in-
telligence on the one hand, and the striving of education to prepare
learners with cross-disciplinary knowledge, life skills and abilities
for living in and protecting the globalised world of the 21st century
on the other, have raised concerns about the identity of future cit-
izens.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish a broader context for re-
thinking science education by connecting inclusive teaching and
learning with sustainable development. It presents a teachers’ train-
ing course on the dimensions of the United Nations 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (Agenda 2030) and the connections with inclus-
ive education.
In our opinion, this course is relevant to the Science|Environment|
Health (S|E|H) trend, which highlights a situation of mutual benefit
between science education, environmental education and health edu-
 21

cation (Zeyer and Dillon 2014). According to the current vision of S|

E|H, health and the environment are two critical dimensions of the
real world whereas science is one step removed. Science helps to ex-
plain much about us and our planet (Zeyer and Dillon 2019). Van
Eijck and Roth (2007) argue that high-quality science education is
required not only for sustaining a lively scientific community that is
able to address global problems, like global warming and pandem-
ics, but also to bring about and maintain a high level of scientific lit-
eracy in the general population. There is no doubt that effective edu-
cation can serve as a vehicle for solving global problems. According
to such a perspective, humans collectively produce and reproduce
their environment through their actions and are therefore capable of
acting responsibly for a sustainable future. On the other hand, health
education builds students’ knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes
about physical, mental, emotional and social health. The World
Health Organisation connects the eight Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) not only to primary education and equity but also to
environmental sustainability.

2. Science Education for Sustainable Development

According to the World Commission on Environment and Develop-

ment’s report “Our Common Future” (1987), sustainable develop-
ment is the development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs (p.54). The term development entails a course that leads to af-
fluence and wealth on the one hand, as well as dealing with social is-
sues of the present and future generations on the other. Peace and
prosperity in people’s lives, on the planet earth aligned with partner-
ship provide insight of the process of development towards sustain-
ability. Since sustainability concerns both present and future genera-
tions, there is intergenerational equity that is equity between genera-
20

tions and intragenerational equity between people from the same

generation but from different societal, political, economic and cul-
tural environments (Zeyer et al. 2019). In this sense, achieving sus-
tainable development is based on the equal balance of the three pil-
lars of the environment, society and economy. There is a need for
education to negotiate issues connected with all three pillars so as to
address the complexity of sustainability. Education plays an import-
ant role in promoting informed citizenship and raising awareness of
global responsibility on the one hand and being able to tackle com-
plex matters on the other. Education – in all its forms and at all
levels – is not only an end in itself but is also one of the most power-
ful instruments we have for bringing about the changes required to
achieve sustainable development, according to UNESCO’s former
Director-General K. Matsuura (UNESCO 2005, p.3). Thus, educa-
tion faces the social, political and environmental challenges of the
contemporary world and undertakes to contribute to the develop-
ment of transformative activities that will have an impact on the hu-
man future.
According to Fensham (2012), science education has to address
the complexity of issues that humanity of today faces, such as envir-
onmental and health matters, rather than focus on traditional school
science. Living in a world that undergoes different types of crises,
learners need to make their way and create an equal and sustainable
way of life. This requires learning that generates powerful concepts
and transformative agency (Engeström 2019), which brings science
education to a turning point. There is a need to connect the contents
of the school curriculum with real life situations, the learners’ in-
terests and concerns as well as the contradictions and changes in-
volved in their environments. Teaching and learning science, in this
sense, is expanded to include environmental and health issues and
search for significance of learning beyond the limitations of a school
curriculum. It is our belief that such a holistic approach will promote
an advanced level of teaching and learning scientific concepts, com-
 21

bine them with health and sustainability issues and help to move for-
ward from exclusion to inclusion of vulnerable groups of people.

3. Inclusive Education for Sustainable Development

In the last few years, many international statements have appeared

that affirm the principle of inclusive education in the global educa-
tional policy agenda. Important organisations and agencies such as
the United Nations, the European Agency for Special Needs and In-
clusive Education, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation argue that inclusive education offers the best
educational opportunities for learners with disabilities.
This chapter adopts the broad definition and approaches of inclusive
education developed by UNESCO-IBE (2009):
“...inclusive education is an ongoing process aimed at offer-
ing quality education for all while respecting diversity and
the different needs and abilities, characteristics and learning
expectations of the students and communities, eliminating
all forms of discrimination. Address social inequity and
poverty levels as priorities, as these are major obstacles to
the implementation of inclusive education policies and
strategies, and deal with these problems within a framework
of intersectoral policies. Promote school cultures and envir-
onments that are child-friendly, conducive to effective
learning and inclusive of all children, healthy and protect-
ive, gender-responsive, and encourage the active role and
the participation of the learners themselves, their families
and their communities.“ (p.18)
20

In this context, the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclus-
ive Education (2015) defines the term of quality education, from an
inclusive perspective, as:
“...it implies a balance between excellence and equity. This
means that it is not possible to talk about quality education
if just a few students learn what is required to participate in
society and develop their life projects … Ensuring that all
students can learn to reach levels of excellence requires ad-
apting teaching practices and pedagogical support to the
needs and characteristics of every student. “ (p.8)

From our point of view, inclusive education offers teaching and

learning opportunities for all children in formal and non-formal
learning environments. Inclusion in education refers to a model
without regard to disabilities or gender, physical, intellectual, social,
emotional, linguistic, cultural, religious or other characteristics. This
model recognises that inclusion does not mean assimilation, but ac-
knowledges that children learn at different rates, according to indi-
vidual needs and characteristics. All children are different and for
this reason we need an inclusive educational system and teachers
with teaching skills in this framework.
On 25 September 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development with the aim of transforming the world
and bringing an end to poverty, reducing inequality and saving the
planet from ecological destruction. The 2030 Agenda contains five
sections: preamble, declaration, sustainable development goals and
means of implementation, follow-up and review. It is a commitment
for global action in order to build a better future for humanity. More
specifically, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals address people
all around the world and involve action for a better living. These
goals describe major challenges in every aspect of human life and
engage people to fight for a prosperous, equitable, peaceful and sus-
tainable living. Through achieving the goals people around the globe
 21

will overcome barriers such as poverty, war, inequality, illiteracy,

environmental degradation and will secure a sustainable future.
(United Nations Regional Information Centre 2017). People with
disabilities are included in the Agenda 2030 with the emphasis put
on the following sections: education, reduction of inequalities, em-
ployment, inclusive cities and means of implementation.
Inclusion of people with disabilities was highly supported in the
Agenda 2030 by the International Disability Alliance with the co-
operation of four regional and eight global organisations of persons
with disabilities. Towards this direction, the International Disability
and Development Consortium (IDDC) a global network of 26 disab-
ility and development NGOs and organisations of persons with dis-
abilities takes action in more than one hundred countries around the
world.
Inclusive education relies on adaptation of pedagogical practices to
the needs of the community of learners so as to reach quality and
equity. Vygotsky (1993) claimed that education must put emphasis
on the social environment of learners rather than their mental abilit-
ies since mental forms are developed through cultural mediation.
Furthermore, he suggested that learners who are different from the
norm can trigger development in teaching and learning through al-
ternative methods that respond to their needs and cover a wider
spectrum within the social environment. This is a form of ‘compens-
ation’ they receive from their social environment so as to support
their being different and contribute to the transformation of educa-
tion for a sustainable and culturally diverse society.

4. CHAT approaches in Education

Raising awareness of public engagement in science is a crucial point

to sustainable development as discourse and exchange of ideas and
20

scientific knowledge among members of society lead to immediate

action and global change. Science teaching should not be limited to
transmitting scientific knowledge but involve an opening to society,
a linking of knowledge with everyday life, a lifelong learning for a
radical transformation and the development of competences aligned
with socio-scientific issues. Within this frame, socio-cultural ap-
proaches give way to expanding the scope of science education
studying activity systems, interactions and contradictions, learning
communities and designing interventions in activity theoretical re-
search (Engeström 2017). Within the Cultural Historical Activity
Theory (CHAT) frame, science education is established as participa-
tion in community practices (Roth and Lee 2004) with connections
to the society in its cultural and historical evolution. In this sense,
teaching and learning in science education are more than transmis-
sion of knowledge and facts and even beyond participation in the
community; they are about contribution by both teachers and
learners in an agentive, authorial, authentic and activist way, to the
gist of science (Stetsenko 2014).
Participants in an activity system act as members of a collective
community in the context of rules that the entire community follows.
The unit of analysis is the activity which includes the person or
group who is acting towards an object, following certain rules and
the dynamic relationships that develop within the activity system
(Barab et al. 2004; Engeström 1999). According to Blunden (2013),
the unit of analysis is a starting point for science and becomes a
basis in order to study scientific concepts and problem-solving situ-
ations. An activity system studies both the interpersonal and in-
trapersonal level of actions as well as the community (Engeström
1987; Leontiev 1981). Τhe activity takes place in different levels
that are not necessarily successive (Bertelsen and Bodkaer 2003).
Under the prism of CHAT, learning involves a qualitative change of
actions that may take place when people participate in meaningful
cultural activities and receive scaffolding for improving actions to-
 21

wards an inspiring object into the whole activity system. The con-
struction of knowledge becomes meaningful for subjects who inter-
act with one another as well as with tools and means into the com-
munity of learners (Engeström 1999).
According to Zeyer and Dillon (2019), education connected with
science, health and the environment has to be involved in ‘a trans-
disciplinary dialogue’. Education for sustainability entails all three
dimensions that have to be curriculum connected for learners with or
without special educational needs. Education has an immediate con-
nection with science and culture not as “accomplished”, “finished”
products of the past, but as processes in continuous evolution in so-
ciety. Furthermore, it involves a complexity of a social (societal-
political) practice that can appear at different types of learners. Mo-
tivation includes challenge in order to satisfy the need for achieve-
ment, choice and independence in students’ learning, expansion of
learning community as well as support and encouragement by the
family, the peer group and the teachers (Plakitsi et al. 2018). As a
result, concepts and practices are developed in a dynamic framework
which supports evolution and expansion (Engeström 2015). Consid-
ering the diverse cultural, national and socio-economic characterist-
ics of learners brings forward the necessity to support a multidimen-
sional framework of learning for all. Thus, learning becomes a hu-
man activity in which theory and praxis are strongly connected and
learning outcomes are obviously seen in society and culture. Fur-
thermore, learning activities are connected with real problems and
the consequences of different approaches and aim to develop com-
petences in education for inclusion and sustainable development that
involves people as citizens (Engeström 2016; Fleer 2016; Plakitsi et
al. 2013).
20

5. Rationale for a teachers’ training course

Given that inclusive education has been broadly supported and con-
nected with the school curricula all over Europe, teachers find them-
selves in need of support through training so as to deal with all the
different types of learners at the same time. On the other hand, rais-
ing awareness about scientific, environmental and health issues is
associated in certain cases with removing misinterpretations that
cause feelings of extreme anxiety and fear. Towards this direction, a
teachers’ training course was developed so as to reflect on the con-
nection of inclusive teaching and learning with sustainable develop-
ment. The teachers’ training course supports education for sustain-
able development and inclusion through participatory methods and
mediative tools so as to create authentic experiences that lead to re-
sponsible citizenship for all students. It puts emphasis on the dimen-
sions of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals
(Agenda 2030) and inclusive education. The 17 global goals de-
scribe major challenges in every aspect of human life and engage
people to fight for a prosperous, equitable, peaceful and sustainable
living for all. At the end of the course participants are expected to be
able to:
- become aware and be informed about the 17 goals of sustainable
development
- connect sustainable development with inclusive education and be
able to work on this ground
- design and organise educational material as well as activities for
sustainable development for all
- develop skills and collaborate in order to engage themselves in
global sustainability and inclusion.
Great importance is stressed on the socio-cultural aspect of teaching
and learning as a means to provoke public awareness. In the case of
preventive action or dealing with environmental as well as health is-
sues, using socially active methods of learning can support preven-
 21

tion practice and overcome possible obstacles to action. Science

education can support sustainable development and learning in in-
clusive settings as long as it is connected with transformative activit-
ies that are led by motives and are connected with real situations
beyond the traditional learning of scientific concepts in a school
classroom. Within this frame, learning aims at moving across a zone
of proximal development of learners and not at achieving a goal that
was predetermined by a teacher-instructor.
In the process of the development of the course the research ques-
tions that came up concerned the participants’ views about sustain-
ability and inclusion, their connections with education as well as the
interactions and contradictions that arose within the activity system
during the implementation of the course.
The course was designed and implemented by the researching @fise
group (Activity Theory in Formal and Informal Science Education)
of the University of Ioannina, Greece. Ιt supports education for sus-
tainable development and inclusion through participatory methods
and serves as a means in which participants develop skills and col-
laborate in order to engage themselves in global sustainability and
inclusion. Furthermore, participants are provided with innovative
methods and tools so as to create authentic experiences that lead to
responsible citizenship for all their students. The course focused on
the concepts of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are rel-
evant to the dimensions of S|E|H and are included in the science cur-
ricula for the early grades.

6. Development of the course

The teachers’ training course was implemented in the University of

Ioannina with the participation of 20 teachers working in different
areas of education: pre-school and primary school teachers, school
20

counsellors and teachers in inclusive classrooms. The selection of

participants was based on the current trend of supporting the inclu-
sion of learners with diverse educational needs in one classroom that
ensures the principle of quality education for all (European Agency
for Special Needs and Inclusive Education 2015). All teachers parti-
cipated in the three parts of the course. They were divided in four
mixed groups and each group was responsible for one of the pre-
ambles of the Agenda 2030 (People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace).
The preamble of partnership was used as a link for all groups. At the
end of the course, each group developed educational material con-
nected with their preamble and as a next step, tried to adjust the ma-
terial in the national curricula for special needs in the early and
primary years’ education.

6.1 Planet 2030 course

The teachers’ training course followed the method of blended learn-

ing and combined face to face and distance learning through a
Moodle platform. It was divided in three parts:
- First part (3h face to face learning) – Experiential activities in or-
der to inform and raise awareness of the participants about the 17
goals of sustainable development of the Agenda 2030.
- Second part (4h distance learning) – Participants collaborate in a
Moodle platform in order to make connections of their own work
with the Agenda 2030.
- Third part (3h face to face learning) – Participants work in groups
and interact with the teacher trainers of the seminar in order to create
educational material about sustainable development and inclusion of
all learners.
The first part of the course includes getting to know and icebreaker
activities, the creation of the web of sustainability by answering the
 21

question ‘what does sustainability stand for you?’ The views of all
participants are put on a board classified in groups and thus become
a motive in order to discuss issues of sustainability and share per-
sonal as well as professional experience of participants. Then, parti-
cipants watch a video about sustainable development and are slowly
introduced in the following scenario:
- All participants receive the following message: “You are well-
known scientists and researchers of the planet earth and responsible
for the welfare of all the people on earth. At this moment, you are
working on a series of experiments in your lab but your work has to
be interrupted by an SOS message from different parts of the world.
People, animals and plants ask for your help as they start to realise
that a serious ecological destruction is going to take place.”
- They watch a presentation about the Agenda 2030 and the goals of
sustainable development.
- They are divided in four groups by the use of cards which show the
5 preambles of the Agenda 2030 (Figure 1).
They move on to four stations in order to take action.
Station A (People): All human beings can fulfil their potential in dig-
nity and equality.
Station B (Planet): To protect the planet and its resources from de-
gradation for present and future generations.
Station C (Prosperity): All human beings can enjoy prosperous and
fulfilling lives and that economic, social and technological progress
occurs in harmony with nature.
Station D (Peace): Foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies
which are free from fear and violence.
All stations (Partnership): all people in all countries collaborate to-
wards the achievement of the goals taking special care for the vul-
nerable groups of people (Figure 2).
20

Figure 1. The five preambles of the Agenda 2030 (UNSDN 2016).

Figure 2. The 17 goals of sustainable development (United Nations,

2021)
 21

Each group receives a letter which actually is an invitation from the

United Nations to participate in an international high level forum
about the Agenda 2030 and the inclusion of vulnerable groups of
people. The letter is accompanied with a series of activities that the
group has to prepare. As a first step the groups create a mind map
about the preamble of their station and see how it is connected with
their aims as a group as well as with the sustainable development
goals. Then, they choose roles according to the following cards:
teachers (for students with special educational needs), parents, co-
ordinators responsible for curricula design, politicians and citizens.
Each participant builds on their role by defining who they are, what
their job is, what their aims and motives are and what they have in
common with education for sustainability. Next each group designs
a short curriculum based on their preamble, the letter from the UN
and their roles. There are short meetings in which representatives of
the four groups discuss about the course of the group work so far
and exchange information and ideas. At the end of the first part of
the course all participants fill in a questionnaire.
In the second part, participants collaborate in a Moodle platform in
order to make connections of their own work with the Agenda 2030.
Within this frame, they work through the material uploaded by the
instructors of the course as well as the short curriculum they have
designed in their groups.
The third part starts with activities and games which aim to the co-
ordination and bonding of the participants. Then, each participant
creates a ring for the sustainable development chain: each one
chooses a sustainable development goal and makes a suggestion of
what he can do to achieve this specific goal. He writes the sugges-
tion on a piece of paper and sticks it to the chain. Next, participants
in pairs play an argumentation game in which they have to provide
arguments about the following statement “The sustainable develop-
ment goals are a waste of time in an inclusive classroom”. All parti-
cipants watch a presentation about the sustainable development
20

goals and inclusion. After that, they are divided in the same groups
as described in the first part of the seminar and they try to connect
the short curriculum they have designed in the previous parts with
the Greek formal environmental curricula for inclusive classrooms.
Each group creates a fanzine which contains pictures, text messages
as well as a brief summary of their work, which they present at the
end of the seminar. A fanzine, as a combination of fan and zine,
refers to a non-professional and non-official publication, often low-
budget, produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phe-
nomenon. In our case, groups’ fanzines highlighted their message
about sustainable development and inclusion. Finally, all parti-
cipants fill in a questionnaire.

6.2 Expansive learning and teachers’ training

The methodology of the course was based on the expansive cycle of

Engeström (1999), which puts emphasis on the interpretation of the
strategic learning actions and corresponding contradictions in ex-
pansive learning (Figure 3). It is common that learning theories fo-
cus on processes where a subject (either an individual or an organ-
isation) acquires some identifiable knowledge or skills in such a way
that a corresponding, relatively lasting change in the behaviour of
the subject may be observed. The knowledge or skill to be acquired
is considered as stable and reasonably well defined. There is usually
a competent teacher who knows what is to be learned. Nevertheless,
people and organisations are prone to evolution and change so learn-
ing is not stable, not even defined or understood ahead of time. In
significant transformations of people's lives and organizational prac-
tices, new forms of activity arise. These are literally learned the mo-
ment they are being created. According to Engeström and Sannino
(2010; 2012), expansive learning is a theory that puts the priority on
communities as learners who create and transform culture and fi-
 21

nally form theoretical concepts. Through collective activity that in-

volves change, learners construct new knowledge and put it in prac-
tice in new situations.
The analysis of the activity theory and the development of the ex-
pansive learning by Engeström offer a new methodology to organ-
ised learning towards the development and organization of new
teaching practices. Within this theoretical framework, the learners’
context is associated with the implementation of new didactic
strategies and evaluation processes which bring forward innovative
aspects of science and a new mentality about teaching and learning.
The series of learning activities used in this course are presented in
an expansive cycle (Engeström 1999):

Figure 3. Sequence of epistemic actions in an expansive learning

cycle (Engeström 1999, p.384).

7. Planet 2030 in praxis

The teachers’ training course includes data such as questionnaires,

material from the group activities and authentic educational material
produced in the Moodle platform as well as in the groups’ meetings.
20

During the classification and data analysis emphasis was put on the
connection of the participants’ work with the Agenda 2030 as well
as the connection of the scientific activities they designed with the
Greek curricula of Science Education for inclusion. Furthermore,
analysis was combined with the theoretical framework of CHAT and
more specifically the study of the interactions within the parti-
cipants’ groups, the contradictions that arose. During the implement-
ation of the course with the different scenarios and educational ma-
terial that were developed within the groups, the units of analysis
were the activity systems, the different levels of interaction within
and between them. All the activity systems involved multiple parti-
cipants who worked to achieve common objectives, considering sci-
entific knowledge as cultural, historical and social process and using
meditative and analysing tools. Furthermore, internal and external
contradictions within and between the activity systems led to the
evolution as well as moments of change which affected all the activ-
ity systems in multiple ways. In this sense, participants shared col-
lective experiences of Science Education and efforts which are ne-
cessary to bring social transformations through communal practices
(Stetsenko 2017).

7.1 Educational scenarios

The groups of participants (teachers) developed educational material

and moreover worked on the inclusion of this material in the science
education curricula for the early years (Table 1).
Teachers of the station Peace combined human rights of well-being
and health with peace and justice for all people. This educational
scenario starts with a roleplay of an incident in which a student is in
hospital due to an infectious disease. During his stay, the teacher and
his parents communicate with a person responsible for informing
about health matters and supporting vulnerable groups of people.
 21

She is invited to collaborate on the development of a school project

about health, viruses and infections which will be presented in the
local community in an open day event. The project is based on the
idea of creating a sustainable school in which all students will have
access to knowledge about health and its connection with everyday
life. Under the title ‘School as a lab of health and wealth’ a variety
of activities will be developed for all students. There will be a com-
bination of Science Education activities as well as activities that pro-
mote health and well-being.
Teachers of the station Planet developed an educational scenario
about management of water resources and energy entitled “All
united for the planet earth”. The scenario included activities such as
measuring the ecological footprint of daily water and electricity use
at home, providing information to parents about adopting good prac-
tices by taking action through schools, parents’ union and local au-
thorities and creating a leaflet connected with the significant ecolo-
gical problems of the planet and possible solutions. All in all, em-
phasis was put on the need to Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Renew of
materials. It includes Science Education activities such as recycling,
cooking lessons using solar energy and water purifying activities.
With a view to expanding to the community, they suggest planning
the event “Let’s embrace our planet” in a central point of their city
which includes recycling and natural resources management activit-
ies. The educational scenario will be inclusive for all students as it is
designed for inclusive classrooms and will end with the creation of a
network in cooperation with environmental centres so as to provide
information and training about natural resources management. The
training will include seminars that address teachers, special educa-
tion teachers, parents and local authorities.

Table 1. Sample of the educational curricula developed by parti-

cipants groups
20

Station Goals of Roles Purpose Concepts Connec-

(Preample) Sustain- tion with
able Devel- units of the
opment science
curricula
for inclu-
sion

Peace 3: Good -School - To stress - Water Pre-

Health and teachers the import- pollution primary
Well-being ance of school-
-School health for - Water Units
16: Peace teacher (5-6 all people manage-
and Justice years), ment -Local en-
Strong In- works on -To work in vironment
stitutions inclusion groups, in- - Sustain-
of all stu- teract and able school -Clean
dents exchange spaces
-Environ-
ideas ment,
-Coordin-
ator re- -To diffuse Health and
Social Is- Primary
sponsible results of school-
for cur- their work sues
Units
ricula in the - Human
design school and Body - Clean
family con- spaces
- Citizen text -Respirat-
ory System -Water re-
sources
- Germs manage-
and Health ment

- Circulat- -Sustain-
ory system able school

- Conta- -Health in
gious dis- our envir-
eases onment

- Blood
donation
 21

Planet 6: Clean -Parent of a -To become -Natural re- Pre-

Water and student in acquainted sources primary
Sanitation an inclu- with the school-
sion class importance -Natural re- Units
of natural sources
-School resources as manage- -Local en-
7: Afford- teacher (5-6 ment (wa- vironment
able and well as of
years) the di- ter, electri-
Clean En- city) -Litter dis-
ergy -School versity of posal
teacher (5-6 their use -Energy
years), and adopt footprint -Water re-
works on effective sources
inclusion practices - Recyc- manage-
of all stu- ling, Re- ment
-To work in newing-
dents groups, in- -Protection
Reusing
-Politician teract and of biod-
exchange - Solar en- iversity and
-School ideas ergy animals
teacher (7-
10 years) -To diffuse - Renew-
results of able energy
-Coordin- their work sources Primary
ator re- in the school-
sponsible school and Units
for cur- family con- -Keep the
ricula text environ-
design ment clean

-Protection
of biod-
iversity

-Sustain-
able devel-
opment and
consump-
tion
20

7.2 CHAT context and contradictions

In the activity system of our course, subjects (researchers and parti-

cipants) use tools which are on the top and collaborate in order to
reach the object. Each learning task is a system that makes progress
through space and time (historicity). Within an activity system there
are terms which represent higher order functions arising from the
mutual relations among components or nodes (production, consump-
tion, distribution, exchange). The production contains consumption
elements at the same time which in fact generates the whole system.
This co-existence of production and consumption at the same time
creates a need state for new production. According to Engeström
(1987), there is a need state which through interactions causes con-
tradictions-changes within the activity system. These contradictions
lead to the expansion and evolution of the activity system. In this
frame, participants explore about science, sustainability and inclus-
ive education and make connections with their personal experience
and their own needs as educators; researchers take an intermediary
role that allows them to deal with group work and provide motiva-
tion for progress and expansion. Learning is expanded in the wider
community which includes social organisations and policy makers
all of which affect in various ways the course of an activity system.
The modern learning environments constitute multicultural learning
communities, in which learners are asked to work effectively within
different groups – learning communities. This process emphasises
on the importance of the cultural behaviour of tools, being supported
by the analysis of human activities. In bringing the dialectic of sci-
ence, sustainability and inclusion to educational context, tensions
may arise in the form of contradictions that need to be resolved.
The contradictions that emerged within and between the elements of
activity systems in this study were seen in diverse forms such as
frustrations, tensions, difficulties and contradictory opinions. The
contradictions related to the issue of individual and team responsibil-
 21

ities affected teachers’ participation in this course, which became

more active. Also, the opposite teaching ideas, methods and prac-
tices of participants caused some frustrations and tensions in the
context of sustainability and inclusion as well as their connections
with education. Nevertheless, the organisation and structure of the
teachers’ training course provided the necessary flexibility for con-
stant changes and modifications depending on the development of
the activity. The findings of the analysis of the activity system of our
teacher training course related to the four levels of contradictions are
shown in table 2.
Table 2. Observations and findings of contradiction analysis

Contradiction Level Engeström’s definition Observations and find-

ings of analysis from
this study

Primary Contradiction “...the inner conflict Individuals, teachers,

between exchange value
and use value within
each corner of the tri-
angle of activity.”
teacher trainers and
teachers’ groups do not
share a common value
system on how to con-
nect the goals of sustain-
able development with
science curricula and In-
clusive Education.

Secondary Contradic- “…are those appearing Conflicts between the

tion between the corners. The
stiff hierarchical division
of labor lagging behind
and preventing the pos-
sibilities opened by ad-
vanced instruments is a
typical example.”
rules of the course and
the subjects of each
group relate to the dif-
ferent composition and
participation of each
group. These conflicts
require a flexible learn-
ing environment that re-
flects the complexity of
20

the community.

Tertiary Contradiction “…appears when repres- New teaching methods

entatives of culture (e.g.,
teachers) introduce the
object and motive of a
culturally more ad-
vanced form of the cent-
ral activity into the dom-
inant form of the central
activity.
and suggested science
teaching ideas and
classroom activities do
not necessarily fit into
teachers’ daily
classroom practices.

Quaternary Contradic- “…require that we take Teachers’ daily

tion into consideration the
essential 'neighbour
activities' linked with the
central activity which is
the original object of our
study.”
classroom practices in-
teract with other ‘neigh-
bour activities’ and
therefore the implement-
ation of these practices
requires more changes.

More specifically, the contradictions that occurred within and

between the elements of activity systems of the course Planet 2030
include issues related to teachers’ opinions on sustainable develop-
ment and inclusive education, communication, teaching practices
and implementation.
A. Issues on teachers’ opinions
During the course, the teachers discussed in their groups and ex-
pressed their opinions about how to connect the SDGs with science
curricula and Inclusive Education. Very often the group discussions
denoted clashes between teachers’ opinions. Anastasia mentioned:
The connection of SDGs with science curricula for inclusion is feas-
ible and necessary, as the SDGs refers to ALL people in many dif-
ferent ways and have many common aims with inclusive education.
 21

George had similar opinion to Anastasia and therefore he referred:

This connection is absolutely feasible. Many concepts of
the SDGs are already included in science curricula for in-
clusion. We have only to work on them systematically.
On the other hand, some teachers had a different opinion as they
contended that such a connection is impossible as they do not have
the necessary knowledge and supporting tools for this. For example,
Irene commented:
In our country (Greece), it is definitely impossible as the
state does not provide neither a high quality educational
system nor a health system. Unfortunately, our state is not
sensitive to social amendments and cannot keep up with
sustainable development.
The contradictions that emerged within the element Subject were in
the form of conflicts, and highlighted the importance of improving
teacher training programmes and providing effective teaching mater-
ials in order to increase teacher competence and knowledge for such
innovative programs.
B. Issues on communication
The community of the course included in-service teachers, pre-ser-
vice teachers, school counsellors and teacher trainers. The develop-
ment of the course required a strong communication between every
member of the course and an active participation of everyone.
In praxis, severe contradictions emerged in the issue of communica-
tion in the form of frustrations and difficulties, during both face to
face learning and distance learning. First of all, on the Moodle plat-
form all participants had to take part in group collaboration in order
to make the connections of their own work with the Agenda 2030.
Some participants had difficulties with their participation in the
forum discussions and in general they seemed to encounter problems
20

with the asynchronous communication and collaboration either due

to limited knowledge in distance learning platforms or due to a neg-
ative attitude about this kind of communication. During face to face
learning, the participants’ communication was much better, but not
always the expected one. Conflicts emerged between the different
roles of each participant, as for example between school counsellors
and teachers. Some teachers were more excited about the course and
participated actively in every part of the course, producing useful
material and providing interesting ideas. On the other hand, some
teachers and school counsellors had limited participation during the
course’s actions and their communication with each other was also
limited.
The role of teacher trainers was determinant in these forms of con-
tradictions, in order to ensure the active participation of every parti-
cipant and the effective communication. Through participatory ac-
tions, discussions or distance learning reminders, trainers encour-
aged the interaction of all participants.
C. Issues on teaching practices
The development of the course included different participatory ac-
tions and stages, in which a lot of suggested teaching methods and
ideas for the implementation of an innovative program such as
drama game, argumentation game, group working etc. were presen-
ted. At the same time, participants planned their own activities dur-
ing the development of educational scenarios and each one of them
suggested even more ideas and classroom strategies.
In relation to teaching practices issues, a number of participants ex-
pressed their hesitation about the new teaching methods and activit-
ies, which do not fit necessarily into their daily classroom practices
or they do not have the required teaching time to implement them.
The contradictions that emerged in these issues were in the form of
frustrations and difficulties to fit into the innovative teaching prac-
 21

tices and highlighted the necessity of updating teachers’ skills and

knowledge through innovative teacher training programs.
D. Issues on implementation
At the end of the course, the participants discussed and expressed
their opinions about the implementation of the innovative cur-
riculum and their suggested activities into their classroom. Anna
mentioned:
I will definitely implement some activities of the educa-
tional scenarios. This course was an inspiration for me!
Similar was Aphrodite’s view, who asserted that she will also imple-
ment the educational scenarios in her inclusive classroom. She said:
The cultivation of empathy constitutes an important pillar
of sustainable development. In this sense, I believe that I
will implement an innovative program about sustainable
development in my class. Activities such ''putting oneself in
another's place” and “mirror game” are very didactic and
effective for these goals as well as for inclusion.
Costas expressed his concern about the implementation and stated
that he is worried that such innovative programs require more
changes in the educational system than teachers will accept. Eleni
shared similar views and she explained that even if the innovative
program is very interesting, she is not sure enough to implement it.
She also commented:
To achieve a quality education for all, in the sense of inclu-
sion, we need an education reform. Sustainable develop-
ment must be at the centre of this reform.
The contradictions that emerged between our central activ-
ity (course) and ‘neighbour activities’ (educational system,
curricula, education policies) were in the form of conflicts
20

that could be considered as a source of change and devel-

opment.

8. The way forward

Following an expansive cycle of actions during the design and the

development of the teacher training course that entailed a research
framework in which learning is studied in collective activity systems
and not as an isolated task confined in a school or institution. There
is a challenge in connecting the content of school curricula to the
learners’ lives. The interests, the interactions and the contradictions
that emerge, provoke an expansion of science education not only
beyond the traditional teaching methods but also beyond the school
walls. Expansive learning entails the involvement in learning prac-
tices in various life activities and forms of communication which
contribute to meaningful learning of the scientific content. The com-
plex character of natural phenomena, such as biodiversity, manage-
ment of natural resources, climate change etc. demands that instruc-
tion has to be connected with the transformation of life activities
within the community for all learners. In this teachers’ training
course, effort was put on finding the common areas of science, sus-
tainability and inclusive education and work so as to produce mater-
ial and have an impact on the contemporary learning environments.
The 17 goals of sustainable development and more specifically goal
4 about quality and equity in education support inclusive education
systems. Collective work in educational matters is a crucial point to
research on science and sustainable development as discourse and
exchange of ideas and among members of society lead to immediate
action and global change. As a next step, we plan to develop an en-
vironmental portfolio for prospective and in-service educators ready
to be integrated into the university syllabuses. The main purpose of
the portfolio is to create appropriate settings for teachers and
 21

learners to deal with issues of science and sustainability through par-

ticipatory methods within a CHAT framework.
In the domain of education, further research will show the connec-
tions of the 17 goals with inclusive practices from teachers in the
classroom. This course was only introductory in bringing together
Science, Health and Environmental Education in the school science
curricula and in designing educational material that could fit in in-
clusive classrooms. At the end of the course, participants stressed
the importance of raising public awareness and helping members of
society take action in order to benefit from the sustainable develop-
ment goals without any distinction. Public engagement is a crucial
point to sustainable development as discourse and exchange of ideas
and scientific knowledge among members of society lead to immedi-
ate action and global change. Nevertheless, further implementation
of the educational material that participants developed in the school
classroom would reveal useful information about the connection of
Science Environment and Health taught in the same school subject.
Within this frame, the questions that arise concern the role of sci-
ence education in promoting informed citizenship and raising aware-
ness of global responsibility in health and environmental issues
through cultural mediation.
The analysis of contradictions during the course raised the lack of a
common value system for teachers as well as the high demands of
specialised knowledge and changes in their daily practices needed
for inclusive teaching. On reflecting on their own role in education,
teachers mentioned that they can influence their students towards
positive value-shaping experiences in inclusive settings. There is a
need to develop an inclusive spirit and this is not an easy task. There
are conflicts that need to be resolved in a flexible learning environ-
ment that reflects the complexity of the community. According to
Zeyer et al. (2019), complexity in scientific, environmental and
health issues is a result of human factors which brings up the role of
empathy in education. In this course, we realised that this is a matter
20

of further investigation as moments of resolving contradictions and

change were obvious on the one hand while resistance to new teach-
ing methods appears in some cases. The 17 goals of sustainable de-
velopment are definitely not a panacea for all educational purposes
and there are potential inconsistencies concerning their implementa-
tion around the globe. In the field of education, a profound under-
standing of sustainable development is required by teachers and cur-
riculum developers so as to connect sustainable development with
inclusive education and be able to work on this ground. Towards this
direction, contradictions arise and if they are dealt with in a dynamic
framework, they can lead to evolution and expansion.
The contradictions and conflicts emerged within the development of
the activity system of the course were a source of change and devel-
opment. This study has shown that the collaborative activities could
be helpful in teachers’ training courses but also have some con-
straints concerning group discussion contradictions, technology-re-
lated contradictions and network relations to other activity systems.
In a complex collective activity, different stakeholders may have dif-
ferent motives and perspectives on the shared object. However, such
constraints of collective learning activities may be used as an ongo-
ing source for further teaching and learning development and im-
provement.

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