Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education and Professional Development (TEPD) Programmes in Kenya: A Missing Component

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2013 in the subject Pedagogy - Miscellaneous Topics, , language: English, abstract: This article discusses the role of the teacher educators in reorienting teacher education to address sustainability. The article analyzes the implementation of aims and tasks of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005-2014) among Teacher trainers/educators in Kenya. The three recent teacher education and professional development (TEPD) programmes conducted in public Teacher Training Colleges (T.T.Cs) in Kenya were scrutinized with a view of establishing the extend to which Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been incorporated in teacher education programmes. Both the analysis and the literature review provide no evidence that ESD has become an integral part of most teacher education programmes, and that there is no teacher education initiative that has strategically set out to mainstream sustainability into the core of teacher education programmes particularly in light of current and developing trends in education in Kenya. There is therefore, almost a blank spot in both the body of knowledge on teacher education and the actual practices of many teacher educators with regard to ESD. The article concludes with a discussion of ways to remedy the situation.

Joseph Amulioto Opanda currently lectures at Mt. Kenya University (Kitale & Eldoret Campuses), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology (Kitale CBD Campus), Kisii University College (Keroka Campus) and Mosoriot Teachers' College after having taught at Kaimosi T.T.C, Loreto Girls - Matunda, Moi High School - Kabarak and Kwanza Friends. Opanda is a prolific writer and researcher who has presented several papers in international conferences across the country.