biological diversity and the sustainable utilization of its components. Therefore, Malaysia’s educat ion system has seen biodiversity as an important element to be embedded across the curriculum. The importance of biodiversity, or biological diversity, for sustainable development is the basis of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010 and subsequently recognized by the UN in goal 15 of the SDGs. We all fully depend on biodiversity, which provides us with goods and services that support and sustain our lives. Biodiversity not only provides us with food, water, fertile soil, medicines, protection from storms and floods and recreation spaces, but also ensures us security and health and affects our social relations (see http://www.iucn.org). Although protecting biodiversity is key to human development, we often ignore how important it is for our personal health and the health of our economies. Human activities, magnified in recent years by population and economic growth and climate change, have led to a dramatic loss of biodiversity across the world. The Teaching of Biodiversity in Schools Schools play a key role in ensuring that biodiversity concepts are taught in the curriculum, but also that students develop values and increase their capacities to preserve biological diversity. In addition, there is a need for promoting whole-school approaches, so that actions to promote biodiversity are practiced on the school grounds (Mula and Munirah, 2016). Teachers are powerful actors to reorient and transform students learning experiences toward sustainable development. An important prerequisite is that teachers should have sufficient knowledge, a good attitude and practices with regard to education for sustainable development. Furthermore, teachers need to be knowledgeable on the matters related to the content to be conveyed as learning depends on what teachers know (Acheson, 2003). However, the reality is that teachers may lack professional development opportunities to help them develop competences to re-think and change their teaching practice towards sustainable development. Exploratory study on teachers’ knowledge about some concepts of education for sustainable development and teachers’ attitudes showed that geography and science teachers achieve a moderately high level (Mohammad Zohir Ahmad, 2010). Positioning Biodiversity in the School Curriculum Mohammad Zohir Ahmad et. al. (2016) show that it is feasible to integrate Biodiversity concepts across the secondary school curriculum. In fact, it is possible to integrate biodiversity concepts across many of the subjects taught at secondary school level specifically in Science and Geography, Languages (both English and Malay language) and Mathematics. In fact, it is possible to infuse biodiversity concepts in all subjects for all years from Form 1 to Form 5. Exceptions are for the subjects Biology, Physics and Chemistry which are only taught when students enter form 4 and form 5. Moreover, it is also possible to inject biodiversity ideas in Forms 1 to Form 5 in Science, Geography, Malay language and Engl ish. In Mathemat ics however, the integration is more subtle whereby the concepts are implicitly instilled through teachers’ verbal explanation of the pictures and diagrams and other visual forms of biodiversity concepts. Biodiversity concepts are discussed further in Form 4 Biology. This rather brief analysis of the curriculum shows Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the 169 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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