Sustainable development is the overarching paradigm of the United Nations.

Sustainability is a
paradigm for thinking about a future in which environmental, social and economic
considerations are balanced in the pursuit of development and an improved quality of life.
Hence, this academic essay will discuss how a teacher can create sustainable development
through intergrated science.
To start with, Intergrated science is essential to sustainable development. The education of today
is crucial to enhancing the ability of the leaders and citizens of tomorrow to create solutions and
find new paths to a better, more sustainable future. Unfortunately, our current collective pool of
human knowledge, skills, and experience does not contain the solutions to all the contemporary
global environmental, societal, and economic problems (Roth & Barton, 2004).
Although humanity has faced crises in the past and successfully navigated them, the scale of
current problems is greater and the size of the world population larger than ever before. While
we can draw upon experiences of the past to solve the problems of today and tomorrow, the
reality is that citizens of the world will have the task of learning their way towards sustainability.
Intergrated science is therefore central to learning and to a more sustainable future (Mcgrew,
1992).
Science teachers must improve their understanding in areas such as climatic change, growth in
rates of resource consumption, demographic trends, and environmental degradation. Changes in
those and other areas need to be taken into account in working out long-term strategies for
development (Mcgrew, 1992). A first step towards improving the scientific basis for these
strategies is a better understanding of land, oceans, atmosphere and their interlocking water,
nutrient and biogeochemical cycles and energy flows which all form part of the Earth system.
This is essential if a more accurate estimate is to be provided of the carrying capacity of the
planet Earth and of its resilience under the many stresses placed upon it by human activities.
The sciences can provide this understanding through increased research into the underlying
ecological processes and through the application of modern, effective and efficient tools that are
now available, such as remote-sensing devices, robotic monitoring instruments, computing and
modeling capabilities (Leontev, 1978).
intergrated science are plays an important role in linking the fundamental significance of the
Earth system as life support to appropriate strategies for development which build on its
continued functioning. The sciences should continue to play an increasing role in providing for

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an improvement in the efficiency of resource utilization and in finding new development
practices, resources, and alternatives (Leontev, 1978).
There is a need for the sciences constantly to reassess and promote less intensive trends in
resource utilization, including less intensive utilization of energy in industry, agriculture, and
transportation (Hull, 1999). Thus, the sciences are increasingly being understood as an essential
component in the search for feasible pathways towards sustainable development.
Scientific knowledge should be applied to articulate and support the goals of sustainable
development, through scientific assessments of current conditions and future prospects for the
Earth system. Such assessments, based on existing and emerging innovations within the
sciences, should be used in the decision-making process and in the interactive processes between
the sciences and policy-making (Hull, 1999).
There needs to be an increased output from the sciences in order to enhance understanding and
facilitate interaction between science and society. An increase in the scientific capacity and
capability to achieve these goals will also be required, particularly in developing countries. Of
crucial importance is the need for scientists in developing countries to participate fully in
international scientific research programmes dealing with the global problems of environment
and development so as to allow all countries to participate on equal footing in negotiations on
global environmental and developmental issues (Hull, 1999).
In the face of threats of irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific understanding
should not be an excuse for postponing actions which are justified in their own right (Hull,
1999). The precautionary approach could provide a basis for policies relating to complex systems
that are not yet fully understood and whose consequences of disturbances cannot yet be
predicted.
Sustainable development requires taking longer-term perspectives, integrating local and regional
effects of global change into the development process, and using the best scientific and
traditional knowledge available (Hull, 1999). The development process should be constantly re-
evaluated, in light of the findings of scientific research, to ensure that resource utilization has
reduced impacts on the Earth system. Even so, the future is uncertain, and there will be
surprises.
Good environmental and developmental management policies must therefore be scientifically
robust, seeking to keep open a range of options to ensure flexibility of response. The

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precautionary approach is important (Hull, 1999). Often, there is a communication gap among
scientists, policy makers, and the public at large, whose interests are articulated by both
governmental and non-governmental organizations. Better communication is required among
scientists, decision makers, and the general public.
The reality for most teachers is that they are obligated to teach a curriculum mandated by a
national or regional ministry of education or the local school district. A teacher rarely has the
luxury or the challenge of creating his or her own curriculum entirely (Mcgrew, 1992).
At best, teachers can use activities from various core subjects and adjectival intergrated science
educations to teach sustainability concepts mandated in the curriculum. For example, to teach
about habitats a biology teacher could use a simulation from environmental intergrated science
education, while to teach about graphs a mathematics teacher could use national population
pyramids from population intergrated science education (Mcgrew, 1992).
Not only does intergrated science education contribute to sustainable development and the
transformation of society; the reverse is also true. Sustainability improves education and has the
potential to transform education (Mcgrew, 1992). As countries and communities struggle to cope
with contemporary challenges accompanied by major life-changing events, the purpose and
relevance of intergrated science education itself have been questioned.
Some teachers claim that the purpose of education is to ensure national economic
competitiveness. Others say that global stability is the goal of intergrated science education
(Leontev, 1978). For years, many countries have used intergrated science education as one of
several investments to increase economic growth. Unfortunately, such economic growth has
brought with it unprecedented environmental challenges as well as large gaps both economic and
societal between the haves and the have nots.
In conclusion, intergrated science is the field concerned with sharing scientific knowledge, and
methods with people not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. Science
education should be able to transform the typical teacher-centered classroom lecture into a
discovery and problem-solving arena this encourages creativity and originality.

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 REFERENCES

Hull, D. (1999). Teaching Science Contextually. New York: wiley

Leontev, A. N. (1978). Activity Consciousness and Personality. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Mcgrew, W. C. (1992). Chimpanzee Material Culture Implications for Human Evolution.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Roth, W.M. & Barton, A.C. (2004). Rethinking Scientific Literacy. New York: Routledge.

Tobin, K. R. (2007). The Culture of Science Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge: Harvard

University Press.

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