APPLICATION OF 4DS OF CURRICULUM MODEL AS PARADIGM FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were formulated to secure economic development and ensure social equity among others. To achieve the goals, universities have been assigned the responsibility to educate students for sustainable development through the transformation of the curricula to integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). While several universities have transformed their curricula to accommodate ESD, extant literature however, has shown that the existing curricula are not adequate to achieve the SDGs. Previous studies largely focused on efforts made by governments to achieve the goals with little emphasis on the curriculum model to be adopted by Nigerian universities to integrate ESD into their curricula. This study, therefore, was carried out to apply 4Ds (develop, design, demonstration and dissemination) of curriculum model in designing curricula on ESD for undergraduates in Nigeria as a paradigm for achieving the SDGs by 2030. Situation Analysis Curriculum Design Model provided the framework, while the mixed method design was adopted. The study was carried out in four stages. The development stage employed cluster sampling to group South-western states into three zones (Lagos/Ogun, Oyo/Osun and Ondo/Ekiti). From each zone, three universities were randomly selected, making a total of nine universities. From each university, 250 undergraduates were randomly selected; 1,852 undergraduates participated in the need assessment. The demonstration stage employed purposive sampling in selecting three experts who validated the curriculum. FOR the dissemination stage, a trial testing was carried out at the University of Ibadan in which two departments (Chemistry and Classics) were randomly selected. The intact classes of 200 and 300 levels of the two departments were involved. Instruments used were Curriculum on Education for Sustainable Development Needs Assessment Questionnaire with three subscales: Awareness (r=0.87), Practices (r=0.85) and Knowledge (r=0.96), Curriculum on Sustainable Development Implementation (r=0.89), Curriculum on Education for Sustainable Development Participants’ Perception (r=0.95) scales and Key Informant Interview guide. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson product moment correlation at 0.05 level of significance, while qualitative data were content analysed. The development stage showed that undergraduates’ awareness (x̅=2.07; SD = 0.52), knowledge of sustainable development (x̅= .92; SD = 0.02) and Nigerian universities sustainable practices (x̅ = 2.10; SD = 0.07) were low (using the threshold of 2.50 as the criterion norm). Majority (64.7%) of the participants at the needs assessment stage were females, while 50.6% were from sciences. Demonstration results showed a measure of agreement amongst the validators on the objectives; (FOR 5,10)=3.65), the content (F (5,10)=7.44) and classroom utility (F( 5,10)=6.61) of the curriculum in achieving sustainable development education. Dissemination results showed that participants perceived the curriculum as relevant in achieving the SDGs such as inclusive and equitable education for all, conservation of earth’s resources, combating climate change, promotion of inclusive economic growth and partnership building, among others. The 4Ds of curriculum model provided a paradigm for designing curricula on ESD for universities in Nigeria. Universities in Nigeria should adopt this model of curriculum design in order to achieve the SDGs.