Addressing Sustainability Themes Using Visual Storytelling

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-760-6_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Narrative pedagogy; visual storytelling; sustainable development goals; education for sustainable development; arts-based pedagogy; transformative learning; textile education

Abstract

This paper explores the use of visual storytelling to address sustainability themes within a Home Economics Professional Master of Education module in an Initial Teacher Education context in Ireland. Firstly, the pre-service teachers engaged in curriculum mapping to identify connections between the Home Economics curriculum and content explicitly related to the Sustainable Development Goals and global systems and issues, such as climate change and sustainable development. In addition, aspects of attitudinal and behavioural change, such as values, dispositions, and actions, were addressed in relation to sustainability. A specific focus was placed on developing a growth mindset, with a particular emphasis on cultivating a sustainability mindset. In alignment with Ireland’s Teaching Council recommendations, ample opportunities for both individual and collaborative reflection, as well as engagement with pedagogical literature and research, were provided. The module advanced students’ pedagogical expertise and included time for experimentation and exploration of new pedagogies. Narrative pedagogy and visual storytelling were explored through practical applications. The students selected a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for study. Once they had a full understanding of the goal, they immersed themselves in the narrative process, creating stories. The sharing of stories and classroom dialogue provided evidence of the students’ developed understanding of sustainability issues. Different interpretations led to insightful discussions and engagement, and linking them to personal experiences helped scaffold learning. Different viewpoints and interpretations of experiences were communicated visually using textiles as a medium of expression.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Kathryn McSweeney
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/23
TI  - Addressing Sustainability Themes Using Visual Storytelling
BT  - Proceedings of the Conference of Growing up the Future: Education for Sustainability (GROUFES 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 136
EP  - 148
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-760-6_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-760-6_12
ID  - McSweeney2026
ER  -