Page 48 - Climate Conference - EBook 2023: Al-Qasemi Academy

The interdisciplinary nature, as well as the present and future relevance of the sustainability debate
(including climate change and biodiversity loss), with all its inherent dilemmas, uncertainties, and
confusions, may constitute fertile ground for educational innovation. A crucial prerequisite for
innovation of schools and instruction in the sense mentioned above is teacher education which
allows for these principles.
Against this background, the University of Klagenfurt and several Colleges of Teacher Education
conceived a four-semester University program for Teachers and Teacher Educators. The goal of the
University Course BINE is to encourage participants to deal as a “community of learners” with subject
information on sustainable development (SD) and education for sustainable development (ESD) in a
reflected way. An important element of the course is the systematic reflection of innovation in one's
own practice in an action research study context.
The overall results of the evaluation of the course have shown that the BINE course offers an
adequate instructional and learning strategy for the participants to construct the meaning of the
complex issues of SD and ESD by researching, reflecting, and exchanging in learning groups focused
on concrete examples. It is a challenge not to simplify ESD and lose its potential to identify the
interconnections between the ecological, social, economic, and cultural-political spheres more
clearly and adequately. Findings indicate that the systematic collection and analysis of data and the
writing of a study are regarded as strenuous but conducive to learning. It seems that a balance of
provocation and support as elements of a dynamic didactical design offers space for more in-depth
reflections on ESD.
Keywords: Education for Sustainable Development, Professional Development, Teacher
Education, Action Research.
Biography: Awny is a lecturer at the Al-Qasemi College of Education. For 15 years he has
volunteered as a preacher at a mosque in Baqa al-Gharbiyye, and for the last four years has
taught in a course on mosque preaching for imams, also as a volunteer. He holds a
bachelor’s degree in Islamic studies and Arabic from the Al-Qasemi College, a master’s
degree in Islamic studies from the An-Najah National University in Nablus, a doctorate in
Islam from the World Islamic University in Jordan, and a teaching diploma in Islamic
studies and Arabic. He teaches a weekly study day for retirees on compromise and
sustainability in Islam, and operates a community volunteering initiative in schools called
“Giving,” which promotes awareness of the importance of volunteering and community
action. Awny established the "A'ata" foundation, which offers scholarships for students
who volunteer in the community. Married and a father of two, Awny was raised and lives in
Baqa al-Gharbiyye.