Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education (Dec 2018)

Sustainability Education Using ICT-Supported Dialogue – Towards Transforming Adolescents’ Perceptions of Alcohol in the Punjab, India

  • Roy Amit,
  • Ikonen Risto,
  • Kumar Kuldeep,
  • Keinonen Tuula

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2478/dcse-2018-0014
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 2
pp. 49 – 67

Abstract

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A potential health crisis looms large in the Punjab, India where alcohol consumption has risen dramatically. Adolescents are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol. This empirical study presents a pedagogical intervention, Children as Agents of Social Change (CASC), which aimed to raise awareness about the effects of alcohol using an ICT-supported educational dialogue among adolescent students and alcohol-experts from multiple domains. Primary data consists of pre- and post-test questionnaires from the control and experimental groups (N=379) and an interview of the teacher-in-charge of one experimental school. Results indicate that the intervention significantly improved students’ scientific knowledge about alcohol; changed their attitudes towards media and celebrity promotion of alcohol; and enabled them to surmount the odds to spread information - acquired during the CASC intervention- to people outside the school, including adult drinkers. Learner-centric pedagogy combined with ICT clearly amplified transformative learning. CASC appears to be a promising approach in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It can be used for multiple sustainability issues.

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