Technique, Creativity, and Sustainability of Bamboo Craft Courses: Teaching Educational Practices for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The 18-year history of bamboo craftsmanship in the university curriculum of Taiwan started with the popularization of concepts such as green design, community building, and cultural and creative industries. Bamboo is an environmentally-friendly material that has received much attention in the 21st century. Craftsmanship has drawn the attention of universities. This study uses participatory observation and interviews to collect information on bamboo craft courses in four departments of three universities and uses qualitative coding analysis to explore the sustainable teaching methods of craftsmanship teachers, sustainable development learning effects on students, and different ways of promoting sustainable development education (ESD) with bamboo craft courses in different universities. The research results show the following: (1) There are differences in bamboo craft courses: teachers’ craftsmanship and curricula are different, resulting in differences in technical depth and creativity; (2) with respect to the ESD evaluation criteria of the four bamboo craft courses, skills learning itself is not complete, but students are provided with a path to self-reliance in the craft and in responding to cultural sustainability challenges; and (3) regarding the relationship between ESD and bamboo craft education, bamboo craft education promotes the concept of sustainability and is important for the creation of crafts; universities offer opportunities for testing students’ technical talents and knowledge, but ESD is limited and blurry.