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Providing environmental training in the context of Ukraine's
transition to sustainable development
V.M. Bogoliubov
a
,
*
, O.M. Nagorniuk
b
, W. Sobczyk
c
a
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences, 13, Geroiv Oboronu Str., Kyiv, Ukraine
b
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences, 1A, General Rodimtseva Str., Kyiv, 03041, Ukraine
c
AGH University of Science &Technology, Faculty of Mining &Geoengineering, Dept. of Environmental Engineering and Mineral Processing, Al. Mickiewicza
30, 30-059, Krakow, Poland
article info
Article history:
Received 26 August 2016
Accepted 28 September 2016
Available online 12 November 2016
Keywords:
Strategy
Education
Sustainable development
Teaching materials
abstract
The article analyzes the problems of Ukraine's transition to sustainable development. Recognized priority
implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development in the system Edu-
cation of Ukraine. The necessity of introduction in the educational process of preparation environ-
mentalists, teachers and civil servants elements of education for sustainable development. The paper
analyzes the teaching materials issued in Ukraine for the past 10 years regarding education for sus-
tainable development. An optimal, in our view, the content of curriculum subjects with generalized
entitled “Sustainable Development Strategy”.
©2016 Agricultural University of Georgia. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
1. Introduction
The recommendations of the UNECE Strategy Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD) emphasizes the special attention to
Eastern Europe to address “…their main problems in environ-
mental education and education for sustainable development.”
Among the urgent problems are also satisfactory and lack of
teaching materials, lack of awareness and insufficient development
of interagency and multilateral cooperation on ESD [1,p.18e19].
This situation was the impetus to start research on the develop-
ment and improvement of complex teaching of the educational
process of preparing future environmental experts for professional
careers in the transition to sustainable development of society.
1.1. Stages of implementation of the UN strategy
Strategy UNECE Education for Sustainable Development (UNECE
Strategy) provides for introduction in the educational process un-
conventional topics, approaches and methods to teach future pro-
fessionals assign tasks and solve complex social and environmental
problems. ESD strategy focuses on providing opportunities
interdisciplinary analysis of situations specific to real life due to
changes in the structure of curricula, programs and teaching
methods. To implement this provision, a group of authors, ed.
M.O.Klymenko and V.M.Bogoliubov initiated the preparation and
publication of the manual “Workshop to develop local sustainable
development strategies”[2].
UNECE Strategy with a view to encouraging States to include in
the formal education system elements ESD, one of the priorities of
the development program determines the relevant disciplines.
Thus Vilnius beyond the purposes UNECE Strategy ESD involve
three stages of implementation:
Stage 1 (to 2007) - Political and organizational measures to
create preconditions for development of ESD in each country. In
Ukraine in 2002 adopted the concept of environmental educa-
tion, which included the incorporation of elements of ESD in
formal education;
2-nd stage (2010) - practical implementation of the Strategy ESD
goals in each country. From 2004 draft industry standards of
higher education by orientation of Ukraine 0708 “Ecology”
specialty 8.07080601 “Ecology and Environment”in the loop “of
natural science, training”implies a normative discipline “Sus-
tainable Development Strategy”;
3-rd stage (2015) - completion of the ESD goals of the Strategy at
all levels. At the final stage of the Law of Ukraine “On main
principles (strategy) of the State Environmental Policy of
*Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: volbog@ukr.net (V.M. Bogoliubov), sobczyk@agh.edu.pl
(W. Sobczyk).
Peer review under responsibility of Journal Annals of Agrarian Science.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Annals of Agrarian Science
journal homepage: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-agrarian-
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aasci.2016.09.003
1512-1887/©2016 Agricultural University of Georgia. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Annals of Agrarian Science 14 (2016) 292e294
Ukraine till 2020”, National Action Plan on Environmental Pro-
tection for 2011e2015, National Strategy for the Development of
Education in Ukraine in 2012e2021 and a number of other
documents that provide formal education modernization of
Ukraine in the context of education for sustainable
development.
1.2. Standardization of environmental education in Ukraine
Project Higher Education industry standard, developed in 2004,
in a direction “Ecology”for educational qualification of “Master”,
which included acquisition graduate qualification “university
teacher”also provided and included in the curricula of work
discipline normative “Sustainable Development Strategy”. Accord-
ing to this standard, the EPP educational and methodological sup-
port of teaching “Sustainable Development Strategy”: training
program [3], lecture notes [4] guidelines for practical classes and
independent work [5] and textbooks [6]. After consideration of the
experience of teaching this discipline and designing relevant sub-
ject (disciplinary) competences prepared textbook “Sustainable
Development Strategy”[7].
Since 2007 the National University of Life and Environmental
Sciences of Ukraine (NULES of Ukraine) introduced the subject
“Strategy for the sustainable development of nature and society”in
the curricula of all specialties training masters. National Technical
University of Ukraine “KPI”for masters introduced the subject
“Fundamentals of sustainable development.”Kyiv National Uni-
versity T.Shevchenko in 2010 for a masters degree in “Environ-
mental Business”proposed discipline “Economics of Sustainable
Development”, and the university has (m. Kyiv) and Municipal
Management Academy (m. Kyiv) since 2008 read discipline “Sus-
tainable Development Society “for bachelors in economy.
2. Analysis of teaching materials
Comparative analysis of curricula and working programs rele-
vant disciplines NTU “KPI”, NULES of Ukraine, Moscow Chemical-
Technological University, Irkutsk State University (Russia), Odessa
Ecological University, Sumy State University and other universities
in Ukraine shows that they significantly differ in structure and its
content. This is due to the lack of a single standard that would
reflect the composition and amount of knowledge required for
professionals in this area to educational qualification level
“Master”.
In recent years Ukraine has published several monographs
[8e12] textbooks [1,13e15] and learning textbooks [7,16,17]
devoted to problems and implement the principles of sustainable
development of the education system and shaping the content of
education for sustainable development. First of all it is worth noting
a series of tutorials [13,17] and training manuals [16,17], published
under the editorship of Professor of SSU, L.G. Melnyk. Yes, the
textbook “Grounds of sustainable development”[18], published in
2005, is considered one of the first fundamental educational pub-
lications on sustainable development in Ukraine. It covers almost
all aspects of education for sustainable development, including the
detailed classification principles of sustainable development of
socio-economic systems. For the first time patterns of self-
development of natural and socio-ecological systems and mecha-
nisms described in stability of complex open systems. Based on the
analysis of patterns of interaction between society and nature
demonstrated approaches to the formation of social and environ-
mental monitoring, and especially sustainable development in
conditions of transition to an information society.
Even wider range of issues considered in international textbook
“Sustainable Development: Theory, Methodology, Practice”[16]
writing team which consists of more than 100 authors from
around the world (from Ukraine and Russia to Australia and Can-
ada). The textbook contains encyclopedic diverse and profession-
ally selected materials as theoretical-methodological and practical
innovation in the field of education for sustainable development
and is invaluable for teachers of different training areas.
Since the formation of the balanced nature of the system is one
of the basic conditions for transition to sustainable development of
society, for the successful training of future environmentalists,
especially in agricultural universities, we can recommend the
manual prof. I.A. Shuvar [19]. The manual revealed the scientific
basis of sustainable land use in agriculture and describes in detail
the mechanisms of environmentally sustainable nature manage-
ment. We give a scientific description of the problems of protection
and improvement of soil fertility, describes the biologization agri-
culture as an integral component of environmentally sustainable
nature. Much attention is paid to the analysis of ways of transition
economies Ukraine to organic farming.
The disadvantages of the above publications include their large
volume (650 pp.1200 pp.) And small print runs (within 50 0 copies),
making it virtually impossible to mass use by students.
By fundamental works include the series of scientific mono-
graphs published author team led by academician M.Z. Zgurovsky
in 2008e2011 [8]. The authors created based at National Technical
University “KPI”Ukrainian branch of World Data Center (“UV
WDC”), supported by the International Council for Science (ICSU),
developed and implemented the methodology of measuring sus-
tainable development (SDGM). According SDGM sustainable
development at the country or region is estimated using a vector
space index of economic, environmental, social and institutional
dimensions. The spatial position of this vector represents the de-
gree of harmonization of transition to sustainable development.
3. Discussion
Ukrainian branch of World Data Center for Geoinformatics and
Sustainable Development has formed Internet services for infor-
mation on sustainable development [8]. These services provide
easy and open access to data for Sustainable Development in
selected regions of Ukraine and the world in tabular and graphical
form. Use these materials to prepare and conduct laboratory and
practical classes and the students individual work we refer to
interactive information technology of educational process to help
make learning more interesting and effective.
The monograph V.A. Ognevyuk “Education in the value system
of sustainable human development”analyzes the phenomenon of
sustainable development and has the decisive role of education in
“updating and modernizing public relations from the standpoint of
values and Ukraine's integration into European cultural space.”
Especially noted the role and value of education and culture in the
context of sustainable development. The author notes that “the
ability to learn and acquire knowledge to use them and enjoy them
…are inherent to every human being ….”[15, p.377]. Thus, one of
the priorities of modern education should include the ability of
teachers to maintain and develop the student his natural ability to
enjoy learning.
On the other hand, the author emphasizes the importance of
“awareness apprentice myself as a person …. This awareness is a
powerful driving force in the development of each individual's own
nature ”[15, p. 361]. It is interesting given the opposition of man-
made John Stuart Mill, “…not …the machine, and the tree that
needs to grow and most fully developed, according to the trends of
internal forces, due to which it is a living being”(quoted in [15,p.
361]). Accordingly, the education system has built a personality-
V.M. Bogoliubov et al. / Annals of Agrarian Science 14 (2016) 292e294 293
oriented, with a gradual transition to “…individually organized
learning process, success criteria which should be not abstract
knowledge, abilities and skills and personal development for itself,
its entry into civilization competence”[15, p. 372].
Stressing the role of spirituality in maintaining moral founda-
tions of personality, V.A. Ognevyuk emphasizes that the education
system in Ukraine belongs to “…with most intellectual potential”
industries and can ”…become the driving force of the spiritual
renewal of society”[15, p. 377]. The author notes that “sustainable
development of society depends largely on the ability of education
to realize the paradigm of values, which in essence harmonious
coexistence of man, society, nature and technology …”[15, p. 384].
For educational use and can recommend the tutorial A.P. Sado-
venko “Sustainable Development of Society”, published in 2011
with the financial support of the Swiss Confederation. The authors
suggest a rather deep analysis of prerequisites of sustainable
development strategy with a significant slant towards economic
aspects. The manual is based on the eponymous curriculum disci-
pline from 2007 read in Municipal Management Academy Student
Bachelor's Degree economic direction. The authors give special
attention to public-private partnerships and strategic planning of
sustainable development. Certain drawback of this guide is that
much of it is devoted to the ways of implementing the program by
UNDP in Ukraine, which is not quite appropriate in terms of the
educational process.
Using reviewed scientific and methodological materials and
their comparative analysis has also helped to determine the best, in
our opinion, the content of curriculum subjects with generalized
entitled “Strategy for Sustainable Development”according to the
educational and professional master's program areas of training
0708 “Ecology”[4,20,21].
4. Conclusions and results
Our experience of teaching “Strategy of sustainable develop-
ment of nature and society”for students of different specialties in
NULES of Ukraine enables argued that students of all areas of
training correctly perceive the main principles of sustainable
development and realize the need to move society towards sus-
tainable development.
According to the UNECE Strategy principles of sustainable
development should be included in the curricula at all OCD. Given
the fact that the economy is an integral part of sustainable devel-
opment, its role in the ESD should be more clearly defined, and the
inclusion of environmental education and sustainable development
in the training of economists should have priority. Thus, the
contradiction between economic growth and sustainable devel-
opment in society are seen as key components of education for
sustainable development. Recognition of the importance of ESD
economy has a foothold in the system of economic education as a
minimum by returning to Industry standards of higher education in
Ukraine with economic specialties the discipline “Ecology”(for
level “Bachelor”) and the introduction of a regulatory unit disci-
pline “Sustainable Development Strategy”(for EQL “Master”).
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