Key Issues in Sustainable Development and Learning: a critical review
... According to Scott and Gough (2004), "Education for sustainability means preparing everyone to care for the planet by respecting justice, local identity, and fundamental requirements for all well being"(p.33). They also discussed the characteristics of education for sustainable development as: ...
... Generally, education should play its role for sustainable development of a given country by integrating education for the environment. To accomplish this, educators such as curriculum experts, teachers and the like should be familiar with the relationship between learning and sustainable development (UNESCO-UNEP, 1994;Palmer, 1998;Scott & Gough, 2004). ...
... When planning education at different levels such as making curriculum revision and in the actual teaching-learning process, the three interrelated components of education, education about, in and for the environment, should be equally treated in an integrated manner (Dufour, 1990;Palmer, 1998;Beck & Earl, 2000;Scott & Gough, 2004). According to Palmer (1998), "…all are essential components of planning at every level of education" (p.143). ...
The main objective of this study was to assess the integration of Environmental Education
(EE) into both grade nine and ten biology and geography curriculum guides and students‟ textbooks,
and in the actual teaching and learning process at secondary schools at North Shoa Zone. On the one
hand, to assess the integration of EE into the curriculum guides and students‟ textbooks of grade nine
and ten biology and geography, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through content
analysis. On the other hand, to assess the integration of EE into the teaching and learning process,
both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 373 students of which 225(60.3%) were
grade nine and 148(39.7%) were grade ten. From these students, data were collected using criterionreferenced test, open- ended questions and Likert type scale. Then, the data collected from the
participants were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively (using descriptive statistics,
parametric and non-parametric tests). The result showed that EE objectives (knowledge, skills,
attitudes and participation), contents, teaching methods and evaluation techniques were not
adequately integrated into the curricula materials. The result from the test also depicted that the
majority of the students performed below the standard set (70%) by their teachers. However, when
their achievement scores were analyzed in terms of sex and grade level, statistically significant mean
difference was obtained, t(371) = 2.26, p< 0.05 and, t(371) = 2.00, p < 0.05 respectively. On the
other hand, the mean difference between urban and rural students were found insignificant, t (371) =
0.05, p>0.05. And the ANOVA summary did not show significant mean difference in the schools as
a whole, F (3,369) = 1.97, p > 0.05. Moreover, regarding their attitudes to utilizing and protecting
their environment, students were found having inappropriate view. The analysis made on the
independent variables also showed insignificant mean attitude score difference between male and
female students, t(371) = 1.04, p > 0.05; grade nine and ten students, t(371) = 0.11, p>0.05; and
urban and rural ones, t(371) = 0.39, p > 0.05. The ANOVA summary also did not show statistical
significant mean difference in the schools overall, F (3,369) = 1.96, p > 0.05. Finally, the assessment
made on students‟ problem solving skills showed that they failed to identify serious environmental
problems including their causes, solutions, and participants that have to implement the solutions in
their local area leave alone environmental problems in Ethiopian and global contexts. Thus, based on
the above results, it can be concluded that EE was not integrated into grade nine and ten biology and
geography curriculum guides revised in 2004, and students‟ textbooks written based on the revision
in 2005/2006 in line with its objective, contents, teaching methods, and evaluation techniques that
prepare students to contribute to sustainable development of Ethiopia. It was not also integrated into
the actual teaching and learning process although it was integrated in the present education and
training policy document developed in 1994. Based on the findings, it is recommended that
integrating EE into different subjects typically biology and geography is vital to develop students‟
environmental knowledge, skills, attitudes and participation to make them contributors for
sustainable development of Ethiopia in particular and the globe at large.
... In a similar vein, Hay and others [12] suggested that the traditional single discipline subjects most university departments emphasize need to be changed. Universities need to partner with industry, government agencies and international agencies so as to be well positioned to make certain that their programs integrate current issues and offer practical insights into environmental and developmental policies [13]. They further stressed that changes in goals, attitudes, values and approaches concerning environment and development have significant implications for Human Resource Development. ...
... As earlier mentioned, education for sustainable development seems not to have a worldwide agreed conception of sustainable development thus brings up numerous issues such as different people using the same language to mean different things. Scott and Gough [13] [15] gave an alternative view of sustainable development "as a creative process, characteristic of all life", [16] viewing development as a "multidimensional systematic process that is economic, social, ecological and ethical" identifying that "we are inseparable from the web of life of human and non human communities". A recent workshop "Pre-cop climate change knowledge and leadership festival "organized to catalogue activities on sustainable development and climate change at the Institute for Social Science and Economic Research (ISSER) conference facility, University of Ghana -Legon on the 18 th of November, 2015 [17] presented research that argued that the greatest challenges to sustainable development especially in Ghana are environmental issues as have been provided by earlier authors. ...
... Again, experiential learning and scenario building are essential to take educational training beyond mere application of theory as often pertained in the Ghanaian education curricula. Population growth and economic, social, and cultural changes in Ghana, which is located in the sub Saharan region of Africa are argumentally pressurizing systems that support life, demanding sustainable ways of achieving strong economic development, social progress, resource use, and environmental management immediately [9,13]. To achieve this, professionals, government officials and community leaders need to have knowledge and skills in environmental education. ...
Aim: To determine students' knowledge in greening, sustainable development and the readiness to embrace environmental education as part of the curricular in the different programs offered at the University of Cape Coast-Ghana as a way of preparing them well for future work. Study Design: A survey was used for the study. Place and Duration of Study: The University of Cape Coast from May to June 2015. Methodology: A total of 270 students from 23 different departments of the University of Cape Coast were sampled and studied. A questionnaire was self-developed, pilot tested and distributed to the students. Their knowledge in sustainability, sustainable development, greening among others was assessed. Students' interest in learning about environmental issues should it be introduced as part of the curriculum in different programs was sought. Results: Out of the 270 questionnaires distributed, 254 were retrieved giving a response rate of 94%. There were 150 males and 104 females ranging from 19-33 years with a mean age of 23 years. Seventy-two percent of the students believed that the U.C.C. campus is green enough and 85% believed that there is a relationship between green and sustainability. About 87% welcomed Original Research Article Darkwa; BJESBS, 16(3): 1-9, 2016; Article no.BJESBS.25158 2 the idea of adding environmental issues to the curricular of their respective programs and 83% suggested it be added to the curricular of all programs offered at the University. Conclusion: Students may have a good idea of what green, sustainability and sustainable development are but their willingness to study environmental issues will help augment their knowledge in these. There is need for further work to validate how this gained knowledge will transcend into helping graduates secure jobs after graduation and reduce graduate unemployment.
... In the past, traditional environmental education was merely focused on local contexts and ecological facts, whereas global cause-effect relationships were largely marginalized (Bolscho and Hauenschild, 2006). In contrast, ESD should be interdisciplinary and global in its scope (Scott and Gough, 2004;Summers et al., 2005;Scheunpflug and Asbrand, 2006;Menzel and Bögeholz, 2008). This is a difficult task as the scientific evidence about global biodiversity and its loss is rather uncertain and often controversial (Kassas, 2002). ...
... From an educational point of view this intuitive focus on Brazil -may it be based on lay or scientific knowledge -has its drawbacks. A strong and intuitive focus on one particular country of the world might hinder student teachers to develop a global perspective on the distribution and loss of biodiversity, which is considered an integral part of ESD (e.g., Scott and Gough, 2004;Bolscho and Hauenschild, 2006;Scheunpflug and Asbrand, 2006;Menzel and Bögeholz, 2008) as well as a formal requirement of the national secondary science curriculums of both countries (Ministerio de Educación Pública [MEP], 2003[MEP], , 2005; Sekretariat der Ständigen Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [KMK], 2004). Student teachers' worldviews and concepts -including their strong focus on Brazil -may be reflected in their future teaching practice (Cochran and Jones, 2003). ...
This paper explores (1) student teachers’ mental maps of the global distribution and loss of biodiversity and (2) their perception of threatened biodiversity at the national, transnational and global levels. Data was collected from a questionnaire study of student biology teachers from Germany (n = 868) and Costa Rica (n = 284). Student teachers’ mental maps matched quite well with the scientific view. Nevertheless, they clearly showed a “brazilisation bias,” meaning that the first and foremost country associated with high and threatened biodiversity was Brazil. Industrialized countries were often misconceived to have a particularly threatened biodiversity. Except for Brazil (and Costa Rica in the Costa Rican sample), most students neglected a connection between a country’s high biodiversity and its high threat as proposed by the biodiversity hotspots concept. Despite this common ground, major ethnocentric distortions merged in the composite mental maps for each sample: German students had a more global perspective on biodiversity and its loss, whereas Costa Ricans students had a more localized view. Student teachers from both countries have largely overestimated the percentage of threatened plant species on a national, transnational and global level (“overestimation bias”). In addition, the estimated percentage of threatened plant species have correspondingly increased with a greater distance from the students’ home country (“spatial optimism bias”). Results will be discussed in terms of educational implications.
... Lifelong learning also leads to greater self-awareness and community understanding. It is widely perceived as "a vital ingredient of capacity building for a sustainable future" [60]. Scott and Gough [60] argued that such learning is essential to help people build the 'personal and social capacity' to grapple with sustainability issues in their own lives and work. ...
... It is widely perceived as "a vital ingredient of capacity building for a sustainable future" [60]. Scott and Gough [60] argued that such learning is essential to help people build the 'personal and social capacity' to grapple with sustainability issues in their own lives and work. The most important reason of choosing lifelong learning in current study is its importance for tourism development and planning [61]. ...
The structure of tourism has the potential to create numerous opportunities, beneficial effects and conservation incentives for island communities. However, its negative impacts can gradually destroy the resources upon which it depends. Hence, it is essential for the local community to take responsibility, address problems, act effectively and lead the roles to protect their living area while exploiting tourism industry. The main purpose of this study is to assess the level of community capacity for environmental stewardship from tourism negative impacts in Langkawi Island, Malaysia. This study employed a quantitative method. The outcomes provide the current level of community capacity for environmental stewardship as well as general characteristics of Langkawi local community. The results may give a better insight toward achieving systematic change in local communities regarding conserving and protecting natural environment from tourism environmental costs. It may also help to obtain further tourism development while minimizing negative environmental impacts.
... Αν η θεμελίωση είναι στέρεα, η αμφισβήτηση θα καταπέσει. Αν όμως δεν είναι, η αμφισβήτηση θα έχει αποτέλεσμα και με τον τρόπο αυτό θα οδηγηθούμε στην κοινωνική μάθηση (Scott & Gough, 2003). ...
... Πρόκειται για ένα ανοιχτό σύστημα που διευκολύνει τις αλλαγές και τις καινοτομίες, είναι προσανατολισμένο στη ύπαρξη διαφορετικών ερμηνειών για την αειφορία δεν πρέπει να οδηγήσει στην επικράτηση μίας εξ αυτών. Όλες οι ερμηνείες της περιβαλλοντικής πραγματικότητας έχουν θέση στην πορεία υλοποίησης της αειφορίας, καθώς καμία δεν αρκεί από μόνη της για να αντιμετωπιστεί η πολυπλοκότητα και η αβεβαιότητα που ενυπάρχουν στα σχετικά ζητήματα.Σύμφωνα με τους θεωρητικούς της πολιτιστικής θεωρίας, στην εκπαίδευση για την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη(Scott & Gough 2003, σελ. 120) καμία από τις ερμηνείες της αειφορίας «ως τεχνοκρατική ή ήπια και ως οικοκεντρική ή ισχυρή» δε θα μπορούσε αλλά ούτε και θα έπρεπε να ταυτιστεί με την αειφορία. ...
Τα τελευταία χρόνια η έννοια της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης απόκτησε παγκόσμιο ενδιαφέρον και έγινε η λέξη κλειδί για πολιτικούς, φορείς λήψεως αποφάσεων, αναπτυξιακούς φορείς, ακαδημαϊκούς αλλά και περιβαλλοντικές ομάδες. Οι διεθνείς οργανισμοί προώθησαν την έννοια και στο επίσημο εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα των χωρών παγκοσμίως με τη δημιουργία της «Εκπαίδευσης για την Αειφόρο Ανάπτυξη» (Ε.Α.Α), όχι εξ ολοκλήρου ως νέα έννοια αλλά ως αποτέλεσμα της διαλεκτικής εξέλιξης της Περιβαλλοντικής Εκπαίδευσης (Π.Ε.). Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη ότι λιγότερο ή περισσότερο αυταρχικές εξουσίες συνεχίζουν να υποβαθμίζουν ακόμη την παιδεία ως εργαλείο επιβολής, εγχάραξης, διατήρησης και αναπαραγωγής της κυρίαρχης ιδεολογίας (Ρόκος, 2007), θεωρήσαμε σκόπιμο να προσεγγίσουμε με μεγάλη προσοχή το ζήτημα της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης, εξετάζοντας τις εννοιολογικές, φιλοσοφικές, ηθικές, πολιτιστικές, πολιτικές και στρατηγικές βάσεις και προκλήσεις μιας «Εκπαίδευσης για την Αειφόρο Ανάπτυξη».
Μέσα από τη διερεύνηση των κοινωνικών αναπαραστάσεων της ανάπτυξης, του περιβάλλοντος, της εκπαίδευσης και άλλων συναφών εννοιών, θεωρήσαμε ότι η ερμηνευτική έρευνά μας θα μάς επιτρέψει να αντιληφθούμε τη δυναμική της μετάδοσης, της νομιμοποίησης, της ιδιοποίησης, της συζήτησης, της αντίστασης, της εξέλιξης και της αλλαγής των εννοιών αυτών. Σκοπός ήταν να γνωρίσουμε τις αναπαραστάσεις ως φαινόμενα που μαρτυρούν κοινωνικές δυναμικές, τις οποίες οφείλουμε να αναδείξουμε όσο γίνεται πιο αντικειμενικά.
Η έρευνα βασίστηκε σε μια ποιοτική ερμηνευτική προσέγγιση. Χρησιμοποιήθηκαν οι τεχνικές της ημιδομημένης συνέντευξης, των Focus Groups (Ομάδων Εστίασης), της μεθόδου των ελεύθερων συνειρμών και της μεθόδου του οραματισμού ενός εναλλακτικού μέλλοντος. Η ερευνητική προσπάθεια, εστιάστηκε σε εκπαιδευτικούς που ασχολούνται με την Π.Ε., αφού αυτοί αποτελούν τόσο τους «πομπούς» όσο και τους «δέκτες» της προσπάθειας για την ενσωμάτωση της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης στο εκπαιδευτικό σύστημα με τη μετεξέλιξη της Π.Ε. σε Ε.Α.Α.
Παρακάτω συνοψίζονται τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας σε τρεις βασικούς άξονες: περιβάλλον, ανάπτυξη και εκπαίδευση. Ο πλουραλισμός των απόψεων έγινε εμφανής στην ερμηνεία του περιβάλλοντος. Η λανθασμένη χρήση της τεχνολογίας και η τάση για όλο και μεγαλύτερα κέρδη αποτέλεσαν τις βασικότερες αιτίες των περισσότερων περιβαλλοντικών προβλημάτων. Αναδείχθηκε αφενός ο κεντρικός ο ρόλος που αποδίδουν οι εκπαιδευτικοί στην πολιτεία για την περιβαλλοντική προστασία και αφετέρου μια ευρύτερη ανησυχία για την εφαρμογή περιβαλλοντικών πολιτικών.
Η ανάπτυξη ως έννοια δίχασε τους εκπαιδευτικούς και αρκετοί ήταν αυτοί που είχαν κριτική διάθεση στην κυρίαρχη αναπτυξιακή φιλολογία, ενώ έντονος ήταν και ο προβληματισμός για τη σχέση της ανάπτυξης με το περιβάλλον. Η αναφερόμενη άγνοια άλλων αναπτυξιακών προσεγγίσεων περιόρισε τις συζητήσεις γύρω από την αειφορία και την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη. Οι συζητήσεις για την ερμηνεία της αειφορίας ανέδειξαν τη σύγχυση που υπάρχει σχετικά με το περιεχόμενό της. Η αειφόρος ανάπτυξη υπήρξε προσφιλής έννοια στους εκπαιδευτικούς παρόλο που οι απόψεις όπως για το περιεχόμενό της ήταν διφορούμενες. Οι περισσότεροι θεώρησαν ότι είναι ανέφικτο το κεντρικό πρόταγμα της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης για διαγενεακή δικαιοσύνη, αφού κάτι τέτοιο θα απαιτούσε αλλαγή του σύγχρονου τρόπου ζωής με ταυτόχρονο περιορισμό πολλών πλασματικών αναγκών. Αναζητώντας τα χαρακτηριστικά της ζωής την εποχή της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης διαπιστώσαμε ότι πολλές από τις προσδοκίες των εκπαιδευτικών δε συνάδουν με τη θεωρία της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης.
Η επίσημη είσοδος της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης με τη μορφή της εκπαίδευσης για την αειφόρο ανάπτυξη περιέπλεξε το ήδη θολό τοπίο της Π.Ε. Οι ασαφείς εκπαιδευτικοί στόχοι, που στις περισσότερες περιπτώσεις συνοψίζονταν στην απλή ευαισθητοποίηση των μαθητών, οι διαφορετικές παιδαγωγικές προσεγγίσεις για την ανάλυση της έννοιας της αειφόρου ανάπτυξης μέσα στην τάξη σε συνάρτηση με το κλειστό αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα, η ελλιπής ενημέρωση των εκπαιδευτικών και η ανάγκη διάχυσης των ζητημάτων της ανάπτυξης και του περιβάλλοντος σε όλο το αναλυτικό πρόγραμμα, αποτέλεσαν τα βασικά ζητήματα που σκιαγράφησαν το τοπίο της εκπαίδευσης σχετικά με το περιβάλλον και την ανάπτυξη.
During the last years sustainable development has acquired global interest and has become the key world for politicians, decision makers, development agents, academics and environmental groups. International organizations have also forwarded the meaning to the formal education systems of countries worldwide, through the creation of Education for Sustainable Development (E.S.D.). The ESD has been forwarded not as an entirely new concept, but as a result of the dialectic evolution of Environmental Education (E.E.). Taking under consideration the fact that some, more or less, authoritarian powers still continue to degrade the role of education as a tool of imposition, incision, maintenance and reproduction of the dominant ideology (Rokos, 2007), we have considered necessary to approach the issue of sustainable development with grade attention, examinating the significant, philosophical, moral, cultural and strategic bases and challenges of an “Education for Sustainable Development”
Through the investigation of social representations of development, environment, education and other relevant meanings, we have considered that our explanatory research has allowed us to conceive the dynamics of transmission, legalization, misappropriation, discussion, resistance, development and change of these meanings. The aim was to point out representations as phenomena that reflect social dynamics, which have to be emphasizes as objectively as possible.
The research was based on a qualitative explanatory approach. The techniques used were those of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, the method of free associations and the method of visioning an alternative future. The inquiring effort was focused in teachers that deal with E.E., since they consist the “transmitters” and “receivers” of the effort for the integration of sustainable development in the educational system, through the evolution of E.E in E.S.D.
Below are summed the results of the research in three basic keynotes, environment, development and education. The pluralism of opinions became obvious in the interpretation of environment. The erroneous use of technology and the tendency for bigger profits constituted the main causes of most environmental problems. Most educators attribute the role of environmental protection to the state, while they are very distrustful for the correct application of environmental policies.
Development as a concept divided the educators. Μany of them had a critical attitude towards the dominant development philosophy, while intense was also the reflection of many about the relationship of development with the environment. The reported ignorance of other developmental approaches limited the discussions about sustainability and sustainable development. The conversation about the interpretation of sustainability high lightened the confusion that exists with regard about its content. Sustainable development was a popular concept to educators even though the aspects about its content were ambiguous. Most presumed that the central argument of sustainable development for intergenerational justice was unachievable. Since that would require a change of the modern way of life with a restriction at the same time of many fictitious needs. Seeking the characteristics of life at the age of sustainable development we realized that many of the expectations of educators do not agree with the theory of sustainable development.
The official entry of sustainable development with the form of E.S.D. complicated the already dome scenery of E.E. The vague educational objectives, that in the most cases were summarized in a simple sensitisation of students, the different pedagogic approaches about the analysis of the meaning of sustainable development in the classroom, in connection with the tight analytical program, the incomplete briefing of educators and the need of diffusion about matters of development and environment in the whole analytical program constituted the basic issues that sketched out the scenery of education about development and environment.
... Det ligger utanför denna studies syfte att granska huruvida lärare behöver brinna eller inte för att åstadkomma en undervisning för hållbar utveckling, men enligt flera studier verkar det vara så att ett personligt engagemang för hållbar utveckling gör lärare mer benägna att ta upp frågor om vad som händer i världen, så kallade real life questions i sin undervisning (Schnack, 2000;Scott & Gough, 2004). I Skolverkets rapport från 2002 kan noteras att det på ett flertal undersökta skolor har skett en nedgång när det gäller intresset för miljöfrågor jämfört med den uppmärksamhet frågorna fick i slutet av 80-talet. ...
... Studien ger belägg för att undervisning för hållbar utveckling i en demokratisk kultur betyder att eleverna utvecklar kunskap i att kritiskt granska och att bilda sig egna uppfattningar i det stora informationsflöde som finns i samhället. Den förståelse de utvecklar får konsekvenser som kan hindra eller bidra till en hållbar utveckling (Scott & Gough, 2004). I en demokratisk kultur ingår även att elever utvecklar förmåga att lyssna till och förstå andra människors åsikter och genom detta kunna representera varandra i olika sammanhang. ...
... Until relatively recently, poststructuralist thought has remained something of a 'blind spot' (Gough, 2002) in environmental education research. For example, in their otherwise comprehensive and commendable appraisal of key issues in sustainable development and learning, Scott and Gough (2004) very largely ignore the possibilities and potentials afforded by poststructuralism and deconstruction for thinking imaginatively and creatively about socio-environmental problems. Indeed, they completely ignore deconstruction and make only two cursory references to poststructuralism, firstly in a section on 'Language and understanding; language and action' in which they conflate 'post-modern ' and 'post-structuralist' (p. ...
... I acknowledge that many of the arguments advanced in this section were initially formulated in a conference paper (Gough, 2003) and first published in the Southern African Journal of Environmental Education (Gough & Price, 2004). Scott and Gough (2004) add three other citations to Stables' work to authorise this assertion. I am especially grateful to Whitson (2006) for clarifying the implications of misleading translations of Derrida's (in)famous aphorism. ...
"I can only answer the question ‘What am I to do?’ if I can answer the prior question ‘Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?’ … Mythology, in its original sense, is at the heart of things." (Alasdair MacIntyre 1984, p. 216)
In this essay I address the question, '˜What am I to do?' as an outdoor and environmental educator with some responsibilities for facilitating learners' experiences of the outdoors, by exploring some of the stories in which my colleagues and I find ourselves a part. I do this by critically examining some of the stories about experiencing the outdoors that outdoor and environmental educators tell to each other and to learners. Narrative and poststructuralist theorising inform my critique.
... Findings from different reviews attest that the cognitive domain of sustainability receives a greater focus in comparison to socio-emotional and action ones (UNESCO, 2019(UNESCO, , 2021b. Many authors have alerted us that learning processes that are centred on raising awareness about sustainable development issues or on understanding concepts associated with it are not effective to engage the learner (Scott & Gough, 2003). They point to how problem-oriented learning can lead to negative psychological impacts on students, including eco-anxiety or apathy for change (Hoffman, 2021). ...
El paso a un futuro sostenible requiere que todos aprendamos a vivir, trabajar y relacionarnos con nuestro planeta de manera diferente. La formación del profesorado ha sido reconocida como uno de los catalizadores más importantes para llevar la innovación y la sostenibilidad a la educación y, por lo tanto, apoyar al alumnado para que contribuya a la transición verde. Este artículo resalta la necesidad de abordar la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible (EDS) y describe el papel fundamental de la formación docente en el avance del desarrollo sostenible. Basándose en un estudio encargado por la Comisión Europea, las autoras identifican los desafíos clave y las lecciones aprendidas para mejorar el aprendizaje profesional de los docentes en EDS y proponen acciones para ayudar a los docentes y formadores de docentes, incluidos los docentes de matemáticas, a desarrollar competencias que les permitan conectar mejor su trabajo y experiencia con el imperativo de la sostenibilidad.
... These were informed by insights from the sustainability audit of the school, the shared experiences of the regional ITP coordinators and mentors, and the existing literature on capacity building theories (e.g. Frederick, 2012;Oxfam, 2006;Scott & Gough, 2003;Tilbury, 2002;Osler & Vincent, 2002;and Huckle & Sterling, 1996). The main objective of the Change Project was to introduce and aid integration of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) in the School of the Built Environment (WAG, 2008a(WAG, , 2008b. ...
... Within this context, the concept of transition as fundamental changes within a given societal system has become a center of scientific and policy debates, interconnected with environmental, economic, social and government dimensions of sustainability (EEA, 2021;Loorbach, 2007). As a result, transition is seen as a means to tackle persistent problems related to transformative, and crosscutting changes, encompassing major shifts in society's goals, practices, norms, and governance approaches (Jansen, 2003;Meadowcroft, 2000;Scott & Gough, 2004). Likewise, Lund Declarations in 2009 and2015, called upon Macedonia in Greece, are effective and just and whether they embed transition management, spatial justice, and place-based elements. ...
PURPOSE: This paper examines to what extent the governance modes of transition in the region of Western Macedonia (Greece) are effective and just, and whether they embed transition management, spatial justice, and place-based elements. To this end, the hypothesis tested in this paper is that spatial justice and place-based policy can make a positive contribution to just and well-managed transition. In this framework, the question examined is not about 'who is in charge for designing and implementing transition policies?' but about 'what is the balance and mix of transition policies at the central, regional, and local levels of administration?'. METHODOLOGY: The article critically discussed the concept of transition as a fundamental societal change through the lens of efficiency and justice. Thus, the notions of transition management and spatial justice are thoroughly explored. It also embeds the concept of 'place' in this discussion. Therefore, the challenges, opportunities, and shortcomings of the place-based approach in the course of transition are examined. The empirical section contains a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, such as the use of questionnaires and focus group meetings, preceded by background research, comprising mainly desk research. The above different cases of empirical work are not entirely irrelevant to each other. The validity of the research findings is strengthened by using multiple sources of evidence and data triangulation. The analysis at the empirical research level focuses on Western Macedonia in Greece. This region has all the characteristics of a coal-dependent locality, under an urgent need to design and implement a post-lignite, just, transition strategy. FINDINGS: Given that transition implies a profound and long-lasting societal, economic, and environmental / From transition management towards just transition and place-based governance. Τhe case of Western Macedonia in Greece transformation, new and pioneering modes of governance are necessary to tackle such a multifaceted challenge. The discourse about place, policies, and governance, reveals the need for focusing on a balance and mix of inclusive and multi-scalar policies instead of defining governance structures and bodies in charge for implementing transition policies. The launched transition governance model in Greece considerably deviates from the EU policy context. In fact, substantial shortcomings in terms of legitimacy, inclusiveness, and public engagement and overall effectiveness have been recorded. The empirical evidence reveals a rather clear top-down model than a hybrid one. The findings show that the governance model employed in the case of Western Macedonia, neither embeds spatial justice nor incorporates a place-based approach. IMPLICATIONS: Viewing the long-term process of transition through the lens of governance and policymaking, this paper challenges the assertion that the traditional top-down governance model is the most effective and fair approach. In this setting, the notions of transition management and spatial justice are thoroughly explored. The concept of 'place' is also embedded in this discussion. To this end, the challenges, opportunities and shortcomings of the place-based approach are analysed. Given that transition is by nature a multifaceted, multi-level and multi-actor process, an effective and just transition governance should reflect the views of different actors. In this sense, it seems that multi-level governance models for regions in transition need to harness existing interactions among different levels and actors. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: After having touched upon the process of transition regarding the notions of 'management' and 'justice,' we embed the concepts of spatial justice and the place-based approach into governance transition practices. In this respect, the gap between efficiency and equity, redistributive logic (needs, results), and development policy (inclusive development) can be bridged through the so-called 'spatial-territorial capital' and spatially just, multi-level governance.
... These were informed by insights from the sustainability audit of the school, the shared experiences of the regional ITP coordinators and mentors, and the existing literature on capacity building theories (e.g. Frederick, 2012;Oxfam, 2006;Scott & Gough, 2003;Tilbury, 2002;Osler & Vincent, 2002;and Huckle & Sterling, 1996). The main objective of the Change Project was to introduce and aid integration of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) in the School of the Built Environment (WAG, 2008a(WAG, , 2008b. ...
This publication was made possible with support from Sida and NIRAS Natura who supported the
International Training Programme (ITP) on Education for Sustainable Development in Higher
Education . The ITP on ESD-HE was developed in a partnership framework
between UNEP MESA, NIRAS (a Swedish company involved in ESD), Rhodes University (in South Africa) and Tonji University (in China). The partnership was established to strengthen capacity development and environmental innovation through practical education, training and networking in African universities through Education for Sustainable Development initiatives.
The book focuses on the Africa component, and the change projects produced by participants from universities in Africa. Since 2008 a total of 139 change projects were produced
by 280 participants from 106 institutions in 35 countries. In Africa 81 change projects were produced by 162 participants from 66 Higher Education Institutions in 23 countries. In Asia 58 change projects were produced by 118 participants from 39 institutions in 12 countries (NIRAS, 2015).
The chapter (17) highlights our efforts to mainstream Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the Department of Home Economics Education in the Alexandria University in Egypt. The main aim of the project is to reorient and develop the curriculum of household management and family sciences for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to provide a greater focus on sustainable development and sustainable innovation. The sustainable development strategy of the Home Economics Education Department emphasises the role that education can play in both raising awareness among students about sustainable development and giving them the skills to put sustainable development into practice. It places priority on the development of sustainability literacy as a core competence for graduates, training them to be transformative agents of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). I believe that active home economists should work towards improvement of their community through economic participation, social inclusion, and other efforts to improve life for all citizens. The objective of this Change Project is to mainstream and implement the idea of sustainability in the household management education programme at the Faculty of Specific Education in Alexandria University. ESD is implemented by reorienting existing courses to emphasis sustainable development, by developing new courses on both undergraduate and postgraduate level, by holding an information day for all students, and by integrating sustainability concerns into the scientific research plan of the Faculty of Specific Education.
Reference
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- Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
- Lichtenstein, A. H., & Ludwig, D. S. (2010). Bring back home economics education. JAMA, 303(18). Retrieved from http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/303/18.toc.
- Nawar, I. (2005). C.f. Abdelgalil, M. Madhy, N.& Nawar,I. Approach to family sciences. Alexandria: Bostan El-Maarefa Press.
- Togo, M., & Lotz-Sisitka, H. (2009).Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool. A resource book to complement the UNEP Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities Partnership. Howick:
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/11265/Mainstreaming_Environment_and_Sustainability_in_African_Universities_Stories_of_Change_2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
... I den konfliktfyllda och värdebemängda strävan mot en hållbar utveckling ses ofta lärande som en fruktbar väg för att hantera de hållbarhetsproblem och utmaningar människan ställs inför och lever i (Scott & Gough, 2004;Van Poeck, Östman & Öhman, 2019). Detta eftersom hållbar utveckling, det vill säga nuvarande generationers möjligheter att leva ett gott liv inom jordens ekologiska gränser inte kompromissar med kommande generationers möjligheter att leva ett gott liv, och bryta med nuvarande ohållbara sätt att leva, inte sker av sig självt. ...
I Örebro universitets visionsarbete är bildning och hållbar utveckling prioriterade områden. Bildning och hållbar utveckling är inga självklara termer. Än mindre självklart är vilken relation de har till varandra och vilken roll ett universitet kan ha i förhållande till dem. Vi har i den här rapporten på uppdrag av HS-fakulteten bjudit in fakultetens olika ämnen att reflektera över vad bildning och hållbar utveckling kan betyda i undervisning och forskning i respektive ämnen. Tio ämnen har inkommit med elva textbidrag: genusvetenskap, humanistiska studier (litteraturvetenskap), media- och kommunikationsvetenskap (filmvetenskap), musikvetenskap, pedagogik, psykologi, rättsvetenskap (två bidrag), socialt arbete, sociologi och statsvetenskap.
Syftet med denna rapport, där de 11 bidragen samlas, är att sprida idéer om bildning och hållbar utveckling såväl inom som utanför fakulteten som kan användas i diskussioner mellan och inom ämnen, utbildningsprogram, forskningsgrupper, samt i extern samverkan och kommunikation. Med rapporten vill vi visa olika humanistiska och samhällsvetenskapliga ämnens bidrag till och utvecklingsmöjligheter kring universitetets visionsarbete för bildning och hållbar utveckling. Vi vill dessutom visa hur ett tänkande kring dessa visioner kan gynnas av att bildning och hållbar utveckling ses som nära sammanlänkade begrepp och verksamheter.
https://www.oru.se/contentassets/a9223a988167438cb1dd78e959ba2aca/humanistiska-och-samhallsvetenskapliga-perspektiv-pa-bildning-och-hallbar-utveckling.pdf
... These were informed by insights from the sustainability audit of the school, the shared experiences of the regional ITP coordinators and mentors, and the existing literature on capacity building theories (e.g. Frederick, 2012;Oxfam, 2006;Scott & Gough, 2003;Tilbury, 2002;Osler & Vincent, 2002;and Huckle & Sterling, 1996). The main objective of the Change Project was to introduce and aid integration of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) in the School of the Built Environment (WAG, 2008a(WAG, , 2008b. ...
The Ethiopian Ministry of Education clearly articulates the need for the integration of the issue of environment and sustainable development into the curricula at all levels of the education system. This move is backed by the country’s plan of a Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) initiative to protect the country from the adverse effects of climate change and to build a green economy that will help realize its ambition of reaching
middle-income status before 2025. This chapter describes how an ESD Change Project, supported by Sida’s International Training Programmes, has been successfully implemented in a teacher education programme of the Educational and Behavioral Sciences Faculty of Bahir Dar University. The chapter illustrates the contextual factors that contribute to the successful implementation of the Change Project. Moreover, it highlights how important it is for higher officials in institutions, like universities, to be well aware of ESD related issues in order to minimise the challenges and constraints one could face in realising Change Projects.
... L'économie est évoquée par les deux groupes, -politique seulement par les allemands -, mais les deux dimensions font partie des éléments périphériques, et ne sont donc pas des éléments organisateurs de la représentation, tandis qu'elles en sont des composantes centrales de la 196 notion du DD, issue d'un consensus politique (Jickling 1992 ; Il nous semble important de faire encore remarquer que l'absence d'une mise en débat ainsi que du caractère controversé de la question socialement vive que constitue le développement durable est patent, alors qu'il existe bien dans les savoirs et les pratiques de référence. En effet, le développement durable est davantage un ensemble d'idées contestées qu'un concept stable (Legardez & Simmonneaux 2011;Scott & Gough 2004). Or, ni des dimensions critiques, ni des modèles alternatifs, ni des éléments de complexité ne sont envisagés par les étudiants. ...
... Before entering the more particular focus, the research traditions of environmental and sustainability education will be outlined as an additional background for discussing the aims and purposes of ESD, starting from the 1970's. The main references for the brief background of environmental education research comes from the research reviews of Hart and Nolan (1999), Rickinson (2001), Scott and Gough (2003Gough ( , 2004), Östman (2003) and the International Handbook of Research on Environmental Education (Stevenson, Brody, Dillon & Wals, 2013). ...
What happens with the aims and purposes of education when sustain ability issues of complexity, uncertainty, risk and necessity are to be handled in educational practises? In this thesis Helen Hasslöf analyses how secondary and upper secondary school teachers discuss aims and purposes of their teaching practices in the light of sustainable development as an overarching perspective. Conflicting aims are pro ble matised to discuss purposes of education. The included articles thus elaborate on students' possibilities to develop as political subjects, how to value what is seen as qualification of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and emerging myths of social change in relation to sustainability. Furthermore, the concept of sustainable development is elaborated from a conflict perspective in an educational setting. Theories and ideas from Bakhtin, Wertsch, Biesta and Laclau & Mouffe are important theoretical foundations. Analytical methods, inspired by discourse theory, are developed to be used for analysis of teachers' meaningmaking discussions. isbn 9789171046277 (print) isbn 9789171046284 (pdf)
... Il nous semble important de faire encore remarquer que l'absence d'une mise en débat ainsi que du caractère controversé de la question socialement vive que constitue le développement durable est patent, alors qu'il existe bien dans les savoirs et les pratiques de référence. En effet, le développement durable est davantage un ensemble d'idées contestées qu'un concept stable (Legardez & Simmonneaux 2011 ;Scott & Gough 2004). Or, ni des dimensions critiques, ni des modèles alternatifs, ni des éléments de complexité ne sont envisagés par les étudiants. ...
... Avslutningsvis kan det resultat som vi fått fram i studien tolkas som att barn i de flesta förskolorna ges möjlighet att delta i olika aktiviteter och samtal med fokus på ekologisk hållbar utveckling och att denna huvudsakligen handlar om en miljö-och naturfostran där man socialiseras in i att ta ansvar för sin egen påverkan på miljön i form att vara varsam med omgivande natur och de resurser man har (se Scott & Gough, 2004). Lärande för hållbar utveckling som kunskapsinnehåll i förskolan tenderar därmed att främst befinna sig inom den ekologiska dimensionen medan de sociala och ekonomiska dimensionerna ges mindre utrymme. ...
This Swedish quantitative study aims to fill a research gap concerning how preschool teachers understand and work with education for sustainable development. Empirical data were collected in a questionnaire distributed to 187 Swedish preschools. The questionnaires consisted of 13 multiple choice questions and five open ended questions exploring how the preschool teachers interpret education for sustainable development and environmental education both as concepts and in practice. Both education for sustainable development and environmental education were mainly associated with nature experiences, recycling and reuse of resources. Descriptions reflecting the economic and social aspects of sustainable development were mainly missing. These views were reflected in the types of activities the children were afforded. Preschools supported by in-service training had a broader understanding of the concept and worked more actively with environmental and sustainability issues with the children. This suggests the need for support for providing children with quality education about sustainability issues.
... L'économie est évoquée par les deux groupes, -politique seulement par les allemands -, mais les deux dimensions font partie des éléments périphériques, et ne sont donc pas des éléments organisateurs de la représentation, tandis qu'elles en sont des composantes centrales de la notion du DD, issue d'un consensus politique (Jickling 1992 ; Il nous semble important de faire encore remarquer que l'absence d'une mise en débat ainsi que du caractère controversé de la question socialement vive que constitue le développement durable est patent, alors qu'il existe bien dans les savoirs et les pratiques de référence. En effet, le développement durable est davantage un ensemble d'idées contestées qu'un concept stable (Legardez & Simmonneaux 2011;Scott & Gough 2004). Or, ni des dimensions critiques, ni des modèles alternatifs, ni des éléments de complexité ne sont envisagés par les étudiants. ...
Les représentations sociales sont un formidable outil d’analyse des savoirs. L’ouvrage est destiné aux professionnels, aux étudiants, aux enseignants et aux chercheurs dans le domaine de l’éducation ou toute autre discipline susceptible d’analyser les savoirs en présence. L’ouvrage apporte un éclairage nouveau sur les méthodologies disponibles et la façon de les mettre en œuvre rapidement. Il précise la question de l’épistémologie des savoirs, la façon de les analyser, et s’appuie sur des exemples concrets reproductibles centrés principalement sur les recherches en éducation au développement durable. Les méthodologies présentées peuvent être utile aux comparaisons interculturelles ou diachroniques, dans l’analyse des enjeux en présence et les préconisations didactiques, notamment dans le cadre des questions socialement vives ou encore l’analyse des situations éducatives spécifiques ou la confrontation entre les savoirs d’origine différentes.
... From the learner's perspective, how knowledge is formed, and how concepts are used to develop understanding of sustainability issues, remains an open and fundamental question in global learning for SD. The very open and complex character of the relation that exists between the specific learner's perspective and skills-coming from different regions, countries and cultureson the one hand, and the demand for shared understanding of complex problems and knowledge, on the other, is one of the central issues in learning for SD (Scott & Gough, 2004;Moore, 2005). ...
... In this sense, didactical strategies and methodological approaches are necessary to promote the structuration of a critical, creative and reflexive thinking, capable of capturing and controlling the complex relations between the natural and the social world around us. This fact will imply the redefinition of new educational scenarios, their learning rates and times, the role of teachers and of all those actors involved in the school practice, the curriculum, its management and the present pedagogical ecosystem [35,36]. These strategies are characterized " according to their transversality and interdisciplinarity among all the subjects in the curriculum and should promote a Values Education which faces the student with the challenge of creating a better society " [37]. ...
... These were informed by insights from the sustainability audit of the school, the shared experiences of the regional ITP coordinators and mentors, and the existing literature on capacity building theories (e.g. Frederick, 2012;Oxfam, 2006;Scott & Gough, 2003;Tilbury, 2002;Osler & Vincent, 2002;and Huckle & Sterling, 1996). The main objective of the Change Project was to introduce and aid integration of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) in the School of the Built Environment (WAG, 2008a(WAG, , 2008b. ...
... More specifically, it can be applied to a particular governance approach that organises participatory exercises of envisioning, negotiating, experimenting and learning in order to deliberately accelerate and orient transitions for sustainability. Over the last decade, sustainable development has become a central concept guiding scientific debates and public policies related to complex and persistent problems (Jansen, 2003; Meadowcroft, 2000; Scott and Gough, 2004). Sustainable development aims to ensure economic welfare, social equality and ecologic quality across society, and over generations into the future. ...
... More specifically, it can be applied to a particular governance approach that organises participatory exercises of envisioning, negotiating, experimenting and learning in order to deliberately accelerate and orient transitions for sustainability. Over the last decade, sustainable development has become a central concept guiding scientific debates and public policies related to complex and persistent problems (Jansen, 2003; Meadowcroft, 2000; Scott and Gough, 2004). Sustainable development aims to ensure economic welfare, social equality and ecologic quality across society, and over generations into the future. ...
... Policy documents from the UN and UNESCO, where sustainable development and education for sustainable development (ESD) are treated, stress the importance of changing people's values so that attitudes and behaviors can contribute to sustainable development . Local to global curriculums also emphasize the importance of developing ESD (Scott & Gough 2004), and several studies (Bonnett 2002, Crompton & Kasser 2009, Hay 2005, 2006) have highlighted the need for changes in attitudes to improve sustainable development. Leiserowitz et al. (2006) called for more research on how the different values, attitudes and actions related to sustainable development reinforce or contradict each other and on identifying groups that include various combinations of values, attitudes and actions. ...
Freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibility are, according to UN (2000), specific and fundamental values. According to Shepherd et al. (2009), there is a lack of knowledge about the nature of these sustainability values and more research on these values and how they can be measured are needed. The purpose of this article is to present results from a study that aims to develop more knowledge about young people's attitudes towards sustainability. The study focused on three of these fundamental values: respect for nature, solidarity and equality. The methodology was a questionnaire answered by 918 upper secondary students. A new scale was constructed to measure attitudes towards solidarity and equality. The results show significant differences related to gender, urban or rural living and upper secondary program attended. There is also a positive correlation between solidarity and willingness to preserve nature.
... Tanken att lärande är nyckeln till att skapa en mer hållbar utveckling har på olika sätt dominerat debatten om miljöundervisning alltsedan Stockholmskonferensen 1972(Sterling, 2003. Innehållet i utbildningen diskuteras sällan, enligt Per Sund (2008b, s. 56), förutom om att det ofta dominerande ekologiska innehållet måste utvidgas med innehåll från ekonomi och samhällsvetenskap. ...
... Under årens lopp har lärande för hållbar utveckling givits en rad olika definitioner, exempelvis "… en process genom vilken vi lär oss att leva mer i samklang med vår miljö" (Scott & Gough, 2004, s. 1) eller som processer för att skapa ''kulturer av hållbarhet" i det att arbetssätt och innehåll skapar möjligheter för barn att agera och att ''göra skillnad'' i nutid och i framtid (Davis, 2010, s. 28). Oavsett hur lärande för hållbar utveckling definieras, så är sociala orättvisor, global uppvärmning och miljöförstöring, tillsammans med de ekonomiska kriser som idag avlöser varandra, problem som är svåra att förbise om en hållbar framtid ska vara möjlig. ...
Title: Education for sustainable development - knowledge content, participation and agency
Abstract: This article in educational science scrutinizes education for sustainable development in the Swedish preschool and the ways that young children are described as active participants and agents of change. A critical theory lens was applied in combination with content analysis. Data were derived from 18 applications from preschools to the Swedish National Agency for Education applying for a 'diploma of excellence' in sustainable development. The qualitative content analysis revealed two overarching themes: a) preschoolers’ sense of self and others, and b) preschoolers’ relationships with place, technologies and materials. Within these themes, nine knowledge content areas relevant to education for sustainable development were identified. In these contents children’s participation and agency was mostly seen as listening and taking part in’ and only in some extent children were seen as agents for change. Even if, the overall rhetoric in the texts had a child rights perspective children’s voices are not really recognised to any great extent as participants or as agents of change. An affirmative approach where detected, where underlying structures of knowledge, content or ways to work not was challenge or transformed.
... Il nous semble important de faire encore remarquer que l'absence d'une mise en débat ainsi que du caractère controversé de la question socialement vive que constitue le développement durable est patent, alors qu'il existe bien dans les savoirs et les pratiques de référence. En effet, le développement durable est davantage un ensemble d'idées contestées qu'un concept stable (Legardez & Simmonneaux 2011 ;Scott & Gough 2004). Or, ni des dimensions critiques, ni des modèles alternatifs, ni des éléments de complexité ne sont envisagés par les étudiants. ...
... Scott and Gough [36,37] frame ESE issues and discuss the importance of learning and the fact that the development of a sustainable learning society is replacing many of the earlier aims formulated by -environmentalists‖. They [36] warn that having too strong a focus on ecological issues could turn ESE into something that is reserved for -left wing activists‖. ...
The nascent research area of Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) needs a firm grounding in educational philosophy in order to focus more on education. This conclusion is based on experiences at two recent conferences focusing on research in this field. Issues related to content, attitudes and long-term aims dominated at these conferences, while learning processes were often taken for granted.
... Such reflexivity, if mobilised, allows for engaging with diversity and dissonance that exist in contexts, potentially contributing to the shaping of collaborative learning and change in social-ecological contexts (Wals, 2007;Mukute, 2010;Belay, 2012;Scott & Gough, 2004). Reflexivity also involves engagement with values, and reflects ethical struggles in relation to moral perspectives on 'what might be right to do': a form of situated ethics or ethical practice (Hartwig, 2007). ...
This Handbook illustrates that universities per se and higher education in general are essential to catalyze and action the transformative change needed for sustainability and delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. Part One shows how sustainability can be adopted as a driver of change within higher education institutions (HEIs), as they react and respond to influencing factors outside the academy. Part Two examines how a university working with and for sustainability can influence, effect and amplify change beyond the institution, working with and through others.
International contributors explore regional, national and international perspectives, presenting a variety of critically assessed accounts case studies that reflect different local and national contexts, institutional archetypes and academic missions. Frameworks of sustainability-led transformation are illustrated at the level of the institution (executive/administrative), organization, culture, place-based (anchor) and student in various countries including Aruba, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Lebanon, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
The book concludes with a manifesto for change and a call to action. It identifies that the sustainability journey of a HEI is influenced by context and place, with mission, leadership and strategy playing a vital role and change agency by students a key ingredient. Recognizing the patience and resolve to effect change, communication, dialogue and inclusion were central to community building and partnership.
Higher education (HE) has a key role in educating graduates as decision makers and change agents; however, sustainability education (SE) remains on the fringes of mainstream curricula and conducted on an ad hoc basis. The context of this research is five connected studies that aimed to investigate the influence of SE on tertiary students’ views, knowledge, behaviour, and agency to contribute to sustainability transitions. The mixed-methods study investigated learning for sustainability by focusing on key elements of the “learning system”, namely the learner’s personal context, the teaching context (SE compared to regular education) and learning outcomes. The research was guided by a unique conceptual framework that linked theories in education and learning, environmental psychology, and sustainability transitions. The influence of educational interventions was assessed using online pre-post surveys that consisted of well-established instruments and open-ended questions. Key transversal findings are resistance to SE, converging views and attitudes towards an “anthropocentric environmentalist” perspective, limited empowerment and occasional disempowerment from SE, a focus on personal behaviour change rather than professional action/agency, and limited incidence of wider agency. Cumulative and deeper learning for sustainability occurred with repetition of SE and a greater connection to a student’s lifeworld. The current ad hoc approach to SE in HE is ineffective in creating widespread agents for change. Influences that foster transformative learning for sustainability and the development of competency and agency for sustainability are identified, and recommendations are provided for educational policy and praxis to enhance student learning and agency for sustainability transitions.
Lifelong learning as a concept and academic field of study is growing, particularly in developing countries. In South Africa, lifelong learning means to respond to socio-economic and political challenges through continuous learning. The capacity buildings at adulthood in developing countries require proper policy management and implementation. This article provides insights into the conceptual understanding of lifelong learning from a policy angle and argued for data transformation in education for South Africa to achieve sustainable development. Thus, the analysis includes unravelling the meaning of lifelong learning broadly and from different contexts. Methodologically, a number of secondary data, statistics, and documentary information were used to provide evidence of policy problems in the study of lifelong learning in the education system of South Africa. This article concludes that the conceptual meaning of lifelong learning is context-bound, and as a result, different interpretation or policy interventions on the issue of lifelong learning are shaping the education policy globally and the economy of South Africa in particular.
In this significantly revised second edition of Bronwyn Hayward's acclaimed book Children Citizenship and Environment, she examines how students, with teachers, parents, and other activists, can learn to take effective action to confront the complex drivers of the current climate crisis including: economic and social injustice, colonialism and racism. The global school strikes demand adults, governments, and businesses take far-reaching action in response to our climate crisis. The school strikes also remind us why this important youthful activism urgently needs the support of all generations. The #SchoolStrike edition of Children Citizenship and Environment includes all new contributions by youth, indigenous and disability activists, researchers and educators: Raven Cretney, Mehedi Hasan, Sylvia Nissen, Jocelyn Papprill, Kate Prendergast, Kera Sherwood O' Regan, Mia Sutherland, Amanda Thomas, Sara Tolbert, Sarah Thomson, Josiah Tualamali'i, and Amelia Woods. As controversial, yet ultimately hopeful, as it was when first published, Bronwyn Hayward develops her 'SEEDS' model of 'strong ecological citizenship' for a school strike generation. The SEEDS of citizenship education encourage students to develop skills for Social agency, Environmental education, Embedded justice, Decentred deliberation and Self-transcendence. This approach to citizenship supports young citizens' democratic imagination and develops their 'handprint' for social justice. This ground-breaking book will be of interest to a wide audience, in particular teachers and professionals who work in Environmental Citizenship Education, as well as students and community activists with an interest in environmental change, democracy and intergenerational justice.
Humans like to play freely, and we do not like to be forced to study because studying is more difficult than learning freely.
Policymakers have pinpointed the importance of living in a more sustainable society. Education for Sustainable Development aims at developing future citizens competent to take actions in order to cope with Sustainable Development issues. The instructional design that teachers apply in class play a crucial role in students’ learning. This study is a conceptual analysis based on a narrative review of the literature in the field of Environmental Education/Education for Sustainable Development. It makes use of the CLIA-model (Competence, Learning, Intervention, Assessment), developed by De Corte, Verschaffel and Masui in 2004 to prescribe how a powerful learning environment in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) could be developed. In particular, the study focusses on the Intervention component. Holistic, pluralistic as well as action-oriented teaching in Education for Sustainable Development are thought to be effective in cultivating students’ action competence. This paper presents first the Action-oriented ESD framework. This framework consists of five components: (a) action-taking, (b) students’ leadership in their learning and teaching, (c) peer interaction, (d) community involvement and (e) interdisciplinarity. We then integrate the Action-oriented ESD framework with Holism and Pluralism into the Holism-Pluralism-Action-orientation in the ESD framework. Integrating holistic, pluralistic as well as action-oriented teaching in ESD is highly important in theoretical discussion as well as in instructional design. The Holism-Pluralism-Action-orientation ESD framework addresses the lack of an integrated conceptual framework in the field of ESD. This framework is motivated by a growing consensus on the importance of these three approaches in ESD teaching. The Holism-Pluralism-Action-orientation in ESD Framework is based on more than three decades of efforts to define knowledge on Environmental Education/Education for Sustainable Development teaching and on the rich and growing body of research on effective ESD teaching.
Sustainability communication plays an essential role in informing tourists about the availability of sustainable products and in addressing them to choosing eco--friendly experiences, as well as in sharing awareness and responsibility within tourist operators about the urgent need to improve the sustainability of tourism offers. The European Tourism Indicator System for sustainable destinations (ETIS) looks a tool able to provide a holistic approach to improve the sustainable management of European tourism destinations, by encouraging stakeholder engagement and monitoring processes. Moving from the conceptual framework of the sustainable tourism, this qualitative study investigates the role of communication as a key strategy related to the ETIS' implementation in the South of Sardinia, Italy, among the various stakeholders involved in it. Considering that research in sustainability communication and the ETIS outcomes are scarce, this study aims to contribute to filling this gap. The findings show clear weaknesses in the ETIS communication and stakeholders' engagement, particularly at local level, and in the appropriation of the results. The study suggests to improving communication as a strategic lever to involve tourism operators and tourists while implementing sustainable actions like the ETIS, and to share the knowledge created, both at local and international level.
The depletion, destruction and disappearance of natural elements entail numerous problems. In this sense, education, which has the essential aim of holistic development, plays a fundamental role due to the purpose that the values related to respect for the environment, and whose origin is derived from the interaction and perception of the immediate environment model. As was to be expected, the concern for Environmental Education reaches schools as one of the most important sources of moral values with which to work with in the classroom. The respect, the care, the value, the protection, the interest shown towards everything around us, is fundamental for the education and holistic development of students. Environmental Education takes a special turn in an educational setting, given the fact that the situation nowadays is of progressive deterioration of the environment, favours the development of the key competencies related to an active participation and of values in students. In Spain, Environmental Education came hand in hand with cross-cutting themes and was defined as Education for... (Perrenoud, 2012), in the education law called Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo Español (LOGSE, 1990), which tried to bolster educational practices so as to tackle environmental problems in an interdisciplinary manner, and thus education in values, with students. Even though it is a frankly open approach, the aim of this paper is to justify the importance of teaching Environmental Education as a moral value, within the formation of values in general.
The challenges of developing new approaches for climate change adaptation and mitigation cannot be solved unilaterally. We need to work together strategically and communicate more effectively. This requires more than just sharing a simple message—it requires widespread learning and capacity building for change. Decades of action research have led to the development of two frameworks that support this. First, the ‘SHAPE’ framework gives an understanding of the characteristics of learning initiatives for capability building. Second, the ‘RoundView’ gives a systems-based framework for understanding environmental problems. It helps people understand the underlying causes of climate change, and offers a set of positive guidelines to help us actively navigate towards a desired future. Applying the SHAPE framework in climate change communication helps make fundamental environmental ideas accessible to a wide range of people, from primary school children to board room executives. This builds skills amongst participants to both explore and respond to the issues. The aim is to increase not just participants’ capability to act, but also their motivation and enthusiasm for change, together with their ability to communicate effectively with others towards this end. This paper presents the SHAPE framework, providing a guide to key concepts and approaches to consider in the design of climate change communication and learning initiatives. It reviews evidence gathered so far regarding the efficacy of SHAPE and the RoundView in terms of increasing understanding, capacity and motivation for change.
The objective of this paper is to explore the applicability of sustainability education in the Indian higher education sector. Specifically, we examine Business Management curriculum innovation for sustainability education with an emphasis on course design, content, and delivery mechanism. This study is exploratory in nature and adopts content analysis methodology for analyzing primary data from semi-structured interviews and secondary data from university websites and reports. Our findings reveal that sustainability education initiatives in Indian Business Management schools and departments attempts to create an understanding and build competence on social, environmental, and sustainable aspects of business. But there is still a very long way to go. The objective of self-reflection in students for the betterment of community and planet earth is yet to be achieved by the way of participative and engaged learning.
It has been observed by several scholars, commentators, and sustainability-related bodies that one of the most important ways of realising sustainable development is by integrating it in both what is taught and how it is taught (pedagogy). This is because education is very important in shaping people’s attitudes and informing their choices. The approach of mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development in our education systems should rise above the traditional boundaries that build walls, which tend to limit communication between different disciplines and faculties/ schools. Yet, for this to be realised, managers of education institutions and teachers ought to be co-opted into the sustainability ideals. This chapter explains the steps that have been taken by Uganda Martyrs University towards mainstreaming Education for Sustainable Development in the university’s ‘way of doing things’. It also explains the challenges met, some of the achievements realised so far, and what still needs to be done.
International calls for the immediate implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), as an urgent response to the global-scale environmental crises developing from current unsustainable human–environment relationships, face the paradox that educational systems are notoriously slow and difficult to alter. This chapter identifies the educational rhetoric associated with ESD by briefly outlining the 40-year journey from traditional, science-based environmental education to ESD, as it occurred in Australia in response to international recommendations. Important pedagogical responses to changes to the perceived needs and outcomes of environmental education are highlighted, with particular emphasis on the role of pedagogical practice. Effective ESD demands a socially-critical pedagogy, the goals and practices of which represent the antithesis of well-established classroom approaches into which environmental education has been traditionally slotted. Of significant concern is that the calls for educational change will simply contribute to the ever-widening gap between the reality of classroom practices and the rhetoric of education for the environment. The development of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) is introduced as an exemplar of the requirement to implement ESD through a socially-critical pedagogy in Victoria. In particular, the current status of ESD is assessed in terms of the ways in which schools and teachers are implementing it, and the need to broaden educational research methods in order to better understand the issues that continue to thwart its effective implementation.
The implementation of the Sustainable Schools Program was accompanied by the development of educational rhetoric–reality gaps, influenced most significantly by the teachers’ perceptions and experiences of the practicalities of implementing a socially-critical pedagogy. The major differences between the teachers whose classroom practices defined best practice and those whose practices represented a rhetoric–reality gap were best described as aspects of teacher agency. This chapter identifies important relationships between the beliefs held by the teachers, the values embedded within the goals of the Sustainable Schools Program and the practice of a socially-critical pedagogy, and the pedagogical practices that the teachers chose to employ when asked to implement the program. This discussion draws on Giddens’ theory of structuration to highlight the critical elements of such relationships, particularly in terms of the teachers’ environmental and educational ideologies and the notion of ontological security, and the role of these elements in the development of the educational rhetoric–reality gaps that accompanied the implementation of the Sustainable Schools Program—here identified as ‘ideological rhetoric–reality gaps’. Understanding the manner in which ‘ideological rhetoric–reality gaps’ contribute to the duality of structure and agency in a teacher’s classroom practice assists to identify potential intervention points for reducing the prevalence and/or severity of such educational rhetoric–reality gaps in the future.
The understanding that it is not possible to sustain current human–environment relationships, and that the social and environmental consequences of unmitigated use of natural resources and exponential population growth are catastrophic, has led to global calls to transform the way that human societies operate. Any journey of transformation begins with the willingness and ability to question the philosophy upon which current practices are founded. This means that if a society is to transform the well-established human–environment relationships that define, and are defined by, the cultural values of that society, significant questioning must take place: the questioning of the values that shape the way in which that society operates; the questioning of the role of educational institutions and how these support either the continuance, or the transformation, of that society’s predominant cultural values; the questioning of the practices of educators and the role they play in shaping and empowering that society’s future decision makers; and the questioning of how an understanding of these issues is best developed in order to most effectively inform the process of transformation.
In order to find ways in which to reduce the development of educational rhetoric–reality gaps when Education for Sustainable Development programs, such as the Sustainable Schools Program, are introduced into schools, it is essential to first understand the rhetoric and the reality that actually defines a rhetoric–reality gap in an educational context. This chapter explores both the rhetoric and the reality of teachers’ classroom practices as they responded to the requirement to implement the socially-critical pedagogy of the Sustainable Schools Program. This includes the rhetoric used by each teacher to explain their understanding of the educational and environmental goals of the program, and the reality of the manner in which they attempted to achieve the goals they identified.
This chapter also highlights the importance of an ontological-in-situ framework, informed by Giddens’ theory of structuration, in identifying the critical elements of the duality of structure and agency which underpinned the relationship between each teacher’s rhetoric and the reality of their classroom practices, including: permission and support; knowledge required to implement the Sustainable Schools Program; the need to implement a socially-critical pedagogy; and previous teaching experience. Both the rhetoric and the reality used to define a rhetoric–reality gap in the context of the requirement to implement a socially-critical pedagogy as part of the Sustainable Schools Program is identified.
Sustainability as an emerging curriculum area in Iceland.
This PhD-research examined aspects associated with sustainability education, which is one of six fundamental concerns of the 2011 national curriculum in Iceland. The general purpose of the study was twofold. First, it sought to gain an understanding of the constraints and contributors to the implementation of sustainability as an emerging curriculum area at compulsory school level in Iceland. Second, it endeavoured to develop an evaluation tool for teachers and school administrators to use collectively to identify their current situation and course of improvement for working with sustainability education.
The study serves to meet the identified need for sources of information for schools to use in measuring collective teacher efficacy for sustainability education. In working with such information schools can map their current development and feasible next steps, including planning of continuous professional development and revision of the school curriculum.
The research was carried out between 2009 and 2013 and used a mixed method approach involving two studies in a qualitative phase followed by two studies in a quantitative phase. In the qualitative phase, impacts on sustainability education implementation are identified through in-depth interviews with teachers and school leaders. In the quantitative phase, the Sustainability Education Implementation Questionnaire (SEIQ) is developed and then applied.
The results suggest that teachers find the teaching task associated with sustainability education problematic, especially the challenge of developing action competence with students, a key anticipation of sustainability education. This outcome affirms that a new curriculum does not ensure changes at classroom-level because a curriculum that requires modifications in teaching and support in teacher learning is not a straightforward process. Findings indicate that learning to work with a new curriculum, and especially sustainability education, requires teachers to assess and adjust their own practice and competence and understand that sustainability education calls for new teacher and student roles, with students taking actions, making decisions and working in integrated topic contexts. This suggests that if sustainability education imperatives are to be incorporated in the enacted curriculum in Icelandic schools, the complexity of the teaching task will require focused support for teachers and schools. By encouraging teachers to work together in schools or between schools to address new areas and by creating interactional spaces for educators to work together, access to information and meaning-making can be facilitated.
These findings are relevant to the critical role played by school leaders and policy makers engaged in school improvement efforts, both in developing a new policy in the national curriculum and supporting the implementation of an emerging curriculum area such as sustainability. If sustainability education is to be a reality, policy makers must work with district and school leaders to cater for the complexity of the teaching task of sustainability education and teachers must be supported in developing their competence. For initial teacher education this means a clear emphasis on providing opportunities to put individual actions and their potential into perspective and focusing on what students are to be able to do as a result of their learning. Also, the findings suggest that a clearer synergy needs to exist between the curriculum and the national operational requirements; these being: conducting school self-evaluation, developing a school curriculum that responds to the national curriculum, and formulating a plan of continuous professional development.
The development and current use of the SEIQ in Iceland shows promising signs of the utility of the instrument. Through ongoing dialogue with schools, indications are that the process schools are encouraged to go through in using the SEIQ is the very process they themselves are being asked to apply as educators in sustainability education implementation. The SEIQ does not provide solutions; instead it elicits parameters that can serve as constraints and contributors for solving problems and for gauging the success of collective action. For this reason, the SEIQ is viewed as an accurate and time-effective means by which an analysis of a school undergoing curriculum change can be conducted. Thus, the use of a self-evaluation tool such as SEIQ in order to provide a foundation for school discussion, reflection, and strategic educational improvement is encouraged.
This review essay offers a critique of the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development through an appraisal of three recent texts. These texts explore issues of sustainability and sustainable development in the context of three different (but interrelated) discourses-practices, namely, (lifelong) learning, (educational) leadership and (environmental) law. The texts reviewed are:
Halsey, Mark. (2006). Deleuze and Environmental Damage: Violence of the Text. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Hargreaves, Andy, & Fink, Dean. (2006). Sustainable Leadership . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Scott, William A. H., & Gough, Stephen R. (2004). Sustainable Development and Learning: Framing the Issues . London and New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Résumé
Cet article porte sur l’importance du développement d’une citoyenneté environnementale comme facteur d’insertion sociale pour les jeunes qui terminent leur parcours scolaire sans diplôme d’études secondaires ou de formation professionnelle, afin d’éviter que leur exclusion scolaire ne se transforme en exclusion sociale. Des résultats de recherche portant sur un programme d’insertion sociale et professionnelle des jeunes (ISPJ) qui fait place aux préoccupations environnementales et au développement durable, le programme des Centres de formation en entreprise et récupération (CFER), y sont présentés et discutés. Ces résultats tendent à montrer que l’engagement des élèves envers une cause environnementale augmente leur sentiment de pouvoir agir sur des enjeux sociaux complexes.
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