The role of responsibility in making sense of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’: notes from a tri-country study of student teachers’ understanding(s) of education, sustainable development and ESD

2006 ◽  
pp. 51-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jutta Nikel ◽  
Alan Reid
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Country Study

The Denaturation of Environmental Education: Exploring the Role of Ecotechnologies

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Gough ◽  
Noel Gough
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Global Citizenship ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Natural Resource Base

AbstractThis article explores the changing ways ‘environment’ has been represented in the discourses of environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) in United Nations (and related) publications since the 1970s. It draws on the writings of Jean-Luc Nancy and discusses the increasingly dominant view of the environment as a ‘natural resource base for economic and social development’ (United Nations, 2002, p. 2) and how this instrumentalisation of nature is produced by discourses and ‘ecotechnologies’ that ‘identify and define the natural realm in our relationship with it’ (Boetzkes, 2010, p. 29). This denaturation of nature is reflected in the priorities for sustainable development discussed at Rio+20 and proposed successor UNESCO projects. The article argues for the need to reassert the intrinsic value of ‘environment’ in education discourses and discusses strategies for so doing. The article is intended as a wake-up call to the changing context of the ‘environment’ in ESD discourses. In particular, we need to respond to the recent UNESCO (2013a, 2013b) direction of global citizenship education as the successor to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005–2014 that continues to reinforce an instrumentalist view of the environment as part of contributing to ‘a more just, peaceful, tolerant, inclusive, secure and sustainable world’ (UNESCO, 2013a, p. 3).

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG): What Is Wrong with ESDGs, and What Can We Do Better?

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Helen Kopnina
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Ecological Justice ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Social Environmental

This article will discuss social, environmental, and ecological justice in education for sustainable development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG). The concept of sustainable development and, by extension, the ESD, places heavy emphasis on the economic and social aspects of sustainability. However, the ESD falls short of recognizing ecological justice, or recognition that nonhumans also have a right to exist and flourish. An intervention in the form of an undergraduate course titled Politics, Business, and Environment (PBE) will be discussed. As part of this course, students were asked to reflect on the three pillars of sustainable development: society, economy, and environment, linking these to the fourth concept, ecological justice or biospheric egalitarianism. Biospheric egalitarianism is characterized by the recognition of intrinsic value in the environment and is defined as concern about justice for the environment. Some of the resulting exam answers are analyzed, demonstrating students’ ability to recognize the moral and pragmatic limitations of the anthropocentric approach to justice. This analysis presents ways forward in thinking about the role of “ecological justice” as the ultimate bottom line upon which both society and economy are based.

Becoming a competent teacher in education for sustainable development

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 630-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Ole Brandt ◽  
Lina Bürgener ◽  
Matthias Barth ◽  
Aaron Redman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Action Competence

Purpose This paper aims to provide a holistic approach to assessing student teachers’ competence development in education for sustainable development (ESD). This is to provide evidence on which teaching and learning formats help to foster which aspects of ESD-specific professional action competence in teachers. The studied competencies consist of content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and the willingness to actively support and implement ESD. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design was used on two sequential modules of a university’s teacher education program. A mixed-methods approach was applied that combined surveys, videotaped and PhotoVoice-supported focus groups, as well as pre- and post-assessment tools. Qualitative data analysis was based on the coding paradigm of the qualitative content analysis, whereas quantitative data were interpreted by means of descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Findings The results from this study clearly indicate that the two courses contributed to a shift in students’ non-cognitive dispositions. The study also provides evidence on the students’ competence development and demonstrates how two different learning settings support different dimensions of teachers’ professional action competence in terms of ESD. Originality/value The triangulation of data enabled not only a mere competence assessment but also deeper insights into learning processes, as well as into the drivers of and barriers to competence development. Furthermore, the study introduces an innovative approach to assessing the development of PCK.

scholarly journals Textbooks as Resources for Education for Sustainable Development: A Content Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-114
Author(s):  
Zhila Mohammadnia ◽  
Farzane Deliery Moghadam
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Action Program ◽  
Textbook Series ◽  
Global Action ◽  
English Textbooks ◽  
Earth Charter

Abstract If we intend to successfully integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the general educational programs, it is important to utilize available methods and resources. This paper argues that English Language Learning textbooks in Iran have the potential to be useful resources and a viable springboard for the implementation of ESD. For this purpose, the present study explores the content of English textbook series developed by Iranian authors through the lenses of ESD. The framework for analysis was based on UNESCO’s Earth Charter and the Roadmap for Implementing the Global Action Program on ESD. The findings reveal that the themes of sustainability are present in these English textbooks to a good extent. However, the results suggest that there must be a more even distribution of such themes throughout the series. Also, the role of the teacher as a facilitator in developing discussions around such themes is highlighted.

scholarly journals The Agentive Role of Children's Views in Sustainable Education

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyrki Reunamo
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Educational Content ◽  
Sustainable Education ◽  
Children’S Views

The Agentive Role of Children's Views in Sustainable EducationThe environment and peoples' ideas of the environment are intertwined in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The environment has an effect on the educational content and people have an effect on the environment. Thus, sustainable education includes producing culture by children and with children. Sustainable learning should include finding ways to consider the effects of actions. The theoretic framework presented in the article was operationalized and studied in four Finnish kindergartens. The results bring children forward as producers of educational content. Children's views have an effect on the educational setting. In agentive learning children learn things that they themselves have been taking part creating. In discussion, the emerging roles of a teacher for ESD are considered. To be balanced, ESD may not only consider the equilibrium between accommodation and assimilation, but also the equilibrium between adaptation and agency.

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