Education for Sustainable Development: Configuration and Meaning

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar González-Gaudiano

The inception of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–14) has excited controversy over the validity of the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD), as well as reactivating a critical review of the environmental education field as a whole. This article analyzes the peculiarities of ESD, the conditions that gave rise to it, the characteristics of its proposed configuration and the implications for environmental education.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Mauricio Acosta Castellanos ◽  
Araceli Queiruga-Dios

Purpose In education concerning environmental issues, there are two predominant currents in the world, environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD is the formal commitment and therefore promoted by the United Nations, to ensure that countries achieve sustainable development. In contrast, EE was the first educational trend with an environmental protection approach. The purpose of this systematic review that seeks to show whether the migration from EE to ESD is being effective and welcomed by researchers and especially by universities is presented. With the above, a global panorama can be provided, where the regions that choose each model can be identified. In the same sense, it was sought to determine which of the two currents is more accepted within engineering education. Design/methodology/approach The review followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyzes parameters for systematic reviews. In total, 198 papers indexed in Scopus, Science Direct, ERIC and Scielo were analyzed. With the results, the advancement of ESD and the state of the EE by regions in the world were identified. Findings It was possible to categorize the geographical regions that host either of the two EE or ESD currents. It is important to note that ESD has gained more strength from the decade of ESD proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For its part, EE has greater historical roots in some regions of the planet. In turn, there is evidence of a limited number of publications on the design and revision of study plans in engineering. Originality/value Through this systematic literature review, the regions of the world that are clinging to EE and those that have taken the path of ESD could be distinguished. Moreover, specific cases in engineering where ESD has been involved were noted.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-43
Author(s):  
Barry Kentish ◽  
Ian Robottom

AbstractThe discourse of sustainability is promoted internationally, with the United Nations declaring 2005-2014 as a Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. There is discussion concerning the nature, status and significance of Education for Sustainability and its relationship with the somewhat established discourse of environmental education. This debate requires continuing theorising and one approach is to reflect critically on specific examples of sustainability within specific communities. This article seeks to promote further discussion about sustainability, and to contribute to ongoing theorisation about Education for Sustainability, by considering a particular instance – that of environmental sustainability in the Ballarat region of Victoria. The case study suggests that implementation of this local environmental sustainability strategy was dominated by technocratic and individualistic ideologies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Meghna Tare

In 2003, in response to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability launched a global multi-stakeholder network of Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on education for sustainable development (ESD). RCEs facilitate multi-sector collaboration and utilize formal, non-formal, and informal education to address sustainable development challenges in local and regional communities. In essence, RCEs are a tool for transformation to a more sustainable society, combining education and action for sustainable development. As we enter the new "ESD for 2030" decade, RCEs will continue to construct platforms for cross-sectoral dialogue between regional stakeholders and actors to promote and strengthen ESD at the local level. RCEs have committed to helping advance the five priority areas of action established in the Global Action Program on ESD and the new UN decade "ESD for 2030": advancing policy by mainstreaming ESD, transforming learning and training environments using whole-institution approaches, building capacities of educators and trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at the local level. RCEs are uniquely positioned to serve as shepherds in the realization of the new "ESD for 2030" decade. As of January 2019, 174 RCEs have officially been acknowledged by UNU worldwide, with eight RCEs in the United States: Georgetown, South Carolina; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Greater Atlanta, Georgia; Greater Burlington, Vermont; Greater Portland, Oregon; North Texas, Texas; Salisbury, Maryland; and Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. RCEs serve an essential role in the achievement of "ESD for 2030" goals by translating global objectives into the local contexts of our communities.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Gough ◽  
Noel Gough

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).


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Gough

AbstractThis article charts the history of environmental education over four decades - from the 1960s to 2006 - as a rocky road of determined chocolate with the possibilities of rocks (nuts) and easy passage (marshmallow). There were distractions such as suggestions of changing names and new directions (add fruit?) along the way but the road has continued to be well travelled. The article concludes that there is much in common with where we have come from (the 1975 Belgrade Charter) and where we stand now (in year 2 of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development). Where next?


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Brunold

Abstract Since the nineties, the principle of sustainable development has increasingly been adopted by policy makers and civil society in Germany and, of course, in many countries of the world. With the acceptance of this principle, the significance of education for sustainable development (ESD) has also been recognised. Increased awareness of the problems of environmental challenges, globalisation and poverty has meant that the concepts of environmental education, global learning, and education in development policy have been consistently oriented towards more sustainability. This leads to an increased awareness that globalisation processes must be shaped in accordance with the objectives of sustainable development, both nationally and internationally. By encouraging the idea of sustainability to take root in all areas of education systems, the World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2014 intended to take significant steps towards greater educational sustainability. The curricula for civic education for sustainable development and global learning in Germany are, therefore of course, very closely linked to global development and globalisation processes, and because of that, they are to be seen within the mandate of the United Nations educational policy. The paper shows, that the learning area of global development objectives is structured in an inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary manner. It carries the essential features of a domain: a delimited object area, a specific approach to the world, and the reference to a basic teaching concept in the educational policy traditions of one-world or development-policy education and global learning. Therefore the aim is clear, that these curricula should contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, towards inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, as it is mentioned in goal number 4 (United Nations, 2014).


2020 ◽  
Vol V (I) ◽  
pp. 510-518
Author(s):  
Sohaib Sultan ◽  
Shehzad Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Imran

Green Pakistan is a very famous slogan nowadays and one of the core objectives of the present government. This research focuses on the qualitative perspective on the need and significance of Environmental Education in Teachers Training programs to provide awareness to forthcoming teachers. Environmental Education is included in Millennium Development Goals by the United Nations. Recently the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been launched by the United Nations and subsequently, Pakistan has signed a treaty to fight against Climate Change and Global Warming. The researcher examined the modules which are to be incorporated in the syllabus of teacher education. The inclusion of modules apropos of Environmental Awareness in Teachers’ Training programs was recorded highly beneficial in numerous experimental studies all over the world and particularly in Pakistan in one of the doctoral-level research. The correlation among Millennium Development Goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and due to continuous learning process improvement in the Environment at local settings was established based on a qualitative study.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SDAG Lab

International initiatives on orientating education toward sustainable development can be traced back to a proposal by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1995. According to this framework, UNESCO suggested reorienting environmental education and reshaping the educational process so as to build a more sustainable relationship between humans and the environment. Twenty-five years have passed, and much of this pursuit is still ongoing, with many unanswered challenges. In recognition of the importance of education and sustainable development, this book brings into focus some valuable insights from the perspective of a developing country, Vietnam. It is a collected volume of academic contributions to the UNESCO 2019 Forum on Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship, organized on July 2–3, 2019, by UNESCO in conjunction with the Ministry of Education Training (MOET) of Vietnam.


Perspectiva ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1257-1277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayana Flávia Ferreira Pimenta ◽  
Aurea Maria Brandi Nardelli

O termo Desenvolvimento Sustentável vem ganhando espaço nas últimas décadas e é cada vez mais debatido junto às autoridades mundiais. O objetivo geral deste artigo é apresentar os principais eventos intergovernamentais que deram origem à Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre o Desenvolvimento Sustentável realizada em 2012, também conhecida por Rio+20, e apresentar os principais temas debatidos entre os países nesta Conferência. Em seguida, apresentam-se as contribuições brasileiras na Rio+20 e como a Educação Ambiental foi abordada nesta conferência, além de discutir as perspectivas para os próximos 20 anos.  Sustainable development: progress in the discussion of environmental issues launched by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio + 20 and the challenges for the next 20 years AbstractThe term Sustainable Development has been gaining ground in recent decades and it is increasingly discussed with authorities worldwide. The aim of this article is to present the main intergovernmental events which helped in the creation of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in 2012, also known as Rio+20, and to present the main issues discussed among the countries in this conference. Then, the Brazilian contributions are presented in Rio+20 and how the environmental education was addressed at this conference, besides discussing the prospects for the next 20 years.Keywords: Sustainable Development. Rio +20. Environmental Education. Desarrollo Sostenible: los avances en la discusión acerca de los temas ambientales lanzados por la conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el desarrollo sostenible, Rio+20 y los retos para los próximos 20 añosResumenEl término Desarrollo Sostenible ha ganado espacio en las últimas décadas y es cada vez más discutido junto a las autoridades mundiales. El objeto general de este artículo es presentar los principales eventos intergubernamentales que generaron a la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Desarrollo Sostenible realizada en el 2012, también conocida por Rio+20, y presentar los principales temas debatidos entre los paises en esta Conferencia. En seguida, se presentaron las contribuciones brasileñas en la Rio+20 y como la Educación Ambiental fue abordada en esta conferencia, además de discutir las perspectivas para los próximos 20 años.Palabras claves: Desarrollo Sostenible. Rio+20. Educación Ambiental. 


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document