|
|
Econation Blog
Learning for many lifetimes
We are now half way through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. In the past five years there have been a few notable successes where Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been implemented. In particular the new NZ Curriculum includes several principles and values which have an ESD intent. Unfortunately these successes just tend to highlight how meagre progress has been in general. We have even been backsliding on ESD since National became the government. The facts tell the story, in the 2009 budget funding for all the major ESD initiatives were cut by the Ministry of Education, namely:
- The Enviroschools Foundation: which coordinates the Enviroschools Programme nationally
- Education for Sustainability Advisors: a network of expert advisors employed by Universities to provide professional development support for teachers in mainstream schools.
- Matauranga Taiao: Professional development support for teachers in Kura Maori
- The Environmental Education Guidelines Review Project
In May 2009, the Ministry of Education sent a letter to The Enviroschools Foundation stating that they did not have funding for Enviroschools beyond 2009. The Ministry explained that, “the quality of the programmes or services are not the issue – they are just not the most important ways of achieving the Government’s goals.”
If sustainability is not a goal of the government then what is?
Presumably the Government's goals include just the 'development' without the 'sustainability'. Most countries aspire to greater economic growth and increased consumption and education systems reflect the aspirations of the culture they are part of. It is a telling fact that the countries with the highest education levels also have the highest ecological footprint. But ESD challenges these aspirations for growth and allows us to imagine a better future for all and it encourages people to reflect on how our values, beliefs and behaviour affects our collective ability to create such a future.
Education for Sustainability
Many people find the term 'sustainable development' ambiguous. The idea of development – as in growth – is seen to be at odds with notions such as 'conservation', 'protection', 'prevention', 'mitigation' and 'restoration'. A definition of 'sustainable development' can conceivably include all of these concepts and when it does it should simply be called Sustainability – a term which encompasses a lasting balance between development and protection.
Education for Sustainability (EfS) is not actually new education – it's just education with a new vision. Sustainability is an interdisciplinary approach and provides a useful framework for the teaching of existing curriculum. In the words of See Change, a 2004 report published by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, "Education for sustainability could therefore be considered as an umbrella term across the entire curriculum".
EfS is not just education about sustainability either. Many 'environmental education' programmes include education about sustainability which creates awareness and challenges current systems as well as teaching about potential solutions. Whilst including these aspects EfS goes much further and uses education as a driver to achieve sustainability. EfS is therefore transformative and empowering. It empowers students to envision better futures, to reflect and think critically, to think in terms of whole systems, to build partnerships and to assume responsibility and get involved in decision-making.
Transforming Culture
It is perhaps the idea of transformation that people find difficult to understand. Daniella Tilbury and David Wortman in their book Engaging People in Sustainability explain what it means:
"...education for sustainability seeks a transformative role for education, in which people are engaged in a new way of seeing, thinking, learning and working. People are not only able to explore the relationships between their lives, the environment, social systems and institutions, but also become active participants and decision-maker in the change process."
It is culture transforming itself through education. We live in a culture that values economic growth and this is preserved by our education system. What we aren't taught is that it is actually easier to have prosperity without growth. We aren't taught it is possible for people to lead happy and fulfilling lives without having ever-increasing levels of consumption. We aren't taught that sustainability means a good life for everyone – now and in the future.
The truth is we need to learn, not just for our lifetime, but for many lifetimes.
Posted by Michael Lockhart on 13th March, 2010 | Comments | Trackbacks
Tags: Education
The trackback URL for this page is http://www.econation.co.nz/trackback?post=18106867 TrackbacksThere are no trackbacks for this post There are no comments for this post Post a CommentHTML is not allowed in comments, http://... will be automatically linked.
|
|
|
|
