Prior reading and preparation: All students are asked to engage with thought-provoking and contextual preparatory reading on paradigms for understanding human-environment relations; conceptual frameworks e. More introductory or accessible sources e. Roberts, are also recommended as a starting point for students who have not engaged in this area before. Martin et al. Dawe et al. These groups have a life before, during and after the class room engagement for those students who are on-site.
Sets drawn from within a discipline tend to Preparation of the core debate session includes individual and group evaluation of materials provided in advance by the practitioner in this case from the Strategic Advisor to Forum for the Future, the leading UK Sustainable Development charity based in Cheltenham, that works in partnerships with business and to set the agenda as a group for a discussion meeting with the practitioner.
On-site and off-site group discussions Group discussions are designed to be wide-ranging, allowing comparison between sustainable development applications in different domains for example, waste, water, tourism and in contrasting developed and developing world contexts.
The relationship and timing and modes of exchange for on-site and off-site discussions need careful structuring. Smartpad or another means for visualising and capturing the essence of discussions can be used to share the discussion process between off-site and on-site members of groups.
Students submit essay proposals for critique from other community members peers in their learning set and revise their essays in the light of this feedback. All students reflect on the quality of their learning experience in sustainable development including their experience of activities that capitalise on the diversity of their group and expertise of the larger class.
In addition to engagement with the specialist knowledge and skills underpinning the sustainable development debate, the learning design aims to build capacity for group learning within the student community of inquiry and to provide opportunity for students to reflect on the strengths of diversity in educational and broader contexts.
Diversity and how to harness its strengths is a key concept within ESD at all educational levels. One objective of this exercise is to establish sustainable learning communities at taught postgraduate level in ways that might mirror the diversity of workplace whilst engaging students positively in sustainable development and ESD principles and practice.
Students are encouraged to exercise their responsibilities for individual and group learning within the learning environment. There are links with a key external practitioner in a sustainable development charity that will be extended and developed into the future such that the practitioner also develops further ESD communication expertise in the process. The interactive feedback means that all stakeholders including tutors and practitioners are also learning and reflecting on their perspectives on ESD and their research- teaching-practice links.
Feedback Feedback from current on-site students is that they enjoy the learning experience as a way of bringing the outcomes of their own inquiry to the learning table, exploring the issues in sustainable development theory and practice with a mixed group of peers, as well as getting to know their student peers better. An initial review of the group-work experience from on-site students indicated the following benefits and challenges.
Exploring Sustainability through HE Curricula 29 Feedback from the students in the workplace is that this interactive debate is extremely useful preparation for sustainable development in the workplace. I have been with Hyder Consulting for 6 months now and I am very involved with the sustainability work they are doing. Thanks for all your help while at Cheltenham.
The course appears to have put me in a great position in terms of sustainable development theory. To develop co-learning environments effectively, all stakeholders including students need to be self-aware of what they bring to the learning table. Tutors also need to be aware of potential friction in group dynamics, perhaps due to cultural differences and perceptions, and the heated nature of some discussions.
Each year, there is a different group dynamic due to the serendipity of the expertise and experience encompassed within the student cohort but this brings freshness to the learning experience for all stakeholders.
Programmes The integrated programme of postgraduate taught environmental courses involves: MSc Environmental Policy and Management as the core course with the opportunity to specialise in specific domains water, waste, environmental impact assessment, tourism, business.
Key words: Active learning; co-learning; education for sustainable development; postgraduate; vocational References Brown, R. Eastwood, D. Hardin, G. Dawe, G. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 30 1 , pp McEwen, L. Martin, S. Porritt, J. Roberts, J. Postgraduate taught course developments in geography, earth and environmental sciences in the UK: an initial assessment of drivers By Lindsey McEwen. Leaders and staff of training institutions for non-formal educators should also integrate ESD into all their capacity-building activities.
For example, this could be done by providing incentives and recognizing ESD initiatives as a part of reviews of institutional education quality. Educators can employ innovative pedagogies to empower learners to become change agents.
To support these actions, UNESCO and its UN partners among others, support the capacity-building of educators and provide policy guidance and resource materials to facilitate the integration of ESD into training curricula, and provide a global platform to connect educators and training institutions to share best practices and collaborate at global level.
It is their present and future that are at stake. In return, it is young people who are becoming increasingly vocal and active, demanding urgent and decisive change and holding world leaders accountable, in particular to address the climate crisis. They have, and continue to envision, the most creative and ingenious solutions to sustainability challenges. In addition, young people are an important consumer group and the way their consumption patterns evolve will greatly influence the sustainability trajectory of their countries.
Empowering and mobilizing young people of all genders, therefore, is a central part of ESD implementation. Young people could use online communities and other communication channels to share messages on the urgency of the sustainability challenges, advocate for the inclusion of ESD in education settings they are in, empower themselves and take action for societal transformation.
This includes raising awareness of the SDGs through advocacy and communication including youth-led campaigns on how the goals are connected to what is most relevant to young people in their communities.
In particular, young people must be fully included in the design, delivery and monitoring of policies and programmes on education and sustainable development.
Secured seats for youth representatives in the decision-making bodies of institutions at all levels are one of the ways to achieve this. To support these actions, UNESCO and its UN partners, among others, support relevant training opportunities and tools for young people to enhance their knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to make themselves heard, and provide a global platform for young people to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration and engage in inter-generational dialogue, in line with the UN wide youth strategy7.
It is in their daily lives, at the community level, where learners and people make their choices for sustainable development and act upon them. It is also in the local community where people find partners for their sustainability efforts. This is why active cooperation between learning institutions and the community should be promoted to ensure the latest knowledge and practices for sustainable development are utilized to advance the local agenda.
This includes informal learning in daily life such as providing infrastructures for the safe use of public transport and regular sustainability information in the local newspaper, among others.
Community learning centres can serve as a hub for lifelong learning on ESD in their communities. This includes providing incentives for local authorities to include localized ESD in education curricula as well as embedding ESD in their lifelong learning systems.
To support these actions, UNESCO and its UN partners among others, collaborate with existing networks of cities and communities to integrate ESD at all levels of learning in local communities and align national and local level actions, and support global platforms for local communities to enhance partnership and collaboration on ESD.
A LI X37 4. Implementing ESD for at country level In implementing activities for the priority action areas, Member States are invited to mobilise the concerned stakeholders working in the five areas and support their collaborative networking under a coordinated strategy, related to the national framework on the SDGs.
There shall also be more concrete efforts to develop communication and advocacy actions to reflect the SDGs in educational practices and frameworks. Nationwide multi-stakeholder initiatives can be set up to support ESD for at the country level.
Para 5. They can build on existing initiatives related to ESD or create a new initiative if necessary, in the context of SDG 4 contributions and expand them where possible. Typically, a country initiative would be initiated and led by the government, or by a non-governmental actor in collaboration with government.
A working group at the country level should be responsible for overall coordination of planning, implementation, networking, monitoring, reporting, and communication with UNESCO. See page 48 for more information.
Harnessing partnership and collaboration In implementing activities for the priority action areas, Member States are invited to mobilise the concerned stakeholders working in the five areas and support their collaborative networking under a coordinated strategy, related to the national framework on the SDGs. UNESCO will continue supporting the networking of the key partners identified at the global level and their networking process.
This will be done by providing them with regular platforms to meet and exchange information and experiences and plan initiatives collaboratively. The platforms will necessarily include representatives and actors from both government and private sectors and from the donor, development and SDG communities, as well as stakeholders working in the five priority action areas at national, regional and global levels. Who are the members? How does the network operate? The work of regional sub-groups should be carried out in ways that maximize synergies with regional SDG 4 coordination mechanisms and international processes.
Communicating for action Meanwhile, with the presence of the SDGs announced specifically, there could also be a more proactive role for ESD to play for the achievement of the SDGs, with explicit reference to them. Communication and advocacy activities related to the SDGs in educational settings are good examples. They will typically involve informing learners of all ages of the existence of the 17 SDGs, and the implications of these goals for their individual and group lives, including the responsibilities individuals and institutions have to assume to help achieve them.
At the national level, this will be part of the nationwide initiatives for ESD for At the global level, UNESCO will develop a dedicated programme to inform concerned communities about the SDGs and learners and educators about the crucial role education can play in supporting the achievement of the SDGs.
Tracking issues and trends The implementation of ESD for should be evidence-informed. Emerging issues and trends need to be monitored closely and analysed for their pedagogical implications. Higher education and research institutions should play a key role in this type of research activity, which can be included as a part of country initiatives on ESD for Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 46 4.
Mobilizing resources Also required are partnerships with other key players, such as multilateral financial institutions, national development agencies, the private sector, civil society and community actors. The alliance with national mechanisms set up to support the achievement of the SDGs through education will also need further attention.
In developing partnerships, the use of innovative and creative financing mechanisms will deserve particular attention. UNESCO will provide some seed funding to a limited number of initiatives from developing countries, in particular the least developed countries.
In light of the lessons from the GAP, concrete monitoring measures must be pursued and improved with the aim of achieving SDG target 4. First, the scaling-up of actions in the five priority action areas by the Member States as well as by the identified Partners at global level needs close monitoring.
In order to support the evidence-informed principle underpinning the implementation of the post-GAP position, UNESCO will carry out regular thematic surveys to identify and analyse key issues, trends and developments. Additional shorter reports are to be published in between. Learning environment Extent to which learning environment promotes ESD and its whole-institution approach. Educators Extent to which educators are trained to be able to teach ESD and apply whole-institution approaches to ESD in learning situations.
Youth Extent to which youth are engaged in ESD. Community Extent to which ESD is promoted in local communities. Progress of country initiatives: Extent to which ESD for is implemented in countries around the world. The findings of the progress on the Recommendation provide important insights into the progress towards Target 4.
Global Indicator 4. Countries will be invited to participate in regular surveys every two years to measure relative progress on the five priority action areas against the baseline set at the outset. The result of the survey will be discussed at the biennial Global Partners Meetings. Following each biennial review, stakeholders will be invited to reassess and progressively increase their targets in the course of The biennial surveys will monitor the progress of one indicator per priority action area and one indicator on the general progress of ESD for Partner organizations will be invited to participate in regular surveys every two years to measure relative progress on the five priority action areas against the baseline set at the outset.
Thematic surveys will be conducted to identify and analyse key issues, trends and developments, to complement the normative monitoring of Target 4. See section 4 on tracking issues and trends UNESCO will continue to monitor the qualitative impact of ESD by collecting and highlighting testimonies and best practices.
Why this framework? In , the United Nations General Assembly declared the ten years from to to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development DESD , calling on governments to integrate the principles of sustainability into their educational strategies and action plans.
In order to avoid the break in implementation, and also as the results of the mid-term review showed a progress trend not expected to be reversed in any way, the process to prepare this post-GAP position has been advanced.
Around , schools and 26 million learners were estimated to have been supported by the partners along with 2 million educators and 48, teacher training institutions. The partners also supported around 3. Finally, it is projected that over 5, civil society organizations conducted ESD activities and that over 2, local ESD activities were established.
Advancing policy, transforming learning and training environments, building capacities of educators and trainers, mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at local level were identified as the five priority action areas for implementation. How this framework has been prepared 2.
In the internal review of the mid-term implementation, the insufficient visibility of the engagement made by governments was also pointed out. They were held in Brazil, Germany, Japan and South Africa from to , and comprised of interviews and visits to concrete actors and their practices on the ground.
The discussions focused on what made people living under different contexts act in favour of sustainable development and providedEducation for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 56 important insights into the observations described in the Required Reflections part of this framework.
The second version was submitted to a Technical Consultation Meeting with government representatives and experts from Member States, held in July in Bangkok, Thailand.
A wider online consultation with United Nations agencies and other international bodies as well as an online public consultation with a wide range of stakeholders were carried out up until the end of Key contexts 3. Its main contribution was awareness-raising, which helped generate interesting practices and projects.
The evaluation of the DESD recommended that, among others, institutional support is needed in order to scale up and maintain these momentous initiatives. Actors working on policy, education and training institutions, educators, youth and local authorities were identified as Key Partners to work in one of the five priority action areas — advancing policy, transforming learning and training environments, building capacities of educators and trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at local level.
Their sectoral networking was supported by the five Partner Networks set up for the five areas. The survey tool used for the monitoring of the Recommendation is also the one used for monitoring Target 4. Lessons learned also include that networking efforts must be combined with concrete programme activities that bring Partners together, and that Partners of different sectors should work more collaboratively across the priority action areas.
This was partly due to the fact that global monitoring has focused mainly on the totality of actions scaled up on the ground, which are not necessarily categorized by the type of actors. In the post-GAP framework, therefore, there has to be a special window for monitoring and reporting on the leadership taken by government actors. Achieving these goals requires a profound transformation in the way we live, think and act; and the role of education in achieving all of the 17 SDGs is given heightened emphasis.
However, some further critical reflection is needed around the fact that, despite its advocacy on a holistic and system-wide approach, when it comes to implementation, ESD tends to be treated as a thematic topic. The 17 SDGs cover the key environmental challenges e. Among the 17 SDGs, prioritization depending on national and local needs can be considered.
For example, climate change remains one of the key focus areas. ESD can also address the interlinkages of the SDGs, long advocated for as essential for genuine progress towards sustainable development. ESD takes on a cross-disciplinary and systemic approach that enables the question of gender equality to be linked to the various issues of sustainable development.
When disasters occur, more women die than men because social rules of conduct mean that, for example in the case of flooding, women often have not learned to swim, and have behavioural restrictions that limit their mobility in the face of risk. It should therefore become a priority to provide women with access to ESD. In this regard, ESD actively promotes gender equality, and creates conditions and strategies that empower women.
Stages can be skipped with individuals moving from, say, the first factual stage, directly to the final stage of empowerment. There can also be cases where individuals start with empathy or compassion, and only later on approach the matter with cognitive awareness, instead of starting with the awareness stage.
The process and the pace at which individuals go through these stages can also vary. Required reflections 4. The symposium series, held from to around the world in preparation of this document, revealed a few important insights into how transformative actions take place. With the acquisition of knowledge and information, learners come to be aware of the existence of certain realities.
With critical analysis, they begin to understand the complexity of those realities. An experiential exposure to the realities provides them with a deeper connection with the issues, which can also lead to an empathic connection to those affected by the said realities. A tipping point arrives where a compassionate mind is set on the path of empowerment. Opportunities to launch critical inquiry, exposure to realities, relevance to our own lives and the presence of influential peers, mentors or role models, as well as tipping points, play an important role in empowering individuals to take decisive actions.
Formal education alone is not enough. Non-formal education and informal learning, including intergenerational lifelong learning taking place in the community, provide learners with critical opportunities to relate them to the realities that concern them and to be influenced to take the necessary actions. Fundamental changes required for a sustainable future start with individuals and their change of behaviour, attitude and lifestyle, while the contextual factors and institutional support provide an enabling environment and can bulwark individual contributions.
This is particularly so among the younger generation whose transformative action is often prompted when they attach importance to certain values and a lifestyle that corresponds to their sense of identity.
ESD is needed to provide them with critical thinking skills to reflect on individual values, attitudes and behaviours as well as lifestyle choices.
In a community, which can be defined not only physically, but also virtually, socially, politically or culturally, learners find values and causes that concern them both individually and collectively. They can also find other fellow members and bond with them, which generates solidarity and facilitates collective action for transformation and a culture of sustainability. It evokes the lifelong learning perspective, taking place not only at school, but also outside the school environment, throughout the life of each individual.
Based on human rights and principles such as participation, non-discrimination and accountability, it interacts with the social and cultural milieu of the community and stimulates social learning within it. Cultural identity can play an important role. It argues that, even in a sustainable world, consumers can keep enjoying similar products and services.
For example, mobile phones can be designed in a different way to allow valuable parts to be reused more easily. ESD in action therefore requires a new perspective on the roles and functions of schools.
There is wide agreement that it is challenging to reconcile economic growth with the principles of sustainable development, as far as current industrial and production patterns continue. Ever accelerating production and consumption deplete natural resources, produce unmanageable amounts of waste and lead to a rise in global temperatures. Many laudable and credible initiatives to promote sustainable production and consumption exist, but their impact has been limited.
The emerging interest in a circular economy and a sharing economy represents one of those alternatives. ESD also has to affect the unsustainable production patterns of current economic structures more directly. This means that people have to be empowered to engage directly in the political process and advocate, for example, for appropriate environmental regulations for businesses. There is some truth to this in that the full complexity and relevance of the concept of sustainable development does not immediately resonate with people trying to survive on a daily basis, butEducation for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 59 this does not negate the importance of ESD to populations in need.
They are affected much more directly by environmental degradation and the lack of economic and social sustainability. ESD approaches that may work for populations living in more fortunate situations may not necessarily be effective for populations in need.
ESD approaches need to be contextualized to the realities of target populations. Extreme poverty is often rampant among migrant populations. Populations in refugee or other conflictual situations often face the same fate. For such populations, community, which could provide a useful platform for action, should take into consideration the particular issue of group identity. The starting point should be, first and foremost, to ensure and restore human dignity and the right to live decently.
Providing people with basic and other relevant life-skills, or skills to ensure their livelihood in order to confront and overcome extreme poverty, is a priority. This cannot be done without addressing the wider political, historical, social and economic contexts from which their suffering springs and is perpetuated.
The tipping points will eventually change not only our lives and environments, but also our discourse on sustainability. ESD for the future cannot afford not to address the implications of the technological era. For example, smart city technologies will increase efficiency in managing energy, traffic and logistics. Innovations like 3-D printing may reduce the transportation required for the delivery of materials. At the same time, new opportunities will open up for ESD. For example, ESD can accelerate the transition to green technologies through equipping people with the required green skills.
For example, 3-D printing can result in the growth of waste for disposal and higher consumption. A digitally automated and connected world helps secure comfort and quality of life, but it can also pose its own security and safety risks and lead to new sorts of disasters, the impact of which could be even more widespread than in a less connected world. Applications of Artificial Intelligence are already strongly influencing human behaviour in consumption or social interaction. With sensor-equipped buildings, the behaviour of switching off lights itself may become unnecessary and extinct, but the value of saving energy will and should remain relevant.
Ironically, the task of teaching sustainability principles may become more challenging, as technologies give the illusion that they have resolved or can resolve the majority of sustainability problems.
Orienting ESD to supportEducation for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 60 the achievement of the SDGs will provide the opportunity for the ESD community to work more closely with the actors of the above communities, who are the main stakeholders of these various goals. Implementation framework 5. It aims to make clear the aspect of continuity from the current phase of the GAP to the post-GAP position, while highlighting its alignment with the Sustainable Development Agenda.
ESD for will achieve this through a threefold approach. The contributions of these long-standing ESD activities to the achievement of the SDGs are evident and they deserve continuing support. ESD activities might raise critical questions on the inter-linkages between and among different SDGs, which can involve tensions and lack of clarity.
SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure needs to consider issues related to SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities and the achievement of both of these demands a balancing act. The 17 SDGs, which encompass the issues related to development and sustainability in a single framework, offer to the global community a renewed window of opportunity to reinforce this fundamental function of ESD. Its particular emphasis on competencies related to empathy, solidarity and action-taking can help advance SDG 4 towards the future where education contributes not only to the successes of individuals, but also to the collective survival and prosperity of the global community.
It will also help the global education agenda move away from an exclusive focus on access and quality measured mainly in termsEducation for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 61 of learning outcomes, towards an increased emphasis on learning contents and their contribution to humanity.
This objective, according to the mid-term review, is being achieved successfully by the GAP Key Partners, generating a large volume of activities on the ground. With the overall approach adopted by the current phase of the GAP proven effective, ESD for recommends its main structural components be maintained, while a few adjustments and updates are suggested, based on lessons learned from the implementation.
They serve as useful entry points for developing ESD for activities. The concept deserves continued support,20 but the collaboration among the Partners should be reinforced. To that effect, programme support to each Network should be provided for activities involving different groups of Partners across the network. Further efforts will be made to involve representatives of governments, local authorities, the private sector, civil society organizations, the donor and development communities, as well as the SDG communities in the Network of Partners.
A new process to identify partners and the terms of reference for the network will be revised in line with ESD for It is included as one of the global education targets for which progress will regularly be monitored. ESD is now well understood as a sine qua non for quality education in relation to the urgency of building a peaceful and sustainable world for the survival and prosperity of current and future generations. Coordinated efforts should be made for ESD to find synergies with other relevant national and international agendas and policies on education and sustainable development.
There have to be strategic policies and measures to reinforce the interaction and cooperation of the formal, non-formal and informal educational settings.
The understanding on how transformative actions occur must be reflected in the capacity- development programmes for formal and non- formal educators so that they are clearly aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the various pedagogical approaches they employ. Educators must be facilitators of learning that guide the learners through the transformation as well as expert transmitters of knowledge. Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 62 5.
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