Sustainable Education
WHAT & WHY
Education for Sustainable Development
Put simply, a sustainable world is defined as one that can maintain an
ecological balance. Therefore, when we discuss the looming threats of
global warming, food shortage and world poverty, we are discussing
threats to a sustainable world. These three complex issues cannot be solvedby one, or even several, small actions or policy changes. The solution islong-term. It involves people everywhere. And it involves YOU as aneducator. The solution is Education for Sustainable Development.
Sustainability has been broken into three spheres; environment, economyand food. Explore these topics on our website and the resources provided to gain a deeper understanding of the depth and details of these categories. What are the problems we are facing today, and what progress is being made.
Education for Sustainable Development refers to a type of pedagogy aimed at creating critical, action-oriented learners who feel empowered and confident in their ability to make a change in the world. This ability or skill is termed ‘action competency’. Creating action competent learners can be done by shifting ones pedagogy slightly, offering opportunities for the students to create emotional connections, incorporating more reflective time when social issues are discussed, developing critical thinking skills within the learners and working to help students see the multiple perspectives on different issues.
Developing action competency requires a change in the WAY we teach. Therefore, it can be achieved in any Province, State or Country. We have provided a bank of applications and activities with linkages to the Alberta, Canada curriculum, but it does not need to stop there. Follow our references to educate yourself further on the topics of sustainable education and action competency.
Make your class MORE Sustainable
Did you know about the NEW Sustainable Development Goals? All of the countries have come together and decided on 17 goals that are to be completed by 2030. The 17 goals can be broken down into three main catergories:
Economy
Environment
Food
References
Almers, E. (2013). Pathways to Action Competence for Sustainability—Six Themes. The Journal of Environmental Education, 116-127.
Lasen, M., Tomas, L., & Hill, A. (2015). Potential of Service-Learning to Promote Sustainability Competencies in Pre-Service Teachers: A Case Study. Teaching Education, 341-365.
Breiting, S., Hedegaard, K., Mogensen, F., Nielsen, K., & Schnack, K. (1999). Handlekompetence, intressekonflikter og miljøundervisning [Action competence, conflicts of interest, and environmental education]. Odense, Denmark: Odense Universitetsforlag.
Barth, M., Godemann, J., Rieckman, M., & Stoltenberg, U. (2007). Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 8, 416–430.
Hofman, M. (2015). What is an Education for Sustainable Development Supposed to Achieve- A Question of What, How and Why? Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 213-228.