Devising a Competence-Based Training Program for Educators of Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned

Abstract

Over recent decades, education policy has been preoccupied with economic growth while paying insufficient heed to global sustainability challenges. International initiatives to promote education for sustainable development (ESD) have been hampered by a lack of clarity on how to implement this form of education. To address this concern, a Rounder Sense of Purpose (RSP) began as a three-year EU-funded project that set out to develop a practical accreditation model for educators working on ESD. Expert and user opinion was sought through several rounds of structured consultation with over 500 people, chiefly using a Delphi approach, to develop and validate the model. The resulting framework comprises 12 competences, each with three learning outcomes and several underpinning components. This is supported by a range of activities largely reflecting a constructivist pedagogy. A range of assessment techniques have also been piloted within the project although this remains an area for further enquiry. Ultimately, it was decided not to design a single qualification template because defining the award to such a level of detail would make it more difficult to apply across multiple jurisdictions. Partners also felt that such an approach would atomize learning in a way that runs counter to the holistic principles of sustainability. RSP provided a rich learning experience for those involved and has already demonstrated its potential to extend its impact well beyond the original participants.

Transforming Consumer Behavior: Introducing Self-Inquiry-Based and Self-Experience-Based Learning for Building Personal Competencies for Sustainable Consumption

“…That ESD educators need competencies that go beyond disciplinary expertise is not surprising. Vare and colleagues' [81] competence framework for ESD educators, for example, shows relevant parallels to the exigencies mentioned above, highlighting "empathy" and "engagement" as important competencies for ESD educators and depicting ESD as "relational" and processes of "social learning" (p. 16). At the same time, the explicit development of personal competencies-at least as it is suggested through SIBL and SEBL-raises the seemingly unaddressed question in the ESD literature as to which personal competencies are required on the part of the educators for offering such approaches.…”

Leading Schools towards Sustainability. Fields of Action and Management Strategies for Principals

“…Information and communication are the central prerequisites for participation [5,46]. Without them, there is no participation.…”

“…It enables each individual to understand the effects of their own actions on the world and encourages them to make responsible decisions. Frameworks for general 21st century competencies were proposed (life skills by WHO [1], key competences by OECD [2]) and related to competencies for ESD [3][4][5] (e.g., in Germany the model of Gestaltungskompetenz (shaping competence) [6] or transformative knowledge [7,8]). In 2002, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to begin the UN World Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.…”

A Novel Improvement Strategy of Competency for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) of University Teachers Based on Data Mining

“…The previous research [4,6,8,12,24,26,27] has attached much of its focus on the elements of ESD competency and the competency for ESD itself without connecting with teachers' traditional competencies. A small number of studies [16,22] have explored the impact of certain individual competencies of teachers on ESD competency.…”

“…The model was a part of a major project of the European Union, which was based on competencies in fields of action. In a three-year project funded by the European Union, Vare, Arro, de Hamer, et al [27] developed a practical ESD educator authentication model.…”