Education for sustainability-challenges and opportunities

Wade, Ros

doi:10.1177/0892020616656292

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…In this study, it is presumed that, for educators to adopt ESD as a pedagogy and gain necessary competences, the number one issue is increasing awareness of sustainability and developing a comprehensive understanding about what does it refer to beyond definition. Since perception and understanding of sustainability are initially essential (Christie et al , 2015; Reid and Petocz, 2006; Wade, 2008), lack of awareness or knowledge is assumed to be a critical barrier to enhancing ESD practices in teaching. If they understand sustainability from a limited perspective, their teaching will not be comprehensive enough.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early career teacher educators' dispositions toward sustainability and accountability for sustainability issues: a case from teachers colleges in Turkey

Öztürk

Pizmony-Levy

2021

JARHE

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PurposeThis study aims to investigate the dispositions of early career teacher educators as young academics toward sustainability and accountability for sustainability issues. Through their interpretations, concerns, awareness and ownership of sustainability, the study portrays how a global phenomenon is articulated specifically within the local context of teachers colleges in Turkey.Design/methodology/approachThe study was designed as a survey, and the data were collected through a cross-sectional online questionnaire. The sample (n = 72) was limited, through purposeful sampling, to early career teacher educators teaching and being trained in well-established Turkish teachers colleges to become prospective faculty members of newly founded teachers colleges across the country. The data were analyzed primarily through quantitative methods. For the analyses, STATA software was used to perform descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsThe general results indicated that the participants were highly concerned about sustainability problems. However, their concerns were not reflected to the same degree on their perceived awareness and ownership of education for sustainable development (ESD). Hunger and poverty, loss of biodiversity, climate change and epidemic diseases were all perceived to be urgent more in the global context. On the other hand, unemployment, refugees and terrorism were perceived to be locally urgent problems. Different agencies within the community were addressed to be accountable for different types of sustainability problems. The accountability for economic, environmental and societal problems were mainly placed on governments. Additionally, individuals/families and educators were held more accountable for environmental issues, while corporations and super powers were held more accountable for economic issues. As for societal issues, educators, individuals/families and non-governmental organizations were addressed to be more responsible.Originality/valueThe significance of the study is mainly twofold. If sustainable development is conceptualized with a futuristic viewpoint that attaches a great importance to next generations' needs, focusing on the dispositions of early career teacher educators as young academics is a reasonable way of addressing the current gaps and eliminating the future inefficacies. Building on the assumption that ESD would remain imperfect without the commitment of teacher educators who have the potential to bring changes in educational systems and shape knowledge and skills of future teachers, in turn future generations; this study becomes even more valuable as it includes specifically the academicians in the field of teacher education.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early career teacher educators' dispositions toward sustainability and accountability for sustainability issues: a case from teachers colleges in Turkey

Öztürk

Pizmony-Levy

2021

JARHE

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“…Connie Russell and Justin Dillon similarly argue that "STEM education needs to change to reflect students' needs and to produce not just the required numbers of scientists and engineers but also a scientifically literate society [99] (p. 1). However, there is a tension in that STEM education is more socially productive, designed to supply human capital, whereas ecological/environmental/sustainability education is explicitly critical, activist, and socially transformative of people and of human thinking [100].…”

Section: New Alliances For Ecological and Stem Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

All STEM-Ed up: Gaps and Silences around Ecological Education in Australia

Gough

2021

Sustainability

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Similar to much of the world, the Australian Government has a vision for society to be engaged in and enriched by science which has, as its prime focus, building skills and capabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Simultaneously, the Government’s policies and projects, including in education, ignore intergovernmental environmental initiatives, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This article critically analyses the Australian Government’s STEM and climate change education policies and programs, including Citizen Science activities, through an ecological education lens and finds many, and growing, gaps and silences in these areas. It compares the Australian situation with STEM and ecological education-related developments in several other countries. In the context of significant global changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this article argues that it is time for the Australian education agenda to take the Government’s international responsibilities seriously, include meaningful engagement with climate change and biodiversity related topics through ecological education in the school curriculum, and discusses what a reimagined school science curriculum could look like.

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“…Since 'sustainability' indicates the need for a change of educational paradigm as a whole (Wade, 2008), sustainability of education should necessarily emphasize transformational shifts in educational approaches that sufficiently accommodate sustainability perspectives. The concept of education for sustainable development (ESD), according to Gokool-Ramdoo and Rumjaun (2017), can be traced back to 1972 when the United Nation's Conference on Human Environment emphasized the role of education as a means of addressing the problems of human environment.…”

Section: Concepts Of Sustainable Development and Sustainable Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Nigerian Education Milieu in the SDG Era: The Roles, Values, Challenges and Prospects of ODL and Lifelong Learning

Osunwusi

2020

IJLD

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National governments are under increasing pressures to address issues surrounding sustainable development. Interestingly, considerable attention is shifting towards education, which has been widely recognized not only as a fundamental human right but also as a catalyst for sustainable development and a vehicle for confronting the challenges facing societies in terms of profound shifts in demographics as well as socio-economic, environmental and ecological realities. As a corollary, ODL and lifelong learning have equally been identified as constituting a force contributing to social and economic development. As a member of the United Nations, Nigeria is committed to achieving not only the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 but also the Global Goals, especially SDG 4 on equitable quality education. This paper examines the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals and explores, based on a review of extant literature, the conceptual and theoretical dimensions of ODL and lifelong learning in the context of their role, values, challenges and opportunities. The paper also outlines current trends in the context of the Nigerian education system and suggests policy, strategy and institutional considerations for mainstreaming ODL and lifelong learning for the purpose of achieving SDG 4. The review of related literature included a search of both published and conference papers and deployed systematic procedures for an exploration of perspectives and ideologies on the key issues of the Global Goals, sustainable development, education for sustainable development (ESD), ODL, and lifelong learning. The study revealed that while the Global Goals are enjoying increasing buy-ins, progress towards achieving the SDGs – particularly Goal 4 – has been unimpressive in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The study also identified trends, challenges and opportunities for integrating ESD in education, ODL and lifelong learning in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular. Based on an evaluation and analysis of perspectives, the study concluded that Nigeria is still a long way to achieving the SDGs. A number of suggestions were made towards a reasonable achievement of sustainable development goal 4, including the importance of: strengthening relevant constitutional framework on education; providing supportive policy and institutional frameworks; and integrating the philosophies of sustainable development in education and training at all levels.

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Education for sustainability-challenges and opportunities

Cited by 16 publications

References 3 publications

Early career teacher educators' dispositions toward sustainability and accountability for sustainability issues: a case from teachers colleges in Turkey

Early career teacher educators' dispositions toward sustainability and accountability for sustainability issues: a case from teachers colleges in Turkey

All STEM-Ed up: Gaps and Silences around Ecological Education in Australia

The Nigerian Education Milieu in the SDG Era: The Roles, Values, Challenges and Prospects of ODL and Lifelong Learning

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