Embedding ESD In

Mainstream Education

Charles HopkinsUNESCO Chair, York University

Toronto, Canada

Year of Peak Fish Harvest Harvest peak

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sea Around Us project

Year of Peak Fish Harvest Harvest peak

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Sea Around Us project

Biomass of Table Fish (tons per km2)

Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; Christensen et al. 2003

19002000

Origin of ESD

• Agenda 21 - 40 negotiated issues grouped in four sections:Social & economic issuesEnvironmental issuesMajor groups to be engagedMeans of implementation

• ESD came from the section on “means of Implementation”– Plus part of every other chapter of Agenda 21– ESD is found in the UN Conventions on CC, Biodiversity,

Desertification, Forestry, all UN Conferences Work Programmes etc.

Acti

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Emergence of ESD

1992 96 2000 02 05 09 12 14

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Vision Statement…

a region characterized by sustainable development, including economic vitality, justice, social cohesion, environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources.

• What are your country’s sustainability challenges?

– Now?

– Future?

A Key Question

• How are school systems addressing these issues?

• How could your school systems address these issues?

What is Education FOR Sustainable Development

ESD/EDS is the contribution of the world’s

education systems, public awareness systems,

training systems

to enable us to learn our way towards a moresustainable future.

Education, Public Awareness and Training (ESD) (Chapter 36 of Agenda 21)

The 4 Thrusts of ESD

1 Access to quality basic education2 Reorienting existing education3 Public awareness and understanding4 Training programs for all sectors

Agenda 21 -92, UNESCO-96, UNCSD -98, JPOI-2002

Many Possible Responses to ESD in Schools

1 Ignore: 2 Form a club: (eco-school or UNESCO ASP)3 Teach ABOUT sustainable development4 Invent another adj. “Sustainability Ed”5 Engaging ESD in core disciplines: (Projects)6 ESD as very purpose of our education systems (educate FOR Sust. Dev) including TEI, Ministry of Ed, private sector, etc. 7 Embed within the sustainable community initiatives (RCE)

HistoryGeography

P.E.

Science

Music

EconomicsArt

Language

Math

AIDS ED

EthicsValues

Peace ED

Dev ED

Racism

Env. ED

Religion

AntiSmoking

Pop ED

Bio - diversity

DisasterED

SocialStudies

The Curriculum Castle

Understanding ESDEnvironmental Education, Population Education, Development Education, Energy Education, HIV/AIDS Education, Permaculture Education, Citizenship Education, Democracy Education, Consumer Education, Media Education, Outdoor Education, Experiential Education, Workplace Education, Conservation Education, Anti-Racist Education, Religious Education, Equity Education, Gender Education, Holocaust Education, Entrepreneurship Education, Horticulture Education, Water Education, Global Education, Drug Education, Sex Education, International Studies, Family Studies, Human Rights Education, Women's Studies, Native Studies, Values Education, Natural History Education, Vocational Education, Economic Education, Anti-smoking Education, Conflict Resolution Education, Workplace education, Disaster Prevention Education, Computer Studies, Life-Skills Education, Recycling Education, Civics Education, Heritage Education, Community Studies, Multicultural Education, Anti-Violence Education, Systems Thinking Education, Futures Education, Biodiversity Education, Pioneer Studies, Nutrition Education, Resource Management Education, Self-Image Education, Peace Education, Leadership Education, Cooperative Education, Character Education, Sexual orientation Education…………….(100 plus)

Many Possible Responses to ESD in Schools

1 Ignore: (ESD obligation not an option)(Bonn)2 Form a club: (eco-school or UNESCO ASP)3 Teach ABOUT sustainable development4 Invent another adj. “Sustainability Ed”5 Engaging ESD in core disciplines: (Projects)6 ESD as very purpose of our education systems (educate FOR Sust. Dev) including TEI, Ministry of Ed, private sector, etc. 7 Embed within the community (RCE)

7 Phases in a School/System’s Sustainability Roadmap

* Phase 1: INSIGHT - consisting of stakeholder views, a science or fact-based understanding of SD and ESD and rational as to why ESD is necessary.

* Phase 2: Making a public commitment in terms of the “headline goal” – perhaps reducing carbon by 30%, for example – but also in more qualitative terms where you need to go

* Phase 3: Now that an overall target(s) has been established, it requires a baseline that says where you are now. Even for qualitative targets, you need to be able to say what the status is .

* Phase 4: Allocating responsibility for action, you need to get the system to own the baseline, own the target and own the achievement of the goal

• Phase 5: Public reporting of progress – including annual reports. This is where you revisit what you said you’d do, and work to create the sense of continuity and recommitment

• Phase 6: Celebration * Phase 7: Transparently revisit and challenge the original goal.

Manitoba Ed Goals

1/ To ensure education in Manitoba supports students experiencing and learning about what it means to live in a sustainable manner.

Goal of Education - Finland

“Our aim is to enhance pupils’ coherent identity and positive self-conception, develop their generic competences and subject-specific knowledge and skills and through that help pupils to develop themselves as humans and citizen who are able and willing to live in a sustainable way and build a sustainable future.”“We also say that our schools have to develop their working culture so that by their own activities they both exemplify as well as promote sustainable wellbeing”.

Irmeli Halinen, Finnish National Board of Education

The Sustainability Vision

EnoughFor “all”

Forever !

African elder - 2002

The Sustainability Vision

Well-beingFor “all”

Forever !

Emerging Scandinavian perspective

Key drivers of subjective well-beingSource: Timo Hämäläinen (2012):

RESOURCES AND CAPABILITIES - Income & wealth - Knowledge & skills - Psychological resources - Physical health - Social capital - Information - Time - Political power

MASLOWIAN NEEDS- Self-actualization- Self- and social esteem- Love and belonging- Security- Physiological needs (thirst, hunger,…)

MEANINGFULNESS- Exceeding self-

interest- Serving others- Higher purposeEVERYDAY

ACTIVITIES AND ROLES- Worker- Consumer- Family

member- Relative- Friend- Hobbyist- Citizen

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING& HAPPINESS

ENVIRONMENT- Natural

environment- Infrastructure- Technologies- Product

markets- Organizations- Culture (values

&

norms)- Institutions

(laws &

regulations)- Public policies- Media &

marketing

MENTAL COHERENCE- Comprehensibility of life- Manageability of life

FEEDBACK

Strengths Model: Starting Point for Formal ed.

• No single discipline/group/teacher/ministry can do it all

• Every discipline/group/teacher/ministry can contribute

• Some individuals or sectors can take lead roles in directing/managing the reorientation at all levels

• Senior leadership and coordination of these “strengths” are key as we systemically “learn” our way forward

• “Train the trainers” becomes “learn with the learners”

SustainableDevelopment

(ESD)

Here’s a hundred Dollars

$10,000

One Million Dollars!!!

$100 MILLION

1 BILLION

$1 Trillion dollars...

And notice those pallets are double stacked $100 dollar bills – not singles!

Mainstreaming ESD: initial steps

ESD is derived from existing pedagogies; inquiry, problem-based, place-based, and service learning; make connections explicit.Deal with the social and economic pillars in ESD.Engage others: explore the strengths’ modelBuild a more substantive research base:

models of professional development;pedagogical approaches: critical pedagogies for teaching

values without indoctrination, for social justice, and for dealing with controversy.

develop monitoring and evaluation techniques;

For Best ESD Performance: some assembly is required!

Engaging Senior Education Officials

•It is not just the curriculum!•It is also policy – purchasing/hiring/….•Its about what and how we teach•It is about the buildings (modeling sustainability)•What we fund, evaluate and report upon•Why do we teach what we teach?•What is a quality education for the 21st Century?

Presenting ESD

•Awareness at all levels and sectors •Understandable•A “must-have/do”, popular choice but also ethical•Seen as “Do-able”- Digestible and manageable•Exemplars from prestigious sources•Cost saving or affordable or prestigious•An opportunity verses a problem•Bottom line- It is an essential element of “QUALITY”

Tony Piggott – CEO, J.W. Thompson

Possible ESD contributions to Quality

• Achievement• Engagement• Attendance/retention• Relevant learning• Attitudinal change• Skill set development:

– Collaboration– Communication– Learning to learn– Applying disciplinary

skills

• Behaviour• Relationships• Creativity• School safety• Reduced vandalism• Equity in achievement• Problem solving• Responsibility• Global citizenship• Concern for others

ESD Reflected in Quality Education Systems

Purpose: Priority: Policy:

Program:Practice:

Professionalism: Partnering:

Perceptions: PISA:

“Puts”: Outputs, Inputs etc.

ESD and Academic Excellence

Our Collective Responsibility

• Now that we are aware, what are our responsibilities to help our students and those of “others”?

- The Learning Teacher Network- Our home institutions- Personally

• What is the future of ESD in the LTN?

Radical Hope!!

We need more

“Sustainability Handprints”

www.handsforchange.org