Education for sustainable development in teacher education:

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Universität Zürich SEED Conference, Esbjerg
Regula Kyburz-Graber

• Education for sustainable development in teacher
  education
• Learning from case studies

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Why EE/ESD is not a simple task

• Un-experienced teachers Should we not better
  hold to the well defined traditional components
  of the curriculum?
• Experienced teachers Why should we go on in a
  situation where the standards debate is dominant
  in educational discourse?

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A simple task?

• Teacher educators are confronted with the
  expressed need of student teachers for ready made
  materials

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Integrating EE/ESD in teacher education
Coping with struggles and dilemmas, using a
reflective and thoughtful approach. Being aware
that it challenges established patterns,
positions and practices in school. Being aware
that EE/ESD may fundamentally irritate the self
concept of student teachers.
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Teachers and student teachers as reflective
practitioners

• The research implementation evaluation model
  is not adequate
• But why should teachers believe more in their own
  research findings than in those professionally
  approved?
• Why should they take their knowledge as a
  credible basis for improving practice?

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Case studies

• The context and the origin of the case
• Features of EE
• Case description
• Action research approaches
• Outcomes, evidence based issues
• Concluding reflections

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Emerging issues

• Emerging issues in environmental education
• Emerging issues in the methodology of action
  research
• Emerging issues in interdisciplinary and
  inter-institutional cooperation

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Emerging issues EE/ESD

• Relation between EE and ESD
• Stated purposes of EE
• Practical expressions of EE
• Approaches to interdisciplinarity
• Expressed opportunities
• Expressed constraints

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Relation between EE and ESD

• Environmental education () is currently
  proceeding from a natural and social science
  oriented focus to a more sustainable
  development focus. () Our interpretation of
  environmental education is that EE deals with the
  students thinking, attitudes and acting, both as
  individuals and as future teachers. Environmental
  questions are no longer concerns for biologists
  or natural scientists alone, but affect also
  social, economical and political interests.
  Therefore, education about environmental issues
  has to be inter-disciplinary and exemplified in
  real-life-situation, i.e. for teacher students in
  school situations. Education for sustainable
  development is a challenge for every teacher.
  (Sweden)

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Stated purposes

• We believe that activities full of spirit can
  provide the children with great experiences and
  at the same time they can help to solve real
  environmental problems (Hungary).
• to enable a transfer of scientific and
  methodological knowledge from university to
  school and vice versa (Austria).

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EE/ESD as a motor or facilitator for educational
reforms

• Environmental education can play a major role in
  reforming the educational system. (Hungary)
• Our staff has been looking for a pedagogical
  principle around which we can gather the
  professional skills of several subjects and which
  could colour the methodology of teaching and
  pedagogy in our school. We found this in the aim
  of protecting nature and the environment in
  harmony with educating for healthy
  physical-spiritual and intellectual habits of
  life. (Hungary)
• The experiences with this joint initiative gave
  rise to the ideas of a new organisational
  framework. (Austria)

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EE/ESD as a learning field for interdisciplinarity
EE/ESD as critical education
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Expressed constraints

• Interdisciplinary aspiration is difficult because
  of disciplinary structures within the
  institution. (Sweden)
• The specific theme of the school project was
  primarily determined by the curriculum of the
  class and secondly by the teachers ideas. The
  influence of our input was relatively marginal
  (scientist, Austria)
• Teachers are planning intensively and in detail
  with the students which could be regarded as an
  element of team building. However, teachers want
  to instruct the students with their own ideas.
  The dominant source of background information for
  planning the projects were old text books and
  materials which the teams already possessed.
  (observer, Austria)

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Expressed constraints

• In terms of organisation a trivial point turned
  out to be the crucial problem the shortage of
  time (Austria)
• The biggest problem was the lack of time to
  supplement teaching materials (Hungary)
• More than 20 time-tables had to be coordinated
  which turned out to very difficult (Hungary)

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Professional self-development through reflective
practice

• Most useful To learn how others cope with
  similar situations
• Why is it as it is? How could it be differently
  and why?
• Curiosity to find out how and why it happens as
  it does perhaps the most important driving force.