Education for Sustainable Development

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Education for Sustainable Development

• Graham Pike
• Faculty of Education
• University of Prince Edward Island

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Reform of Public Education A Short History of
Ideals

• Access
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
• Access Equality
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
  Child, 1989
• Access Equality Quality
• Declaration on Education For All, 1990 Dakkar
  Framework, 2000
• Access Equality Quality Vision
• Learning The Treasure Within (Delors Report),
  UNESCO, 1996

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My Work in Global Education Focus on Quality and
Vision

• UNICEF Global Education Projects the Middle East
  and Eastern Europe
• Project Goals curriculum with a global
  perspective student-centred learning teachers
  as facilitators
• Project partners UNICEF, universities,
  ministries of education, non-governmental
  organizations
• Implementation introductory conference
  establish Core Teams collaborative materials
  development pilot field testing revisions and
  reporting scaling up
• Results improvements in student achievement
  enjoyment of learning and teaching increasing
  respect in teacher-learner relationship evidence
  of student knowledge and interest

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The Importance of Teacher Education

• The changing role of the teacher from instructor
  to facilitator
• The imperative of life-long learning
• The need for global literacy
• The technologically literate generations to come
• Critical pedagogy a new reality for teaching
• Teachers as agents of change the necessary
  Utopia
• An example the Specialization in International
  Education programme at the University of Prince
  Edward Island

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Education for Sustainable DevelopmentOrigins
and Directions

• Merging of two curriculum reform movements
  development education and environmental education
• Agenda 21, chapter 36 Promoting Education,
  Public Awareness, and Training. Three major
  thrusts
• improve basic education reorient existing
  education to address sustainable development
  develop public understanding, awareness and
  training
• UNESCO Chair (York) Reorienting Teacher
  Education
• United Nations Decade of Education for
  Sustainable Development 2005-14
• Canada Learning for Sustainable Futures
  Sustainability Education Academy

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Education for Sustainable DevelopmentScope and
Tensions

• Seven key concepts (Sterling)
• interdependence (of society,
  economy, environment)
• citizenship and stewardship
• needs and rights of future generations
• diversity (cultural, social, economic,
  biological)
• quality of life, equity and justice
• sustainable change
• uncertainty, and precaution in action
• Education about sustainability
• principally content, subject-driven,
  non-critical
• Education for sustainability
• some values and skills, learning for change
• Education as sustainability
• transformative learning, learning as change

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My Areas of Interest

• Education for Sustainable Development as a
  vehicle for reform of public education
• Focus on quality and vision
• Critique of current trends towards
  standardization and accountability
• Special interest in pre-service and in-service
  teacher education