How has Education for Sustainable
Development developed and how
does it appear in the National Curriculum?
Frances
Nichols
Introduction
The growth of global interdependence
is evident in the
expansion of technological, political, cultural, economic, and
ecological
global networks, and there is no reason to believe that this growth
will slow
down or end soon (Tye 1990). The current and continuously developing
state of
the world demands an exploration of various scenarios that may occur
from the
current trend, and a consideration of the implications of these (Hicks
2002).
Education has a crucial role to play in enabling society to respond to
the
process of globalisation (Osler and Starkey 2005), and the various
implications
globalisation has on environmental, social, cultural and economic
issues.
Education, traditionally practiced,
can be seen to reflect
the inequalities apparent in a capitalist society; designed to produce
people
ready for the industrial market it functions to fit young people into
the
existing economy (Hicks and Holden 1995) and can be seen to play a part
in
reproducing an unsustainable society (Huckle and Sterling 1996).
Education
prepares young people for the future, promoting awareness and
understanding of
their society, how it functions, and how they’ll come to contribute to
it in
certain ways (Osler and Starkey 2005). However, teaching about the
future does
not prepare students for a future that will look very different to the
present;
with the growing agreement about the seriousness of various global
issues, teaching
must encourage an exploration of possible changes that will occur, and
what
action people will need to take for a more equal and sustainable future
(Hicks
and Holden 1995).
Internationally, there have been
increasing global concerns
becoming more and more prominent in the media, policy and
non-government
initiatives. Society’s awareness of these particular global issues is
largely
dependent on the coverage in the media (Hicks and Townley 1982); one
issue that
is consistently focused on is that of the environment and
sustainability;
climate change has been identified as the greatest threat facing
humankind
(Hicks and Holden 2007). Although it’s not the only issue brought about
by the
increasing interdependence of the global economy, the environment and
issues of
sustainability are prominent in political and public discussions, and
the need
for change has had various implications for formal and informal
education. Numerous
world conferences have addressed issues of environment and development,
and a
number of international agencies have been established to tackle these
particular issues (Huckle and Sterling 1996).
The government, and non-government
organisations, that are
concerned with global issues and sustainability consider education to
be the
main resource available to promote a transition towards sustainable
development
(Huckle & Sterling 1996). This essay will describe the political
developments around the environment and sustainability, and subsequent
political agendas and establishment of non-government organisations
(NGO’s). There
will then be a consideration of the progression of sustainable
development in
education with reference to the political agendas, and their influence
on the
current education policy and the implementation of it.
Political developments
NGO’s concerned with global affairs,
economic, social and
environmental issues can seem relatively limited in person power,
financial
capacity and social influence, but many have been very effective in
targeting
their resources to achieve significant change in systems that do have
power
(Huckle and Sterling 1996). One of the first NGOs that focused
primarily on
environmental issues was the Club of Rome. In 1968 a small group of
professionals from various fields met to discuss the risks of unlimited
resource consumption in an interdependent world and the issues of
short- term
thinking (Club of Rome 2009). In its first report ‘The Limits to
growth’
various scenarios were explored and the choices available to society to
‘reconcile sustainable progress within environmental constraints’ (Club
of Rome
2009).
NGO’s fill a variety of roles from
basic research to the
collection and distribution of information, to inducing collective
action in
many forms. They take influence where market and state institutions
appear
unable to provide solutions to societal problems (Hatzius 1996).
Despite NGOs
having a considerable skill in dealing with national and international
issues
it is with the governments that the power of change ultimately resides.
In 1972 the United Nations Conference
on the Human
Environment considered:
“...the
need for a common outlook
and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world
in the
preservation and enhancement of the human environment...”
(UNEP,
Date Unknown b: online)
The declarations from which were the
basis for 26 principles,
and lead to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) (UNEP,
date unknown b). Existing today and working with Clean up the World
(CUW), UNEP
‘encourages sustainable development through sound environmental
practices’
(CUW, date unknown: online).
During the 1980s UNEP joined with the
World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) to commission the World Conservation Strategy (WCS) which was
prepared by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN),
the aim of which was outlined as being ‘to help advance the achievement
of
sustainable development through the conservation of living resources’
(IUCN 1980) and hoped to focus the
approach
to human
resource conservation, and guide policy makers as to the most effective
way of
achieving certain aims (Huckle and Sterling 1996). Also, there was the
commissioning
of the Brandt Report, a broad based analysis of the state of the world,
with
particular emphasis on the worlds economic development and its failings
in
ensuring social and economic equality for humanity (STWR, date unknown).
The UN
Commission on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1983 echoed
concerns about
the increasing deterioration of the environment and natural resources,
and the
implications of that deterioration on economic and social development.
It was
reported that sustainable development should be the guiding factor of
the UN,
governments, institutions and organisations and that it was of major
importance
that there should be a reorientation of national and international
policies
towards sustainable development (DESA 1999) reflected in its resolution
38/161.
The Brundtland commission for
sustainable development
followed in 1987 and defined sustainable development as ‘development
that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations’ (Venkataraman 2009: 1). Also
known as ‘Our Common Future’ the report raised awareness of the
increasing
importance of making progress in economic development whilst ensuring
the
conservation of the worlds natural resources and the environment
(Atmosphere,
Climate and Environment Information Programme 2002).
The challenge of sustainable
development was introduced on a
more global political agenda at the United Nations Conference on
Environment
and Development (UNCED) in 1992. Also called the Earth Summit, the
conference
in Rio de Janeiro convened to examine the issues raised by the
Brundtland
commission (Holmberg et al 1991, cited in Huckle and Sterling 1996).
The Earth
Summit concluded that nothing less than a transformation in our values
and
behaviours would bring about the necessary changes to ensure a
sustainable
future for generations to come (UN 1997) and called for an embrace of
our
common rights and duties to the earth’s natural resources (Huckle and
Sterling
1996). It lead to the adoption of Agenda 21, a blueprint for action to
achieve
sustainability worldwide, and a focus on the crucial role of education
in
promoting a more sustainable form of global development in all
countries (Hicks
and Holden 1995).
Agenda
21,
the
Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development, is
a plan of action that has been adopted globally, nationally and locally
by
organisations and governments of the United Nations.The
Commission
on
Sustainable
Development
(CSD) was created at the end of 1992 to ‘ensure effective follow up of
UNCED’
and to report on the implementation at a local, national, regional and
international level (DESA Date unknown). The UK strategy of Agenda 21
was
published in 1994 and proposed an independent panel of experts to
advise on
policy and to coordinate local government, business and other
interests, and a
citizens’ environment initiative (Huckle and Sterling 1996). It was
agreed by
the Earth Summit conference that the best starting point towards
sustainable
development was at the local level (LA21 Date unknown). LA21 is the
local
version of Agenda 21, which calls councils to prepare their own agenda
based on
the action and concerns of the community with the hope that with
participation
at a local level a positive change will be made to improve quality of
life at a
national and global level (LA21 date unknown). Sustainable development
has to
be at the centre of the strategies developed and implemented by all
areas of
society (LA21 Date unknown) and has the potential to educate and
empower people
as agents of sustainable development (Huckle and Sterling 1996).
Despite this being a significant move
to promoting
sustainable development internationally, nationally and locally, many
thought
that the issues that prompted the summit in the first place were not
being
dealt with by the government; neither the issues themselves nor the
manifestations of them in the UK (Jacobs 1998). In response to this
argument 30
independently constituted UK NGOs joined in a coalition in 1996 called
the
‘Real World Coalition’. The aim of which was to highlight the link of
the organisations
concerned with varying issues such as environmental sustainability,
eradication
of poverty and social justice, and the fact that it was no longer
enough to
tackle one issue in isolation from the wider global context (Jacobs
1998).
Despite criticisms, the agendas from
the 1992 Earth Summit
were further endorsed by the Earth Summit in 2002, continuing to focus
on
education as essential to integrate environment and development issues
into
society; out of this Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
emerged (Hicks
and Holden 2007).
From the 2002 Earth Summit the United
Nations adopted
resolution 57/245 and declared the period 2005 to 2014 as the decade of
ESD
(Little and Green 2009). UNESCO was requested to take leadership over
the
decade of ESD (DESD), and develop an implementation plan for it. The
implementation plan document analyses the evolving nature of
sustainable
development; there are three core dimensions: environment, economy and
society
(King 2008). It aims to promote education as a basis for a more
sustainable
society, and to integrate sustainable development into education at all
levels
and all areas of life (Sterling and Scott 2008); furthermore, it offers
a focal
point on a global scale, providing hope that environmental ideas will
be
effectively integrated with other education disciplines ensuring
positive
implications (Los 2008).
In 1999 the sustainable strategy for
the UK, ‘One Future
Different Paths’ published ‘Quality of Life Counts’ which included
indicators
for a strategy of sustainable development, and provided a base line
from which
assessments of progress might be measured (Quality of Life Counts
2004). An
account of the developments of this strategy is taken in the 2005 UK
strategy
‘Securing the Future’. The domestic and international developments, as
well as
the changes in the structure of the UK government, the delivery of
sustainable
development education at a regional level, and also the new
relationship
between government and local education authorities are discussed in the
publication in terms of a further framework of national common goals
(DEFRA
2005).
In 2006 Lord Stern, Head of the Government Economic Service and
former World Bank
Chief Economist, led a report into the assessment of the nature of the
economic
challenges of climate change and how they can be met nationally and
globally
(OCC 2007). The report assessed a wide range of evidence of the impacts
of
climate change on the economy, and considered the costs and risks from
different perspectives. The conclusions drawn from the evidence were
centered around
the benefits of strong and early action outweighing the economic costs
of not
acting, and that climate change is a serious global issue and requires
urgent
global action (HM Treasury 2006).
The conclusions are reflected in the
GEO4 Global
Environmental Outlook Report (UNEP 2007), that also states that
protecting the
global environment is beyond the capacity of individual countries, and
that
only coordinated international efforts will be sufficient to deal with
climate
change and issues of environmental sustainability (UNEP 2007). The Global Environment Outlook
(GEO) was initiated at the request of UNEP to keep the global
environment under
review; reports, analysis of environmental change, causes, impacts, and
policy
responses provide information for decision-making and raise awareness
on environmental
issues, also providing options for action (UNEP Date Unknown a). GEO 4
is the
fourth report to have been published since the initiation in 1995.
The fourth assessment report (AR4) on
climate change from
the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) was also
published in
2007 (IPCC 2007). The IPCC was set up by the World Meteorological
Organisation
and UNEP to provide an authoritative international statement of
scientific
understanding of climate change (Parry et al 2007). It describes the
progress
in human and natural influences on climate change, observed climate
change,
climate processes, and estimates of projected future climate change
(Parry et
al 2007).
It is clear through these developments
that the increasingly
urgent need for global action to combat the effects of climate change
and human
activity on the natural environment is being taken more and more
seriously by
the international community, governments, NGO’s and local authorities.
However, Sterling and Scott (2008) argue
that
support for ESD by central government is more passive than active, and
that its
not being driven coherently or energetically enough, though there are
various
initiatives being implemented and enforced by the government at all
levels of
society. The next section will consider those developed, and being
implemented
in and through the education system, and how far they are seen to
represent
hope for change towards sustainability.
Educational Developments
In 2002 the United Nations declared
that 2005-2014 would be
the ‘Decade of Education for Sustainable Development’; with the aim to:
“...integrate the values
inherent in sustainable development into all aspects
of learning to encourage changes in behaviour that allow for a more
sustainable
and just society for all.”
(UNESCO 2005:
Online)
Early interests in global matters
started emerging in the
1920’s through the establishment of the World Education Fellowship and
its
journal ‘The New Era’, and also the Council for Education in World
Citizenship
set up by educators in the late 1930’s (Heater 1980, cited in Hicks and
Holden
2007).
The One World Trust was established in
1951 by a group of
Parliamentarians, and soon after its establishment became a separate
charity to
promote research and to educate the public on global developments and
policy (One
World Trust 2008). Along with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on
World
Government (PGWG) in 1959 the One World Trust formed an Education
Advisory Committee
to work on the objective of including a dual focus in education-
national as
well as global (One World Trust 2008).
From the 1960’s onwards a growing
number of new educational
movements emerged internationally. Various issue based perspectives all
developed in different areas of expertise came under headings such as
Global
Education, Environmental Education, Development Education, Peace
Education and
Futures Education (Hicks and Holden 2007).
In 1973 the One World Trust set up the
‘World Studies
Project’ to look at issues of world order; it was funded by the
Department for
Education and Science, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Ministry of
Overseas
Development (Fisher and Hicks 1985). Robin Richardson directed the
running of
conferences attended mainly by secondary school teachers, teachers in
teacher
training, and members of NGO’s; and it was hugely influential in
forming the
basis for a global element in education (Hicks and Holden 2007).
Richardson provided
the first conceptual map of world society including issues such as
poverty,
oppression, conflict and environment.
The schools council and the Rowntree
project legitimised the
field of global education further with World Studies 8-13 (Fisher and
Hicks
1985). The World studies 8-13 project worked with pupils in the middle
years of
schooling and involved in-service work with 50 LEAs (Hicks 2003). The
project,
which defined World Studies as promoting the ‘knowledge, attitudes and
skills
which are needed for living responsibly in a multi-cultural society and
an
interdependent world’ was based on Richardson’s work and was based
around 5
themes: ourselves and others, rich and poor, peace and conflict, our
environment, and the world tomorrow (Hicks 2003).
Education
for sustainable
development was first outlined in chapter 36 of agenda 21 of the 1992
Earth
Summit, and from environmental and developmental education ideas it as
developed since (ESD: Date unknown). The discussion around how schools
would
actively promote the knowledge and skills to become ‘active citizens’
was
focused on in the 1998 Sustainable Development Education Panel (SDEP),
whose
work was recognised in the 2000 revision of the national curriculum
(ESD: Date
unknown). Learning to Last, the governments long term aim for ESD was
outlined
by SDEP in 2003 and covered all areas of education in terms of
objectives to
ensure the professional capacity and adequate resources to allow skills
and
aptitudes to be developed for all citizens to engage in the achievement
of
sustainability (ESD Date unknown).
Using the
objectives outlined, the
Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) published ‘Taking the First
Step
Forward: Towards an Education for Sustainable Development’; which
summarised
findings from inspections of a number of schools, focusing on ESD, and
highlighted examples of good practice found in their reports in
2002-2003 (ESD
Date unknown).
The
Sustainable Development
Commission, the government’s independent advisory body on sustainable
development, published the extension of Every Child Matters, Every
Child’s
Future Matters, in 2007. It discusses the national and international
research
on children’s wellbeing and the environment as well as how
sustainability can
enhance the existing Every Child Matters initiative and highlights the
specific
areas for action as well as proposals for government, local authorities
and
other partners involved in children’s services (Sustainable Development
Commission: Date unknown).
These
developments link in to
those outlined as political developments, but can be seen to be very
much
reflecting the international agendas with regards to the environment
and
education. There have been many other perspectives towards a global
element in
education, such as ‘A Futures Perspective’, exploring temporal
dimensions of
how global issues are effecting, and are effected by, the past, present
and
future, encouraging children to think more creatively and critically
about the
future (Hicks 2003); and ‘Development Education’ supporting teachers
and other
educators who wish to explore the nature of global issues (Hicks and
Holden
2007).
Development
education was a notion
developed on from the 60’s, which progressed through environmental
conservation
in the 60s and 70s,to national and global issues on the 70’s to 80’s,
to issues
of sustainability in the 90s and today (Hicks and Holden 2007). By
considering how
this focus is reflected in the current national curriculum it is
possible to
see whether these developments have had an effect on the practice and
instruction in schools, and to what extent.
Education for Sustainable Development
Education for Sustainable development
aims to redirect
education so that it presents sustainable development as a means to
modify
individual and societal lifestyles towards protecting the environment
and
achieving social equity (Venkatamaran 2009). It is an approach to
learning
which aims to build global citizenship through the consideration of
five global
concepts: interdependence, images and perceptions, social justice,
conflict and
conflict resolution, change and the future (Fountain 1995).
The characteristics and interrelated
primary requirements of
ESD are that it has to be delivered so that it is: contextual,
innovative and
constructive, focused and infusive, holistic, integrative, process
oriented and
empowering, critical, balanced, systematic and connective, ethical,
purposive,
inclusive and lifelong (Huckle and Sterling 1996). It aims to prepare
individuals, groups, communities and governments to live and act
sustainably,
and to give them an understanding of the social, economic and
environmental issues
involved (Hicks and Holden 2007). To this end it calls for a change in
education with the purpose of ensuring a sustainable future; four of
the
thrusts of ESD, therefore are: improving access to quality education,
reorienting existing education programs, developing public
understanding and
awareness, and providing training (Little and Green 2008).
Critique
Despite these outlines in the national
curriculum there are
many who consider ESD as being only passively supported by local
governments,
and as not being driven with the clarity nor energy needed for the
promotion
and maintenance of any real change (Sterling and Scot 2008).
Cutting and Cook (2009) consider the
reports on the progress
of ESD to be at risk of becoming uncritical success stories that are
neither
reviewed nor evaluated, obscuring the failure to provide genuine
insights or
solutions to environmental problems. This could be seen to be an issue
of
effective assessment. Venkataraman (2009) suggests that the lack of
consistent
assessment of environmental education practices and programmes inhibit
effective collaboration between educational researchers to gather
authentic
assessments to inform curricular reform and define the best practices.
Furthermore, with the completion of the OFSTED report of ESD came
questions
about whether ESD can be effectively assessed (Hicks and Holden 2007);
in a
critique of the current national curriculum in terms of its outlines
for ESD,
Chatzifotiou (2009) comments that there are a lack of attainment
targets for
ESD, and perhaps this can be put down to the difficulty in defining how
much
behaviour has been effected.
It is a change in behaviour that ESD
aims to promote and it
is widely accepted that education is vital to a transition to
sustainable
lifestyles and practices (Venkatamaran 2009), however, it also seems
widely
accepted that in order to achieve this aim, and fulfil its potential as
an
agent of change towards a more sustainable society, education needs to
be a
subject of change itself (Huckle and Sterling 1996, Los 2008,
Venkataraman
2009, Hicks and Holden 1995) instead of ESD being added to ‘an already
crowded
curriculum’ (Venkataraman 2009).
Chatzifotiou (2009) considers this to
be the exact case in
national curriculum on ESD. There are two distinct subject areas: the
statutory
guidelines on the subjects that teachers are legally bound to deliver
by law;
and the non statutory subjects that teachers can teach if they have the
time
and resources to do so. The non-statutory subjects include citizenship,
PSHE and
ESD.
An investigation of how these subjects
appear in the
national curriculum can be seen to highlight the implicit encouragement
that
the National Curriculum gives for traditional school subjects, more
than
spiritual, cultural, social and moral (Chatzifotiou 2009). The
statutory
subjects are interested in promoting information based knowledge and
skills, whereas
the non-statutory subject are more values based (Chatzifotiou 2009),
this in
itself suggests where the national curriculum places the value of
education.
Chatzifotiou (2009) suggests that the
optional nature of
these value based subjects reduces the importance of them and teachers
are less
inclined to involve an element of these subjects in their lessons.
Rather than
promoting the complementary nature and inter-relationships of the
statutory and
non-statutory subjects, the difference in focus of the guidelines
relating to
these subjects creates a situation where they are not seen as
complementary
with each other (Chatzifotiou 2009).
Despite the drive for ESD in political
rhetoric and the
global pressure to educate people on the increasing need for action
with
regards to environmental issues, especially outlined in DESD, ESD is
presented
very briefly in the National Curriculum as an extra contribution to the
development of students in order for them to perform in society in
later life.
This is also reflected in the coverage or space that the non-statutory
subjects
get in, not only the curriculum in practice, but also in the guidelines
as they
appear on paper. The predominance of space is given to statutory
subjects, with
detailed and prescriptive teaching requirements, whereas the guidance
offered
for non-statutory subjects are general and quite abstract (Chatzifotiou
2009).
Despite this, brief outlines are
offered as to where the
skills of ESD could be taught in relation to the statutory subjects;
these
references, however, only indicate what subjects have opportunity to
include an
element of ESD without elaborating on how to implement them.
Furthermore, the
language when describing ESD expresses desirable aims rather than
giving a
specific definition of what the terms mean or how to implement them in
the
subject, instead teachers find themselves with suggestions, general
information
and no attainment targets (Chatzifotiou 2009).
In another comment on the national
curriculum reforms with
regards to ESD Sauve et al (2005) suggests that it tends to focus on
providing
students with the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in the
global
market and benefit from economic globalisation, without supporting
critical
enquiry into the cases and consequences of globalisation on the
environment.
This is further exemplified by the analysis of the language in various
recent
ESD documents, within which the word ‘environment’ rarely appears, and
issues
of economic and social dimensions of sustainable development are
expressed as
more important in the curriculum (Sauve et al 2005).
Hicks and Holden (2007) comment that
global issues have been
on the educational agenda for the last thirty years, and that during
this time
there have been numerous educators, internationally, that have
responded to
global issues and contributed their professional expertise to the
development
of teaching and learning in this area. Different perspectives are not
mutually
exclusive, and should be used to further understanding of good
practices in ESD
(Hicks and Townley 1982).
Good practice needs to incorporate
inter-disciplinary, the
hidden or informal curriculum, and the management of school resources
(Hicks
and Holden 2007). Although the national curriculum on ESD can be viewed
as
somewhat deficit, there are resources that have come out of such
perspectives
and expertise to aid educators in an incorporation of ESD in different
disciplines,
different modes of instruction, and the management of resources.
Pike and Selby developed a map of the
field ‘global
education’; based around four dimensions, special, temporal, issues and
human
potential, they developed innovative materials for teachers and ran
regional
and national in service courses (Hicks 2003). Their book ‘Global
teacher,
Global Learner’ arose out of the Worlds Studies Teacher Training
Project that
ran from 1982 to 1985, it provides a detailed description of the four
dimensions and provides ideas for teaching and learning about them, and
surrounding issues (Pike and Selby 1988). A further example of a model
of ESD
is that developed by Steve Pratchett in 1984, and revised in 2004 and
2006. He
proposes a curriculum model to underpin ESD and uses real cases to
exemplify
the uses (Pratchett 2008).
In addition,
Sterling (2001)
offers a review of the meaning of sustainable education, and provides
frameworks relating to the ecological design of education that might
help those
working for change towards sustainability. When participating in WWF-UK
in-service training programmes Sterling comments that it is possible to
see
real change, and a revitalisation of enthusiasm; he considers the gap
between
what education should be like, and what actually happens to best be
closed by a
developing of a model of an aspired-to system of sustainable education.
Further
teaching resources for all
stages of education are available from a wide variety of NGOs. Lesson
plans,
classroom activities and online resources can be accessed and referred
to for
guidance and inspiration for the inclusion of ESD in the classroom. The
DCSF
website (DCSF Date unknown) offers resources for Local Education
Authorities,
Governors, students, communities and teachers. The teaching resources
are based
on the Sustainable Schools National Framework doorways and offer a
number of
different approaches to helping pupils understand the main issues of
sustainable development. Other local and national initiatives from
local
organisations to global ones, and the relative resources developed
through
these movements, are available from Teachernet who provide an A to Z
listing
for easy access to the best practices and schemes for ESD.
Conclusions
It is clear from an outline of the
political and educational
developments that have led to an inclusion of global issues,
specifically
sustainable development, in the national curriculum that there is a
recognition
of the importance of education in the drive to promote sustainable
development
in the international society. However, as it has been seen, many
believe that
despite these intentions, the national curriculum continues to fail to
include
ESD effectively enough to promote real life changes towards
sustainability, locally,
nationally and globally.
The structure of the national
curriculum can be seen to
contradict what it has professed to do in its reform publication. The
language
used to introduce ESD is confusing, the space it takes up in the
curriculum
doesnot reflect the importance it is
claimed to have,and the lack of
attainment targets leads to a lack of due attention. There seems to be
an ‘imperfect
match’ between what the guidelines of the national curriculum claim to
promote
and what they actually allow teachers to deliver in the classroom
(Chatzifotiou
2009).
This is not the only picture that can
be painted, however,
there are many frameworks, initiatives, resources and training packages
that
are directed at teachers including a global element, with a focus of
ESD, in
schools. Some of the examples above show that there are positive
movements
towards resources for teachers to encourage the inclusion of ESD in
their
classrooms, and internationally, it has been reported, there are
positive
movements in education towards the goals and aims expressed in
political and
educational policy (Los 2008).
However, through the investigation of
the developments
globally, and then a focus on how they impact on education in this
country, it
seems that it may not be enough. The severity of the environmental
crisis as it
is reported does not seem to be reflected in the type of action that is
being
taken in relation to education and the national curriculum. If the
concern is
as urgent as it is suggested, and education really is as significant in
this
change as many believe it is (Hicks 2002, Huckle and Sterling 1996,
Hicks and
Holden 2007) then the government needs to take more drastic action. ESD
needs
to be better defined to allow for precise research and assessment; all
levels
of education and society have a vital role to play if real
sustainability is to
become meaningful and mainstream in order to cause real change.
Reference List
Chatzifotiou,
A.
(2009)
An
Imperfect
Match? The Structure of the National Curriculum and
Education For Sustainable Development. Curriculum Journal. Vol.
13,
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