Transcript MS-Power-Point - Asia-Europe Classroom Network

Promotion of Sustainable
Development within the school
community – have we done enough?
Presentation at 8th Asian-Europe Classroom Network (AECNET) Conference 26-30 October, Sønderborg, Denmark
By
Soren Breiting
Research Programme for Environmental and Health Education,
DPU – Aarhus University, Copenhagen
Photos: Breiting/ www.azfotos.com
In short
Promotion of Sustainable
Development within the
school community – have
we done enough?
Short answer:
NO!!!
And we will in the coming
decades (!) see a revolution
in the educational systems
as a consequence of
’The impact of Climate
Change and Sustainable
Development within the
School community in Asia
and Europe’ and elsewhere
in the World
The main reason
Because our children and
youngsters will grow up in a
world
-
With issues of development
constanctly around them as a
challenge (not only related directly
to climate change)
-
With all countries with a need for
having empowered and critical
citizens capable of engaging in
small and large issues related to
change also outside their immediate
areas of material interests and able
’to think for themselves’
Not teaching the future - but teaching for the future
International Alliance of Leading Educational Institutions (IALEI)
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Korea, Singapore, UK, USA, South Africa
www.intlalliance.org
Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Response from
Education
Recommendations and reports to be presented the 11. December 2009 in Copenhagen
as a site event to COP15
Three overall recommandations, published in August 2009:
* To develop education that provides citizens with competences to actively manage
sustainable development.
* To integrate climate change within Education for Sustainable Development
* To improve conditions for interdisciplinary learning, provide teachers with the necessary
competences and transform Education for Sustainable Development from a low
priority to a high priority dimension.
Læssøe, J., Schnack, K., Breiting, S. & Rolls, S. (2009):
Climate Change and Sustainable Development: The Response from Education
- A cross-national report from International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes
Climate Change Education is best viewed
as an important part of ESD
A focus on the changing
climate is urgent but
it is also important
to realize the full
complexity of issues
related to
sustainable
development
Climate change is fine
to address in
science but that
isn’t enough
Climate Change Education (CCE)
to support Science Education ?
• Absolutely a good idea.
• To focus on climate
change can motivate
students and help bring
the teaching into a
meaningful context.
• Students recognize the
importance of the
scientific concepts,
data and scientific
methods for their future
living conditions.
Interdisciplinary Physics, Chemistry, Biology,
Geography and Geoscience
• The Changing climate and
the mechanisms involved
offer a rather unique
opportunity to integrate
difference areas of the
natural sciences in a
stimulating way for students
• The natural systems are
connected
• This will strengthen the
learning of SCIENCE
To know some of the basic mechanism are
important for everyone
And this curve should be
understood by all, too
- Not least couppled to the rising
sea level
Many atempts to engage youngsters in
such issues but people are failing
’Diagnose’
The students are forced to become involved by a catastrophy vision
The students are forced to solve problems of others
Their thoughts and concerns aren’t respected
Students aren’t getting insight into what people are concerned about
The students aren’t getting any experience in doing real actions (only in
doing ’activities’)
But !!!!!!!!
• If we want our students to grow up to be
knowledgeable and active, critical citizens
we need
to convert
• Climate Change Education into
• Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD)
Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD)
• Education that takes up questions related to sustainable
development to foster
• critical, engaged and responsible citizens capable of dealing with
complex and controversial issues of importance for local and global
development and for living conditions of present and future
generations
• alone and together with others.
The Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development
• United Nations Decade for
ESD 2005-2014 ( DESD)
• UNESCO is the responsible
UN agency
• Mid-term conference in Bonn
in spring 2009 with Bonn
Declaration
• GOAL: a more sustainable
and just society for all.
The role of the Government
•
The role of the government is to
provide clear guidance to the
importance of ESD including CCE as
ESD (Ref. Alliance)
•
To fully support the UN Decade for
Education for Sustainable
Development
•
To promote innovative teaching and
participatory learning in ESD
•
To understand the needed
democratic perspectives of ESD
•
To avoid seeing schools as rather
simple systems to pull in a wished
direction for issues the society and
political system aren’t capable of
solving !
We need independent citizens as a result of ESD…
• Because the whole field of ’sustainable
development’ is a heavy complex
(hyper complex) area with a lot of
conflicts
• As already clear from any interpretation
of the definition of SD:
• "development that meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of
future generations to meet
their own needs".
Brundtland Commission (1987)
ESD is anthropocentric
• Of cause education
for sustainable
development has to
be anthropocentric
• (having the focus on
humanity)
• because it is about
the stewardship of
our home the planet
for present and
future generations
• BUT
• - ESD isn’t egoistic
Our growing population on the Planet
Unequality will always be an issue in development
Development has to build on local
communities
Without a democratic
basis for development
it will not be possible
to go for a more
sustainable way
because the many
choices are complex
and with lots of
conflicts between
needs and wishes
Vulnarable ethnic groups and difficulties with integration often generate
poverty, marginalization, prostitution and illegal affairs,
instead of respect and dignity
The market and economy – money is the measure
•
The market forces aren’t as
visible as in the traditional
markets but the mechanisms are
more or less the same and the
power is enormous.
Power relations are important:
For who shape the future ?
and
Who will benefit from the development ?
- Not all power relations are as visible
as these
Keep a critical eye on the situation
Education or
specific sustainable behaviour modification ?
• All kinds of general education should be seen in a long perspective
– not as a solution to present days’ problems the society of adults
isn’t capable to handle.
• Education has education as the short-term goal, but will benefit
development in the long run
• For ex. more sustainable development
Education for empowerment
Unfortunately
• A goal of empowerment goes very badly together with a
narrow behaviour modification approach in teaching
• But an empowerment strategy will be the winner in the
long run
Empowering for more sustainable
development through education
• In our Danish tradition we will call it to enhance the
action competence of the students
And at the same time build
• A feeling of ownership to development issues (mental
ownership)
Outcomes of The Action Competence Approach
• Enhanced belief in own influence and own capacity
• Optimistic view on life and the world
• Knowledge of problems
• Knowledge of approaches to solutions
• Exprience with becoming influential
• Knowing the strength of co-operation
(= Enhanced Action competence)
Where to start? In Nature ???
Where to start? In the society ???
Where to start with an ESD sequence
•
Start with people and their
concern, wishes, expectations
and ideas about the future.
•
It can be other people or the
students themselves, - or
• Investigations of other people
--------------------------------------------•
With Climate Change
Education include the science
concepts etc. when they
become functional in
understanding the situation
and the mechanisms behind
in connection to people’s
concern etc..
Class work: Investigating the use of
a local natural resource
Preparation in class:
Focus on a ‘natural resource’
e.g. for ENERGY – prep for group work
Outdoor in the community:
1. Groups interview older people
in the community about how
the resource was used
in older days and their feelings
2. Interview active people in
the community about the same
resource: How is it used today?
Which problems are there etc.
3. Ask all for their expectations
for the future related to this resource:
What do people expect to happen?
What would they LIKE to see happen?
Back in class:
Back in class:
Groups elaborate on their findings:
Summarizing their interviews
Groups elaborate on their
own observations:
Summarizing their
own impressions
Each student group
prepares
4 big drawings / Posters
Drawing the community
concerning the selected resource through time
Back in class:
Pictures showing
The use of this resource
in the community in old days
Before
Development
The use and problems
with the resource today
Which
future?
Future 1
We expect
Now
Future 2
We hope
(and might
act for)
Sustainable development is essential about:
• That actions and activities are influencing our future and
• How other people's living conditions are now and in the future
But we have alternatives and choices
daily and political
The Past
Now
Different futures
Which future
do we want ?
Sustainable development needs democratic participation
So does Education for Sustainable Development
Advantages with this approach. 1
• We are not telling youngsters what to think, but
how to dig into problems related to development
and use of resources
• We help youngsters to see the complexity of
development issues
• We help empower youngsters for
ACTION COMPETENCE
Advantages with this approach. 2
• The youngsters will get a lot of personal experienced
information from the people (old and younger) they meet
– supporting their ‘episodic memory’
• They will be able to link short-term and long-term effects
of change (essential dealing with sustainable
development)
• The results from their investigation are visualized in such
a way to make it easy for linking the concrete content to
conceptual development
Advantages with this approach. 3
• It generates plenty of possibilities for being in interaction
with local people of different background and with
different interests related to the natural resource in
focus.
• It is a good background for learning to be influential
related to own ideas
- supporting their action competence
Which teacher do you think will best be able to
enhance the action competence of the students?
Results from this approach
• Youngsters’ real actions related to real
environmental problems they have identified
themselves are of immense importance
• They develop a higher level of interest in
developmental problems
• They develop more belief in own influence
The role of the teacher
• Anyway the teacher has to see herself / himself as
• ’the organizer of the students’ learning processes’
Results from EE development in Hungary
• When students work without being ‘behaviour modified’
they become
– More optimistic
– More concerned about their own possibilities
– More participatory
From Breiting & Csobod
What is the most important
ressource in education ???
• The teacher
• The text books
• TV and other media
• The computer and computer programmes
• The classroom and its atmosphere
• The pedagogy
• Time
When less is more in education
• We can drown our students and youngsters in
information about all kinds of aspects related to what
sustainable development could mean – and what isn’t
sustainable.
• But this will easily function as information overload
• Conclusion: Work more in depth with a real issue and
give time and space for all the complexity and the helpful
stimulants to excite the students in this issue by having
time to investigate reality and to act upon their findings
and goals
Sunset or sunrise for Sustainable Development
in Education ?
Perspectives for ESD, based on our
experience
•
In short-term-perspective ESD is best
seen as a 100% educational
challenge
•
In the long run ESD should become
an important contribution to less
un-sustainable development
•
In the ESD approach:
Easier to identify what is not
sustainable than what is sustainable
•
How to see Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) as more than
just ‘learning something’
–
–
–
Democratisation – Action competence
/empowerment
Renewal / innovation
Mental ownership to development
issues
How it works
Through the focus on working with real
participation related to development issues the
participants:
• Improve their understanding of the issues, their
complexity and urgent matters
• Improve their action competence related to such
issues
• Develop mental ownership to such kind of issues
Mental Ownership
•
“… the more involvement and effort to achieve a certain change, process or
outcome in a situation, the higher the level of mental ownership (is) possible
for those involved.
•
Theoretically, we can imagine a full continuum of levels of mental
ownership, from very low by not having being involved at all, to very high by
being the sole person that has decided everything and done everything
alone.
•
Furthermore, it is assumed that the level of mental ownership influences a
person’s future engagement and motivation in situations involving the
‘thing(s)’ or situations, to which the person feels ownership.”
(Breiting 2007)
List of aspects to take into account to
support ownership
•
If all involved participate in the goal setting or strategy formulation,
etc.
•
If all concerned are regarded as “equal” partners in the process.
•
If all have a direct interest in the changes.
•
If those involved give input to the process.
•
If they can find their “fingerprint” in the final outcome.
•
If they receive some form of recognition for their contribution to the
process.
(After Breiting, Imene & Macfarlane: Life Science Project Midterm Review. 1997).
How to create engagement
• Participation  (generates) Ownership
• Ownership  (generates)  Participation
• --------------------------------------------------------The self-enforcing mechanism:
Participation  Ownership  Participation  Ownership Participation 
Outcomes of a participatory approach that
generates high levels of mental ownership
• The participants are much more satisfied with their
involvement and the process.
• The innovations are much more sustainable because all
stakeholders will tend to care for them in the future,
including being able to adapt them to future changes and
feel proud about them in general.
• The innovations are much more relevant and well
adapted to local concerns and circumstances and
become integrated in stakeholders thinking and doing.
In addition we might expect
• That innovations are more diverse.
• That the innovations are less complicated.
• That people’s empowerment in general is strengthening with a
transfer effect to other matters/issues.
• That people’s co-operation around similar future problems will be
more probably.
• That the innovations strengthen local self-esteem and ‘survival skills’
and make people more robust to future challenges.
Quality Criteria for ESD schools
• Inspiration for schools that want to take
sustainable development seriously
• Helping to avoid serious mistakes
forgetting real participation
• Making a focus on ESD as a way to
develop the whole school
•
Download publications:
www.ensi.org/Publications/ENSI_publications/
Useful web addresses for ESD and CCE
•
•
•
•
Teacherscop15.dk is the teachers' website on climate issues
http://www.teacherscop15.dk
Climate Change Education – a web portal
http://www.climatechangeeducation.org
Global Worming Kids net http://globalwarmingkids.net
:
Quality criteria for ESD schools
http://seed.schule.at/uploads/QC_eng_2web.pdf
From http://seed.schule.at
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
HSBC Eco-Schools Climate Initiative
http://www.climatechangeeducation.org
ENSI.org
ActionCompetence.com
Environmental-Education.net
EducationForSustainableDevelopment.com
Consumer Citizenship Network: http://www.hihm.no/concit/
FOR DANES: Report from 4 schools working with ESD, see www.TUBU.dk
– KlimaUndervisning: http://klimaundervisning.dk
We can all learn from each other!