REPORT OF UNESCO EXPERT MEETING ON - APCEIU

integrated into an already crowded curriculum. Clearly, transformation, and not integration, would be a better
approach.
Educational change is the responsibility of the school, while social change is the responsibility of educated or
informed individuals, societies and governments. The role of ESD is to be a vehicle for change in society.
Therefore, ESD has to impart knowledge, values and skills for learners to make informed decisions and to take
responsible actions.
NGOs, other professionals and religious leaders may play a role in ESD. Training for teachers, including preservice
and in-service teacher education, is needed to provide information on how to benefit from the experience
of experts and other institutions. School principals, policy makers and education leaders also need to be reached,
in both a bottom-up and top-down approach. Similarly, in communicating with the media, politicians,
professionals, businesses and society at large, a clear focus about the scope of the tasks would be most helpful.
The ESD strategy should seek to reach school-based educators and to prepare them to adapt ESD in ways that are
appropriate in their own social and cultural contexts.
The lessons learned from the HRE global action plan may be useful for ESD. Nonetheless, since HRE
accommodates different notions of identity and relationship, it is often perceived to be individualistic and
inappropriate in indigenous and collectivist societies. Strategies to address collective rights in ways that are that
are culturally appropriate are critical. Thus, a needs-based approach to ESD that addresses the requirements of
marginalized groups and differential, power relationships is recommended.
APEID has to develop a strategic plan to implement ESD systematically, encouraging collaboration that builds on
existing initiatives, synergies and complementarities of the efforts from a range of partners throughout the region.
Session III: Teacher education and ESD
Rosalyn McKeown outlined the consultative process for the development of the “International network of
teacher-education institutions” in the Asia and Pacific region. A survey was conducted and guidelines developed
for reorienting teacher education to address sustainability. Since ESD cannot be imported from another cultural,
economic or geographical region, a one-size-fits-all model would not work. The design criteria for ESD and the
guidelines are therefore based on local needs, and accommodate the evolving nature of the concept of
sustainability. While understanding of the four thrusts of ESD is shared, the guidelines for teacher education must
be tailored for each institution and must reflect the national and local sustainability goals. The lessons learned
from the project include the need to use the vocabulary of the audience, linking their strengths and passions to
sustainability, and to present ESD as a solution to an existing educational issue. Teacher education should be
revised to include ESD, working with the ministries of education (MoEs) to make ESD a mandatory part of
elementary and secondary education at national and provincial levels.
In “Towards peace and sustainable development through teacher education: some examples from Oceania,”
Konai Thaman addressed the geographical, cultural and linguistic challenges in addressing ESD in the Pacific
and the role of the UNESCO Chair at University of the South Pacific (USP) in promoting culturally inclusive
curriculum development and teacher education, encouraging learning from indigenous education and capacity
building for indigenous scholars and researchers. Since the three aspects of ESD – economy, environment and
social – are not separated in indigenous epistemology, it is necessary to constantly translate the concepts into the
vernacular. In the Oceania, sustainable development is about cultural survival and continuity based on ongoing
strengthening and nurturing of interpersonal and inter-group relationships. Cultural perceptions of peace and
sustainable development are important for teacher education. Educating for peace and sustainable development is
about strengthening teachers and teacher educators’ capacity to contextualize their work by raising their
awareness of Pacific cultural values and knowledge systems.
The lessons learned from three key projects in ESD in the Asia and Pacific region were outlined in John Fien’s
“A tale of three projects: success and failure in professional development in teacher education for ESD.” He
measured success by whether or not projects continue and may therefore be considered sustainable:
• Teaching for a sustainable world includes a list of topics that teacher educators may adapt and change.
The online version can be easily updated and adapted to the cultural context.
• Learning for a sustainable environment is a professional development guide and resource for teacher
educators. A process is needed to assist teacher educators in developing their pedagogical methods to
train teachers beyond just helping the students pass their exams.
• Teaching and learning for a sustainable future is a multimedia teacher education programme which
facilitates self-learning and aims to model what can be done in the classroom. The programme has not
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