Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

From personally relevant experienceto action research for sustainable educationIlga Salte, Inga Gedžne and Ginta Gedžne, Institute of Sustainable Education, LatviaThe origins of the Institute of Sustainable Education (ISE)can be traced back to 2003, when a group from the Facultyof Education and Management (Daugavpils University,Latvia) founded it as a scientific research structural unit of theFaculty. The founders of the Institute sought to establish a platformfor scientific inquiry which has now become a globallyrecognised institution, working in international cooperation onreorientation of teacher education to address sustainable developmentand development of educational research for educationfor sustainable development (ESD).There were three historical preconditions for the establishment ofISE as a research and academic learning environment in order toseek insight into ESD:• From its establishment (1996), the Faculty accumulated experiencein action research that was used as a basis for programmedesign and development of a holistic approach to educationalresearch• The Institute’s staff had personal and professional interest in ahighly developed inquiry into reorientation of teacher educationto address sustainable development, which was especiallystrengthened after the Faculty’s involvement inthe global UNESCO University Twinning andNetworking Programme (UNITWIN) teacher educationproject (2000)• Establishment of the Institute was accepted by itsstaff as a unique opportunity to realise their mission– participation in the creation of new knowledgethat would make education more sustainable witha focus on seeking wisdom about how to live inharmony with the world.When the Faculty shifted its focus to environmentaleducation, sustainable development and teachereducation for sustainable development, the next stepwas to broaden the research methodology from mainlyquantitative studies, adopting an orientation towardsaction research. In recent years, action research carriedout in the Institute has been based on learning fromlived experience and reflection on personally relevantexperience. It has permitted the development of trustin the group’s ability to learn and find insights for theImages: © Ilga SaliteLatvia’s Institute of Sustainable Education at UNESCO World Conference onESD, 2009, Bonn, GermanyAgreement to hold the Eighth JTEFS/BBCC conference atUNESCO headquarters in Paris, France[ 95 ]