people and planet

I
WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION IS NECESSARY?
It is taken for granted that education of good quality can
help develop citizens who are capable and mindful, which
in turn improves their livelihoods and those of others
around them. But the Incheon Declaration makes clear
that certain knowledge and skills promote sustainable
development more than
others. Not all education
Not all education
brings the same benefits
to everyone. Time, place,
brings the same
situation and context
matter (Harber, 2014).
benefits to everyone.
Time, place, situation
Some scholars suggest
and context matter
that education systems
that focus on preparing
young people for a
lifetime of work and consumption to serve mainly
economic ends have adverse effects (Nussbaum, 2010;
Orr, 1994). They argue that without critical reflection
on the strengths, weaknesses and ultimate purpose of
learning, education systems risk becoming an extension
of an unsustainable globalizing economy. This concern is
powerfully expressed by John Evans, General Secretary
of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD
(2015): ‘There are no jobs on a dead planet.’
Education and lifelong learning can support the SDGs
with at least two approaches. The first tends to focus
on literacy acquisition and retention or on specific
knowledge to generate behavioural change, showing
that education can facilitate changes in values, world
views and behaviour at the level of the individual,
the community and society as a whole. This works
particularly well when agreement exists on common
values and the best and most desirable behaviours,
e.g. the idea that reducing food waste and energy
consumption is important for sustainability and
that people can reduce food waste and conserve
energy at home.
The second approach focuses on the development of
agency, competencies and participation, showing that
education can facilitate reflective or critical learning,
knowledge and skills acquisition, and greater agency
to address complex sustainability issues, e.g. how to
create a sustainable school or a carbon-neutral city.
This is particularly important where uncertainty exists
over what needs to be done or when context-specific
solutions need to be identified through collaborative
and iterative processes. Both education approaches are
complementary for engendering critical learning and
sustainability outcomes (Table 0.2).
The transformation needed for a cleaner, greener planet
requires integrative, innovative and creative thinking,
cultivated jointly by schools, governments, civil society
organizations and companies. This collaboration calls for
education that goes beyond the transfer of knowledge
and desirable behaviours by focusing on multiple
perspectives – economic, ecological, environmental and
sociocultural – and by developing empowered, critical,
mindful and competent citizens. Such education can
contribute to the realization of new forms of citizenship,
entrepreneurship and governance that centre on the
current and future well-being of people and the planet.
TABLE 0.2:
Learning outcomes in education for sustainability
Dimension of sustainability education
Learning to know
Dynamics and content of sustainability
Learning to critique
Critical dimension of sustainability
Learning to bring about change
Change and innovation dimension of sustainability
Learning to be, learning to care
Existential and normative dimension of sustainability
Associated learning outcomes
Sustainability literacy
Systems thinking
An integral view
Understanding of planetary boundaries
Questioning of hegemony and routines
Analysis of normativity
Disruptiveness, transgression
Leadership and entrepreneurship
Unlocking of creativity, use of diversity
Appreciation of complexity
Adaptation, resilience
Empowerment and collective change
Connection with people, places and other species
Passion, values and meaning-making
Moral positioning, consideration of ethics, boundaries and limits
Source: Wals and Lenglet (2016).
2016 • GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING REPORT 11