“Eclectic relationship between Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development: evolution, relevance and further questions Prof. Michael Scoullos MIO-ECSDE & GWP MED Chairman Member of HELLENIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE for ESD, GREECE 4th International Conference on Environmental Education November 2007 Ahmedabad, India

Background of Environmental Education (EE)  Philosophical background of the relationship between man and the world; evident also in literature MAN Natural Manmade Cultural ENVIRONMENT spiritual

Environmental Education (EE) Earth “Spaceship” (limits to growth) Environment Human overstructure: society, economy, institutions, etc.

1960s & 1970s: Introduction of EE An alternative approach to the environment but also to education  its explicit aims were often concerned with stimulating a sense of individual responsibility for both the natural and manmade aesthetic/cultural environment, based on general ecological principles and knowledge of the scientific bio-geo-chemical cycles and a observation of a series of impacts of human activities on them.

 Limits to Growth Report _ Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (1972)  Belgrade (1975) & Tbilisi (1977) documents on EE emphasized the need to build knowledge, acquire comprehension & decision making skills and adopt values & attitudes which could protect the environment.  “about” (knowledge), “in” (in direct contact with reality), “for” (commitment in favour of) the environment First steps of EE

Multi-disciplinarity Inter-disciplinarity chemical geological biological Bio-geo-chemical EE Characteristics: open * learner-centered * Mutli- and inter-disciplinary * experiential

During the 80’s & 90’s  “Unbalanced” evolution of EE in the various countries.  Ideological and other constrains in implementation  Moscow Congress on EE & Training (1987): more emphasis on the gender issue, health, poverty & peace.  Endeavours to effectively tackle the environmental problems based on reliable scientific research.  The precautionary principle.  Introduction of a series of “targeted” forms of education i.e. Education for Development, Global Education, Education for Peace and Human Rights, Education for Women, Education for Citizenship.

Environment Ecology Economy Society Sustainable Development The Rio UN Conference on Environment and Development 1992 Chapter 36, Agenda 21

Environment Ecology Economy Society Sustainable Development EE to where?? The Thessaloniki International Conference (1997): EE only to support environmental protection or having a broader role?

Environment Ecology EconomySociety Sustainable Development Expansion of EE => Education Education for Environment & Sustainability (EfES) The Thessaloniki International Conference on Environment & Society (1997) result:

ECONOMYSOCIETY ENVIRONMENT An attempt to define SD as the common place of the three components. This scheme asks that all three are satisfied in the same degree simultaneously! Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development

after Thessaloniki  The ERA-21 campaign and other initiatives  Bali 2002 Preparation meeting of WSSD  WSSD Johannesburg 2002 ESD and the Decade for ESD (UNESCO as the lead agency)

Education Environment Society Economy The evolution after WSSD (2002): Sustainable Development as a pyramid

Governance Environment Society Economy …considering that Education is one of the basic elements of the overall Governance needed..

…turning the previous figure… Environment Governance Society Economy

The components of Governance Governance Institutions Technology Education

Economy Institutions Environment Society Education Technology Governance The model of Sustainable Development as a double pyramid. In the lower part are the components/tools through which SD could be approached.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Economy Institutions Environment Society Culture Technology Areas that need “change” or reconsideration in order to achieve SD

 The abatement of poverty, exclusion, racism, ignorance, oppression and war should be understood equally at the heart of a global culture for sustainable development as is the oppression of languages, customs and artistic heritage.  Culture is the framework of governance and all human overstructures including science and technology.  Culture includes elements to be maintained and preserved and elements to be radically changed

The spectrum of areas that need reconsideration, change Conservation Stabilisation of “roots” Complementation Adaptation Total reconstruction reconsideration

Appropriate environment = the prerequisite to maintain the tree DEVELOPMENT EE: Attention to the ENVIRONMENT ! EΕ: Caring for the ENVIRONMENT in order to maintain the tree FROM

 Computers, Internet, the rapidly growing impacts on the planet by pollution, on one hand, and globalisation of the economy on the other, resulted in the shrinking of our planet and require reorientation of the focus of our Education  Within this framework EE evolves in ESD

ΕSD Attention to the use and distribution of the fruit (SOCIETY) DEVELOPEMNT ESD: Attention to the Environment ! ΕSD Attention is given to the fruit: pruning,etc. (ECONOMY) ΕSD: Caring for the tree in order to have the tree & sustainable production of fruits Attention to the Environment, Society & Economy TO

ESD Characteristics & Principles - By nature, an evolving and dynamic concept seeking to balance human and economic welfare for the present and future generations with cultural values and respect for the environment and the earth’s natural resources. - Aims to empower all people of all ages to develop the appropriate knowledge and skills; to adopt attitudes and values and shape behaviours towards sustainable development in order to assume responsibilities for creating a sustainable future.

- A cross-cutting field, embracing Environmental Education, Education for Development, Global Education, Education for Peace and Human Rights, etc. poverty - Key Themes : poverty, citizenship, peace, democracy, security, human rights, social and economic development, health, gender equity, cultural diversity, functioning and protection of the environment and natural resources, sustainable production and consumption patterns. ESD Characteristics & Principles

ESD approach on the topic of poverty

Transdisciplinary and holistic approach Learners centred Values – driven Promoting critical thinking & problem-solving Employing a variety of educational methods Promoting participatory decision-making Forward looking promoting medium and long- term planning Locally relevant At the same time, be humble vis a vis nature and the “absolute” knowledge which is endless ESD Characteristics & Principles

Socrates, Greek philosopher “…the one I know is that I know nothing”

Platon, Greek philosopher Gnosis (knowledge) Doxa (critical thinking, interpretation, ets.) Praxis (action)

Platon, Greek philosopher  Human nature is good.  Education helps to increase knowledge (gnosis) and exercise critical thinking (doxa) to act properly, do good (praxis)

Aristotelis made important observations on learning pertinent to modern times. i)Knowledge & education “hurts”. The more you know and the more you are educated the more questions and dilemmas you may have ii)Knowledge and education do not change the human nature. “Acrassia”, the inertia and lack of appropriate praxis (action). We know what should be done but we do otherwise. People are still confronted with the same problems. Aristotle, Greek philosopher

Key further questions  What is realistically feasible to be included in a curriculum to satisfy the goals of ESD and at what level?  There is a need for balance between knowledge of facts, laws of nature, knowledge of processes and exercise on processes:  Learning to know  Learning to live together  Learning to do  Learning to be

Key further questions  How to deal with higher degree of volatility, vulnerability and complexity in the future?  How to deal with rapid increase of data that need to become “knowledge”?  How to deal with uncertainty?  How to contribute in building and operating robust institutions able to manage risk and reduce vulnerability?

Key further questions  One “problem” with ESD is its “dynamic” character. It shows the direction, it points towards a better world. However, this dynamism allows sometimes for misconceptions, misunderstandings, and arbitrary interpretations.

Challenges related to ESD To avoid that and to provide a concrete response to the UN DESD the UNECE initiative on ESD was undertaken.

UNECE’s Initiative on ESD  Green light for the development of a UNECE regional Strategy on ESD during the 5 th Ministerial “Environment for Europe” Conference, (Kiev, 2003).  Drafting was a challenging exercise for everybody: Environment and education ministries, UNESCO, NGOs and other stakeholders through a participatory process.  Result: “Strategy on ESD” Adopted in high level meeting (Vilnius, 2005)

UNECE Strategy on ESD GOAL: to encourage the 56 developing and developed countries of the vast UNECE region (and beyond) to develop and incorporate ESD into their formal education systems, in all relevant subjects, as well as in non-formal and informal education and to serve as a flexible framework in order to be adapted to each country’s priorities, specific needs and circumstances. KEY THEMES of SD to be incorporated in all education systems: poverty alleviation, peace, ethics, democracy, justice, security, human rights, health, social equity, cultural diversity, economy, environmental protection, natural resource management.

INDICATORS of the Implementation of the Strategy  They reflect both aspects of the mandate: “the implementation” as a process, and “the effectiveness of the implementation”, as a qualitative feature of the process and the outcome.  Not to be seen as a stand alone tool, but rather within a comprehensive implementation framework  Nature of Indicators: Quantitative (absolute figures or ratios) & Qualitative (description or rating)  Baseline data: Current situation per country (as of 1 st Jan. 2005)

Types of indicators  “Checklist/baseline indicators” give info on initial policy, legislation, regulatory & governance measures in order to implement the Strategy (e.g. if a coordinating mechanism is in place, translation of the Strategy into national language, etc.)  “Input indicators” give info on a broader spectrum of activities for the implementation of the Strategy (e.g. amount of public authority money invested in the ESD materials, etc.)  “Output indicators” give info on the results of the aforementioned activities (e.g. number of businesses involved in ESD projects, ratio of trained to non trained educators).  “Outcome indicators” give info on the possible impact of the implementation of the Strategy, in particular its qualitative aspect in terms of values, attitudes and choices in favour of SD (e.g. learning outcomes resulting from ESD partnerships, community-based projects and business involvement). (not developed yet)

Challenges related to ESD: how to allow learners to overcome the tensions & find balance between: GlobalLocal UniversalIndividual TraditionModernity Competition Equality of opportunities Rapid expansion of data & knowledge Human brain capacity to assimilate information SpiritualMaterial