Different Ideologies influencing our Curriculum Denise Summers February 2008 Some slides taken from a presentation by Dr Stephen Sterling, Centre for Sustainable Futures, UoP,

The socialization function (instrumental - product) To replicate society and culture and promote citizenship Appropriate images

The vocational function To train for employment Influenced by instrumental values – stressing purpose and product Appropriate images

The liberal function (process) To develop the individual’s potential Appropriate images

The transformative function (process) To encourage change towards a fairer society and a better world Influenced by instrinsic values – considers the role of education, it is a good in itself Appropriate images

Sustainable education Is concerned with reconciling all four views, but particularly builds on the last two. It is democratic – seeking to place education with educators, learners and communities, rather than governments and corporations. It upholds the fundamental value and right of equality of opportunity for all. Appropriate image

Sustainable education Is about nurturing and realising inherent potential. Is also acutely aware of the need to educate for sustainability, community and peace in a turbulent and rapidly changing world. Appropriate images

Rough Paradigm Map (Stephen Sterling) Educational paradigm PositivistInterpretivist, Constructivist Critical, radical Participative Role of educator InstructionFacilitationCritical pedagogy/ ‘transform- ative intellectual’ Mediation, mentoring/ ‘invitational’ leadership Curriculum PrescribedConstructivist, Student centred Issues based Indicative, emergent Pedagogy DeliveryTransactionalCritical pedagogy Co-inquiry

Different Views of Education Mechanistic Reductionist view of knowledge Deficit view of learner Transmissive model of pedagogy Ecological Holistic view of knowledge Appreciative view of learner Transformative view of pedagogy

Where We Are Now (dominant ideas) Purpose education as preparation for economic life Policy education as product (courses/qualifications) Practice education as instruction

Where We Need to Go (new ideas) Purpose education for sustainable society, economy and ecology Policy education as process of individual and social capacity building Practice education as participative learning

Shifts in Curriculum, Content and Process From: Curriculum as top- down ‘product’ Fixed knowledge Abstract knowledge Teaching/instruction Few learning styles Passive learning Towards: Curriculum as experience/situated learning Provisional knowledge Real world knowledge Participative learning Multiple learning styles Reflective/active learning

no response accommodation reformation transformation Learning Responses to the Challenge of Sustainability no change green ‘gloss’ serious reform whole system redesign

Comparing Teaching Methodologies/Strategies Constructive/ Constructive/ Transformative / Transmissive Instructive/ Transmissive Strengths Weaknesses StandardisedDeliverableMeasurableFamiliarAssessable Platform for progression Deficit model of learner Superficial, disengaging Who controls? Cognitive/content bias Didactic pedagogy Potential for new knowledge Builds on existing knowledge/skills Learner-centred/whole view Builds capacity Ownership/engagementRelevance More difficult? Assessment/Evaluation? Too open–ended? All process? Leadership/direction?

Responding to Sustainability – regarding what we do now: What is of value that we need to keep? What might need modification? What, if anything, might we need to abandon? What new ideas, concepts, principles, methodologies, working methods, pedagogies etc are needed?

This slide set has been released as part of the OSIER project, which is promoting the use of resources to support the training of practitioners in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship within the curricula of all of the home nations of the United Kingdom. You can find out more about the project on the ‘About’ page of the project repository site, OSIER is part of the second round of the UK OER (Open Educational Resources) programme, funded by HEFCE and administered by the Higher Education Academy (HEA) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The resource forms part of ‘ Outside the Green Box: Embedding Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Training’ by Dr Denise Summers, Johanna Wright, Dianne Dowling, Chris Savory and Ros Spain, and copyright resides with the University of Plymouth. Any images or other materials are original unless stated otherwise. Copyright images may be excluded from the Creative Commons licence described below. See andhttp:// Summers D. (2010) 'Embedding Education for Sustainable Development in Initial Teacher Training in the Lifelong Learning Sector. ' Teaching in Lifelong Learning, Vol 2 (1), The resource is made freely available under Creative Commons licence BY-NC-SA which allows you to use this material for any purpose as long as you: acknowledge the original author do not use it for commercial purposes publish any derived materials under the same licence conditions You can find out more about this licence at: September 2011