Education for Sustainable Development: The Path of Future Learning

By+SHI+GENDONG

EDUCATION for Sustainable Development （ESD） is education catering for the future. Facing climate change， environmental deterioration， and other global issues， the education field is striving to integrate the science of sustainable development into teaching and study. The goal is to instill sustainable principles in students habits and thinking， in order to help them better respond to future challenges.

Because future challenges are complex and uncertain， students need to learn critical thinking， cooperation and decision-making， and cultivate the ability to foresee future changes. The ESD aims to replace traditional teaching with participatory learning， encouraging students to explore independently and cooperate to find solutions. This is a reform to exam-oriented education.

ESD was conceived in 1972， when the UN Conference on the Human Environment （UNCHE） in Stockholm highlighted education as a means to address environmental and development problems. In 1987 the UN for the first time defined the concept of sustainable development， and in 1992， the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro recognized the role of education in achieving sustainable development.

In China， a large-scale promotion started in 1998 when the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO established the Chinese National Working Committee for UNESCO Projects on ESD， based at the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences. Later the ESD Research Center of the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences， and Beijing ESD Association were set up. Experts from these institutes are responsible for organizing and coordinating the research and practice of ESD across the country.

In the last 15 years， over 1，000 schools in 17 Chinese provinces， autono-mous regions and municipalities have adopted the ESD concept and teaching methods， which have evidently accelerated their educational innovation and improved teaching quality.

What Is ESD？

ESD was developed in three phases： environmental education （EE）， Education for Environment， Population and Sustainable Development （EPD） and Education for Sustainable Development （ESD）. The three stages reflected peoples growing consciousness on the relations between education and the environment and sustainable development. In 2003， the UN officially launched the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development （2005-2014）， a guiding document for ESD promotion which also represents the agreement of international society. ESD is a new form of education emerging in the era of sustainable development and a necessary task for constructing an ecologically sustainable and developed civilization.endprint

Over the last decade， ESD has gone beyond environmental education and evolved into a system focusing on the values and lifestyle of sustainable development. This education is centered on respect – respect for contemporaries and future generations， for differences and diversity， for the environment and for the Earths resources. Meanwhile， it also attaches great importance to learning capacity， like critical thinking， figuring out solutions and daring to innovate based on tradition. These capabilities are required to realize sustainable development.

ESD can be summarized as： to meet the demands of sustainable development， we should help students to master related knowledge and learning capacity， so that they will embrace and practice the values of sustainable development. Students are expected to participate in solving existing problems， and facilitate the sustainable development of society， the economy， the environment， and culture.

ESD in China

Along with acceptance of the notion of sustainable development， ESD is becoming more familiar to schools， parents and Chinese society as a whole. After 15 years， the progress in Chinas primary and middle schools is remarkable. One of the achievements is cultivating studentssustainable learning ability and values， in contrast with the traditional practice of focusing on academic performance. Students are encouraged to develop their abilities for life-long study and promote the quality of learning and lifestyle for better adaptation to the future.

Putuo District in Shanghai is one of the first national ESD experimental districts. All schools， from primary to senior high， have introduced the new concept to their curricula， and established 36 experimental facilities including museums， farms， laboratories and innovative workshops. Every school determines their research priorities according to their own strengths. They design new models of learning， train students to do research independently as well as collectively. For example， Caoyang Primary School carried out a series of activities on promoting wildlife protection. In addition to classroom teaching， students also visited communities and families to investigate invasive species. The school has signed agreements with Shanghai Zoo and Wild Animals Park whereby students raise and take care of animals themselves. Third grade students， guided by experts and volunteers， conducted independent studies like “the survival environment of giant salamanders，”“how chimpanzees raise their young，”“invasion of the Chamisa，” and “the ABC of swine flu.” These activities broadened students knowledge， and honed their learning ability and sense of creativity.endprint

In 2010， based on the experience of Beijing and Shanghai， the China National Outline for Medium- and Longterm Education Reform and Development （2010-2020） explicitly called on the countrys educational sector to“attach great importance to Education for Sustainable Education.” Since then the ESD concept has been widely and continuously promoted nationwide. In Beijing， for example， many schools have increased ESD content in the curriculum and improved students sustainable learning ability. It teaches students how to collect information， prepare lessons， write reports， evaluate their peers reports， cooperate， and work out solutions.

ESD ideas and practices have helped students explore their potential， and have also changed the habits of many teachers. Dai E is a senior teacher of geography at the Middle School affiliated to Beijing Jiaotong University. In the course of introducing ESD to her class， she found her previous teaching model overturned. “Compared with the conventional teaching method， I see changes happening. Its important to help students master knowledge effectively， but also critical to nurture sustainable learning ability. This enables them to adapt to lifelong study and sustainable development. When calling for sustainable development， we also need to change teaching and study methods！”

Challenges Confronted

However， there are still schools less motivated to join this new trend of education. Many headmasters and teachers still concentrate on exams and scores， and regard ESD as extra-curricular. Local education administrations also fail to give effective guidance on policy and teaching. Furthermore， some education research institutes and experts， due to professional barriers and academic bias， equate ESD with environmental promotion. Lack of media attention contributes to the current situation.

In the last decade， the Chinese National Working Committee for UNESCO Project on ESD has made continuous and allaround efforts. It held training sessions respectively for education officials， headmasters， teachers and researchers. Its expert team went to hundreds of schools to give on-site guidance to teaching and study experiments， encouraging tens of thousands of students to participate in activities relating to climate change， clean energy， sustainable urban development， and cultural diversity. The committee also held 11 large-scale workshops and six sessions of the Beijing International Forum on ESD， which is becoming a platform for Chinese educators to exchange views with their foreign counterparts. Meanwhile， at international conferences the experience of Chinas ESD practice， and educational reforms and innovations in China were also introduced to the rest of the world.

This November the Second UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development will be held in Japan. With the theme “Learning Today for a Sustainable Future，” the forum is seen as a conclusion to the last decade and start of the next five years. ESD is expected to be ushered into a new stage featuring state-of-the-art conceptual design and operating strategy. ESD carries the dream of humans achieving balanced development between society， economy， environment and culture， and sustainable development of humanity itself. Lets work hard together to make the dream come true！endprint