LEARNING TO LEARN
curriculum and assessment , a recent survey by Howard- Jones et al . ( 2021 ) found that the majority of teachers surveyed in England supported an action-based climate change curriculum including issues of global social justice . According to the authors of the British Educational Research Journal ( 2022 ) “ there is a need for policy makers and school leaders to recognise the interests of teachers and young people to enable greater participation in decision making at different scales , and to ensure that those with the greatest capacity bear their burden of responsibility for education for environmental sustainability .” Current education for environmental sustainability across the UK is not adequate and should not be limited to science and geography lessons .
What would it mean to put environmental sustainability at the heart of education ?
Paul Thompson , Head of Geography
A scholarly definition of environmental sustainability refers to a state of balance , resilience , and interconnection , which allows human society to meet its requirements without causing harm to the ecosystems and biodiversity ( Morelli , 2011 ; Rafiq et al ., 2022 ).
Sustainability in the curriculum in practice
The extent to which sustainability features in practice , however , is not well understood , and in the upper secondary years ( 14 – 19 ) it is likely that assessed content featured on examination specifications is prioritised . In England , the environment features in the national curriculum for design and technology , geography and the sciences ( with no references to sustainability ) and in a recent review of environmental education policy in England , Glackin and King ( 2020 ) found that there was limited attention to education for the environment ( as opposed to education about or in the environment ) in national educational policy and assessment specifications . Despite this minimal treatment of the environment and sustainability in
Contemporary national and international youth movements such as Teach the Future and Fridays for Future have drawn attention to the inadequacies of current education in the face of the current , real , climate crisis . # FridaysforFuture has seen over 1.6 million young people taking part in climate strikes across the world ( Fisher , 2019 quoted in Dunlop et al 2022 ) asking ‘ why should we spend the time and effort on an education , when our governments are not listening to the finest scientists ?’. Amongst teachers , there is broad agreement that students should be taught about climate change , its implications for environments and societies around the world , and how these implications can be addressed ( YouGov , 2019 quoted in Dunlop et al 2022 ). Fazey et al . ( 2020 ) have argued that formalized knowledge systems ( including education systems ) are currently failing humanity in the context of climate change . As the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe ( UN , 2012 , p . 6 quoted in Dunlop et al 2022 ) has observed : Education often contributes to unsustainable living . This can happen through a lack of opportunity for learners to question their own lifestyles and the systems and structures that promote those lifestyles . It also happens through reproducing unsustainable models and practices .
How can education which supports or enables environmental sustainability be achieved from where we are now ?
There are three key ways in which environmental sustainability can be put at the heart of education , these are manifesto making , working with charities and through the use of campaigns .
Manifesto making
The authors of the British Educational Research Journal ( 2022 ) describe how teachers and young people from across the UK were brought together to create a manifesto for education for environmental sustainability . The argument is that given the urgency of the climate crisis , there is a need to interrupt the
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