Learning for Sustainability

Education for Sustainable Development

October 2004

Banner photo: © SEKAI BUNKA PHOTO

Learning for Sustainability

By Ben Hren

Learning for Sustainability is a new term that WWF is using to describe the lifelong learning approaches that advance the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that empower individuals and communities to pursue social justice, economic security, environmental stewardship and civic democracy as complementary goals.

Since 1981, we have supported educators in the U.K. as they pioneered the development of environmental education and more recently education for sustainable development (ESD).

"Early Adopters"

The first innovative practitioners--who social change experts call "early adopters"--embraced new ways of teaching and learning and have influenced all aspects of school life. For these early adopters, the perceived value of a whole school approach to Learning for Sustainability significantly outweighed the school's old way of doing things. And the cost of changing typically was of little concern, as the dedication of these enthusiasts carried them through barriers of all descriptions.

However, these barriers presented insurmountable obstacles for others. At the top of the list was time and funding, along with inadequate classroom resources, limited access to technical ESD support, restrictive school policies, an absence of ESD professional development opportunities, resistance to whole school involvement, and unsupportive school managers.

Inside the "Ecobus," a resource for ESD in the U.K.

Generally speaking, people and institutions will choose to change when the potential benefits of a new approach are understood and outweigh the benefits of the old approach so much that the associated costs of the change are justified.

Since 1994, WWF has supported schools interested in whole school approaches to Learning for Sustainability. These schools have documented their learning in a series of case studies that offer inspired evidence of the value of the new way.

And when it comes to challenging the perceived value of the old way, it cannot be denied that many schools are experiencing social, environmental and economic problems.

Costs of Change

However, if schools are to choose to change, the cost of change must be addressed. There are real costs involved with professional development provision, cover necessary to give teachers the time to develop new approaches to their subject-based work, technical support, classroom resources, and the development of systems to manage, monitor and evaluate whole school approaches to Learning for Sustainability.

We have recently completed a pilot version of a development framework, a participatory tool for whole school self-evaluation and action learning which is supported by training, ongoing technical support, conferences, a small grants program and professional development opportunities. It is also supported by classroom and web-based resources.

Schools face growing challenges to address a full complement of curricular requirements and additional cross-cutting themes. ESD, development education, citizenship, global dimensions and environmental education all are current topics in U.K. curricula--some are statutory and some are not. All offer rich learning opportunities that may be enhanced through an integrated approach.

Learning for Sustainability on the other hand is not a new field of education or simply a crosscutting theme. It is the essence of a whole school or community ethos that helps people of all ages make better sense of their world.

To sum up, Learning for Sustainability is a community-based process that is active, complex, locally grounded and globally placed. And it is a journey whose destination is not a fixed point. Core themes are: Lifelong learning, interdisciplinary approaches, diversity, systems thinking, equity--Learning for Sustainability considers the needs and rights of current and future generations--partnerships forged among educational institutions and the broader community, and a recognition of the fact that there are limits of knowledge as well as elements relating to citizenship and stewardship.

It presents an ongoing challenge to us all.