Understanding Sustainability The Understanding Sustainability content strand outlines the need for whole school and community education and engagement with sustainability. Global issues such as climate change, water shortage, rising cost of resources have a direct impact on the ecosystem socially, economically and environmentally.
Moral & Ethical Decision Making
Social Justice & Sustainability
Building Preferred Futures
Understanding Sustainability
Education for Sustainability (EfS) is grounded in three basic understandings:Education - about the environment where we focus on students’ understanding of important facts, concepts and theories.
- in the environment which involves students in direct contact with the natural world to develop awareness, affinity and care for the environment.
- for the environment where we aim to promote a willingness and ability to adopt life styles that are compatible with the wise use of environmental resources and minimising impacts on the natural and social world. Primarily the function of Education for Sustainability is to influence teaching and learning to develop and extend skills and knowledge, promote, investigate, analyse and ultimately change practice in people. This is necessary to develop a new ‘mindset ‘for environmental protection, sustainable use of the world’s natural resources and social justice. Over the past four decades Education for Sustainability has developed around eight Key Principles: Transformation and change Education for all and lifelong learning Systems thinking Envisioning a better future Critical thinking and reflection Participation Partnerships for Change Relationships with the natural world These principles are based on the view that people need to know, both how to act and what to act upon, as well as why they should act towards a more sustainable future. Refer to Page 31 for Principles of Education for Sustainability Descriptors
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