The study of moral reasoning in relation to sustainable development is an emerging field within environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). The vignette method was used to evaluate the perception of the relationship between environmental and social issues in the Dutch upper elementary school children. This case study is placed within two broad areas of tension, namely between the need to address urgent environmental problems and to promote pluralistic democratic learning; and between the value of environment as an economic asset and deep ecology perspective. Results of this study indicate that the children are able to critically think about the moral dilemmas inherent in sustainable development and distinguish between different values in relation to environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2013.12.004 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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With the emergence of education for sustainable development (ESD), robust literature on ethics and ESD has emerged; however, ecocentric perspective developed within environmental ethics is marginalized in current ESDebate. The questions discussed in this article are as follows: Why is the distinction between anthropocentric and ecocentric view of environment salient to ESD? How can this distinction be operationalized and measured? Until now, little has been done to address complement quantitative studies of environmental attitudes by qualitative studies, exploring the sociocultural context in which ecocentric or anthropocentric attitudes are being formed. Neither of existing scales engaged with the interface between environmental ethics and sustainable development. This article will discuss ESD in the context of environmental ethics and present the results of the case study conducted with the Dutch Bachelor-level students. Results of qualitative evaluation of the scale measuring ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes will be presented, and the new Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale will be proposed.
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This article discusses the possibility of integrating deep ecology (DE) and animal rights (AR) perspectives within environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). The focus of this article is on three questions: why are DE and AR not currently central to EE/ESD debates? What is the probability that DE and AR will be central within EE/ESD? What can be gained if they were? Different ethical frameworks in relation to non-humans are examined. Both non-consequentialist and utilitarian approaches suggest that DE and AR could be linked to the conception of underlying duty as well as consideration of utilitarian value. From cultural relativism and subjectivism perspectives, DE and AR could be central to EE, but this possibility is contingent on socio-political and cultural context within which educational practices are embedded. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2014.09.001 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has the ambition to activate learners to engage in societal issues by exploring shifting perspectives on ourselves and our complex world. Educators across University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in the Netherlands are working hard to bring this ambition to life by implementing innovative pedagogies that emphasise transformative learning and empower students to take action to ignite societal transitions. However, both literature and practise have yet to establish educational assessment practise suited to ESD ambitions. This Comenius Teaching Fellow project proposes an innovation in the practise of sustainability education by developing an assessment format crucial to the constructive alignment in ESD. Assessment formats will be prototyped within the transformative course Creating Impact at Breda University of Applied Sciences resulting in two main products: (1) innovative assessment format for Creating Impact, including Implementation Toolkit and (2) a generic Design Toolkit ESD Assessment. The products are directly developed for the outlined context, but contribute to the increased capacity of UAS educators more broadly to embed ESD in educational practise. Future educational forms addressing societal challenges must take into account all aspects of educational design, including assessment, to ensure constructive alignment. By focusing on assessment in ESD, the outcomes of this project are an essential contribution to bridging the gap between ESD theory and educational practice, so that, in the words of the Vereniging Hogescholen, we educate our students to become professionals who help build a new, sustainable society
Dit PD traject beoogt ontwikkeling en inbedding van learning communities voor duurzame ontwikkeling in ecosystemen van onderwijs, onderzoek en praktijk. Werken aan duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen in de transitie naar een duurzame samenleving vraagt andere competenties van professionals, zoals kritisch bewustzijn, empathie, verantwoordelijkheid nemen, toekomstdenken en transdisciplinair werken. Deze competenties worden door hogescholen idealiter in een authentieke leeromgeving ontwikkeld, waarin vraagstukken en dilemma’s rondom duurzame ontwikkeling, kennisontwikkeling op gang brengen. Learning communities (LC’s) zijn zo’n authentieke leeromgeving: groepen waarin studenten, docenten en professionals over grenzen van praktijken heen, samen werken, leren en innoveren naar aanleiding van grote maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Ze worden in dit traject ontwikkeld als een key enabling methodology voor duurzame ontwikkeling. Bij opdrachtgever Saxion en andere hogescholen zijn experimenten gestart met LC’s, die nog niet structureel zijn ingebed in ecosystemen van onderwijs, onderzoek en praktijk. De nog zwakke afstemming van onderwijs op de praktijk van learning communities betekent voor de Nederlandse samenleving een rem op de ontwikkeling van human capital, noodzakelijk voor de transitie naar een duurzame samenleving. Belemmeringen voor de beweging naar ontwikkeling, opschaling en inbedding van LC’s zien we op vijf gebieden: • ondersteunende processen • samenwerking tussen onderwijs, onderzoek en beroepspraktijk • ervaring met ontwerp, begeleiding en evaluatie van LC’s • ervaring met education for sustainable development (ESD) • professionele rol van docenten Dit PD traject hanteert een systemische onderzoeks-en veranderaanpak. Vanuit vier rollen, professional, innovator, onderzoeker en veranderaar, werkt de PD-kandidaat samen met beginnende en best practice LC’s. Middels participatief onderzoek, kennisdeling, veranderkundige interventies, reflectie en bijstellingen, ondersteunt zij hen bij het ontwerp van evidence-informed instrumenten voor de ontwikkeling en inbedding van LC’s in het ecosysteem van hogeschool en praktijk. Het traject mondt na vijf jaar uit in een portfolio met innovatieve bijdragen aan praktijk en wetenschap en een reflectie op de ontwikkeling van de PD-kandidaat
