So... What Is Education Towards Sustainable Development?

Trying to make sense of the many terms that exist around this subject.

Many of the concepts that matter most in our lives are difficult to explain — try explaining what democracy or justice really is, for example. Often, trying to define a complex concept[1] is not as easy as it looks. But this time, I think we'll manage.

I believe Education Towards Sustainable Development (ESD) is an educational approach grounded in the values and understanding of Sustainable Development (SD), translated into a set of educational practices.

I consider it an approach because it presents a way of organizing educational content and goals. Educational practices are the means through which you put this content into action. It's worth noting that every educational institution needs to discuss how it understands ESD, since, as part of the approach, things must be adapted to each institution and its own context in order to become, and remain, relevant.

In other words, this approach is part of a new outlook on the world, and the expectation is that our children will behave differently than we have. The way we've found to share this new path with them is Education Towards Sustainable Development. It includes and integrates a set of values, skills and knowledge that educators can draw on, and through these practices they can guide students toward this new way of being.

As an educational approach, the student is at the center. The student is not only receiving but also giving. They learn about their own resources and capacities. They take on their challenges and do their best with what they have, taking into account what surrounds them — their environment and society.

Educators do not agree on whether to consider ESD a paradigm or not. Personally, I don't think ESD is a paradigm. I see ESD as an approach to be included across every educational system, as a way for students to understand reality and their surroundings, and as an educational approach to be implemented by educators.

Education Towards Sustainable Development is made up of three parts: Education, the word “Towards,” and Sustainable Development. Education, in this case, is the means; it is a tool for achieving a Sustainable World. Instruction, teaching and education are, in my view, the ways we share knowledge and skills, with the goal of arriving at harmonious behavior in our relationships with the rest of society, the environment and the economy.

The use of “Towards” is not accidental. I could use “about,” or even “for.” Using “about” would mean I'm teaching about something, implying purely theoretical learning. The word “for” could be understood as instruction, but it also defines a goal or purpose. “For” would be my second choice. I prefer “Towards,” and the reason is simple — it's about form, about an ongoing process aimed at reaching a sustainable reality.

Sustainable Development refers to a specific development path, one that weighs 3 + 1 variables: Social, Economic and Environmental, within a specific Cultural framework.[2] This development should “... meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p. 43).

In conclusion, ESD is our path, as educators, to guide future generations away from repeating the same mistakes we and our predecessors have made, and to change human behavior. This integrative approach is an invitation to rethink our paths and to experience a different kind of education.

[1] I promise to talk about 3 + 1 in a future post.

[2] It's complex not because it's difficult, but because it brings different concepts together.