Order Description
EDU20005: Sustainable Education Perspectives
Assessment 2: EssayWord limit: 2000 (+/- 10%)
Weighting: 30%
Due date: 9am AEST 5 September 2016 (Week 8)
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Assessment overview
For this assessment you are required to write a 2000-word interpretative essay. Your discussion should be based on research-based evidence, and thus you are required to integrate evidence from scholarly sources to support your argument.
This task is assessing your ability to demonstrate that you meet the criteria for the following unit learning outcomes. Students will be able to:
summarise the scope and purpose of educating for a sustainable future
analyse the concept of ecological literacy and articulate the benefits and limitations of being eco-literate.
Assessment details
You are required to write an essay about ‘Ecologising Education’ that specifically addresses the following:
It could be argued that when one thinks deeply about the future, that this thinking provides possibilities to change behaviour in the present. With that in mind: analyse and discuss the benefits and limitations of ecologising education now, and in the future.
Throughout the essay you will:
Consider the value of ecologising education and teaching sustainable perspectives.
Discuss the potential benefits and limitations of becoming eco-literate for teachers and young people.
Summarise what you believe can be achieved in education in primary and early childhood, now and in the future.
You must demonstrate clarity and understanding of the topic and offer interpretation of the issues and implications together with a very high level of scholarship. Presentation, format and structure must be of a professional standard. Refer to the resources below for some guidance on how to structure and use references correctly in your essay.
Additional resources
The following resources will help you meet the submission, format and referencing requirements of this assessment.
Tips for preparing and submitting assessments
Writing at university: the essay
Academic essays
Swinburne University referencing quick guides
APA style guide
Submission details
This assessment will be submitted via Turnitin. See the Assessment 2 section of Blackboard for more detailed information.
Assessment criteria
Summary of the scope and purpose of educating for a sustainable future.
Analysis of ecological approach in education.
Format and structure.
Depth and relevance of research, rigour of supporting references and adherence to APA guidelines.
Your work will be assessed using the following holistic marking guide:
Grade Descriptor
Pass [P 50-59%]
In order to be awarded a pass for this assessment task, all components of the task must be completed and the requirements of all criteria met at a satisfactory level according to the specific requirements listed in the descriptor on the right. The work is the author’s own own except where the works of others have been cited according to APA conventions.
The essay includes:
An introduction that introduces both the topic and content of the essay
Paragraphs that explore one key idea each
The essay considers the value of ecologosising for a sustainable future and the key features of the ecological approach.
An attempt has been made to draw connections between the theoretical, broader societal and educational context.
A clear argument that is developed logically across the essay
Use of relevant scholarly and non-scholarly literature
Correct citation where work is not the author’s original work
Academic writing that is generally free from spelling and grammatical errors.
Credit [C 60-69%]
To be awarded a Credit, you must fulfil all of the requirements of the Pass level, but with more sophistication according to the specific requirements listed in the descriptor on the right.
The essay includes a description of ecological approaches to environmental sustainability
Connections have been made between how the theoretical, broader societal and educational context impact on environmental sustainability
Understandings of what can be achieved in education settings by teachers, children and young people has been identified.
A higher level of sophistication than the pass level is evident:
The relevance of the argument to the essay question and learning objectives
The clarity and precision of the argument and the potential benefits and limitations of being eco-literate
The development of the argument – the way ideas, insights, evidence and commentary are used to expand specific claims
The clarity of the essay’s structure – the depth and clarity of the essay’s focus and the unity of each paragraph
The relevance, rigour and correctness of the evidence cited
Evidence is integrated into the argument from the course material
The correctness and clarity of the writing.
Distinction [D 70-79%]
To be awarded a Distinction for this task you must meet all the requirements of the Credit level, but with a level of discernment according to the specific requirements listed in the descriptor on the right.
High-level engagement with the learning materials
A sophisticated capacity for critical thinking
The essay includes a discussion of the values of ecological teaching approach with benefits and limitations.
Clear and perceptive connections have been made between how the theoretical, broader societal and educational context impact on environmental sustainability now and in the future.
Deep understandings of what can be achieved in education settings by teachers and young people has been identified.
Highly developed skills in structuring an argument
Integration of source material beyond the prescribed texts
High Distinction [HD 80-100%]
To be awarded a High Distinction for this assignment you must meet all the requirements of the Distinction standard, outlined above, but to a highly sophisticated and insightful standard according to the descriptor on the right.
The argument is sound, clearly argued, and well-supported in terms of the use of evidence to support or refute claims. It is free from ambiguity and contradiction.
The essay includes a seamless description and critique of ecological approaches to environmental sustainability and the purpose of educating for a sustainable future.
Discerning and insightful connections have been made between how the theoretical, broader societal and educational context impact on the use of ecological approaches to environmental sustainability
Critical reading has been a feature in planning the essay and results in a search for assumptions, an insightful understanding of key concepts, and implications for teachers’ work. These features of your preparation are clearly evident in the essay’s structure, depth of discussion, significance of the issues identified, and discussion of the impact on teacher’s work.
Insightful and practical examples are included of what can be achieved in education settings by teachers, children and young people has been identified.
The essay is professionally presented and obvious care and attention has been taken in its planning, editing, and proofreading.
Please note: If the assignment fails to reach a satisfactory standard on each criterion, or it does not fulfill the task requirements, then it must be awarded a no pass.
Extra Information/Resources
EDU20005 Sustainable Education and Perspectives
Week 6: Ecological perspectives
OVERVIEW
LEARNING MATERIALS
DISCUSS
Deep ecology – an ecocentric perspective
Deep ecology is a philosophy which actively advocates for the inherent value of all living things arguing that the natural world is a balance of complex ecological inter-relationships where organisms depend for their existence on all other beings within ecosystems. The term originated with the work of the distinguished Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess whose views on ecology and how humans should relate to the environment have influenced green movements and activists since the 1970s. His key concept of “deep ecology” places all of nature at the centre of human considerations as an approach to sustainability, not just those elements that have immediate impact on our existence. Its core principle is that the living environment should be respected as an entirety with humans engaged in a ‘deep’ relationship with nature that involves more than just a scientific perspective of ecology.
Read
Chapter 1 Deep ecology – a new paradigm (pp. 3-13) is from a pivotal writer about this perspective, Fritjof Capra, who provides an overview of some of the key ideas (Capra, 1996).
Photograph: A dragonfly on a flower with the text:
‘When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.’
-John Muir
Everything is connected (2012) <https://bit.ly/1v83VY8>
Sharing the Earth
Adopting the sort of approach advocated by Arne Naess and Fritjof Capra, and striving to share Earth harmoniously with other species, is not only a compassionate choice but can also be seen as an investment in the longevity, and the health and happiness of our own species. If we accept that all species are interconnected, then this understanding of the connectedness of all living things should help safeguard against the loss of species and the destruction of the habitats that sustain them.
I am one of six billion humans. My species shares paradise with 25 million other species. Each of these species has many thousands, or even billions in the population. How do I want to share earth with all of this life?
(Merkel, 2009, p. 207)
Read
How would you like to share the earth? These are questions that are examined in the next reading that consider the notions of intergenerational and interspecies equity.
Chapter 12: Sharing the earth, pp. 207-217 (Merkel, 2009).
Biodiversity
The word biodiversity can be defined, “in simple terms… as the variety of plants and animals (species) and the way in which they interrelate” (NSW National Parks and Wildlife, 2003, p. 8). A significant aspect of biodiversity is this interconnectedness; the way in which species depend on each other for survival. In Australia, it is estimated there are more than a million plant and animal species, with a significant percentage of these unique to the continent. Australia also incorporates great varieties of ecosystem types. These range from alpine to coastal terrain as well as estuarine, wetland, arid, semi-arid, woodland grassland and forest landscapes. It is little wonder Australia’s biodiversity is considered of global significance.
The conservation of plants and animals is a key part of maintaining biodiversity. Issues such as loss of habitat and the impact of feral animals are two of the many threats to native flora and fauna in Australia. By encouraging and fostering biodiversity in our local environments we are helping to promote a balance of the natural systems of life (Young & Moore, 2010).
Read
To consider biodiversity from an early childhood perspective, read the following Healthy biodiversity is no luxury – it’s the foundation of all life on earth that was created by the ECA Victorian Environmental SIG (Young & Moore, 2010).
Pollution
Waste creates enormous pollution problems when it breaks down leaching chemical and heavy metals into the air, land and water. Pollution is a complex issue that poses enormous threats to environmental sustainability and can have harmful effects on the health of humans and other species of plants and animals. According to the CSIRO (2013), pollution includes:
Air pollution: urban and regional air pollution is a significant environmental threat. Industry, power generation and motor vehicles release pollutants that can lead to photochemical smog, haze and acidification.
Land pollution: land pollution can be caused by poor agricultural practices, pesticide use, mineral exploitation, industrial discharges and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes.
Water pollution: poor water quality and sediment quality are the most serious pollution issues affecting our coastal and marine environments – in Australia, it has been estimated that land-based contaminants contribute up to 80 per cent of all marine pollution and pose a major threat to the long-term health of coastal waterways.
The problem with plastic
Plastic is one of the biggest problems for pollution and waste because it does not break down. The only way to remove plastic is to burn it and this releases chemicals and contaminants. We use plastic for packaging, transporting, manufacturing, clothing and for innumerable other uses in our everyday lives – in fact, it is hard to find anywhere that has not been infiltrated by plastic, including the human body.
Gina Prendergast was a normal citizen with a great job and lifestyle but in 2011 she decided to live for a year without buying or disposing of plastic in any way. At the beginning of this period she wrote an article describing how this came about.
I was brought to tears twice and both times I was watching images of how plastic is harming our world, particularly our oceans. Two documentaries The Garbage Patch (BBC, 2008) and A Sea Change (Niigii Films) brought my attention to the under-recognised yet ubiquitous issues facing our planet; plastic debris in our oceans and the devastating, biological impact of plastics on marine life and the human food chain. We are incredibly dependent on having a healthy ocean. I had to do something. So, inspired by the wise words of Gandhi I decided to be the change I want to see and vowed to attempt living a year without virgin plastic.
(Prendergast, 2011)
In researching this further, these are some of the things Gina Prendergast discovered which she writes about on her blog site. Did you know…
there is plastic in chewing gum?
some exfoliates have plastic beads in them?
most cans are lined with plastic?
the average Australian person generates 78 kilos of plastic waste each year? Gina brought this down to 3 kilos in her family.
every bit of plastic that has ever been produced is still somewhere?
every bit of Teflon is still somewhere?
Take a moment to think again about all the unnecessary plastic we encounter every day: the plastic water bottles, the one-use throw away products, the ubiquitous pointless packaging…that laminating machine you just bought with the Teflon lining!
Jeremy Irons sitting amongst a pile of rubbish by the sea.
Jeremy Irons talks trash (2013) <https://cbsn.ws/1muuwhN>
Watch
See the trailer for the film Trashed (MOVIECLIPS Trailers, 2012) to get you thinking further about the issues of waste and plastic.
Shifting perspectives
This week we focused on ecological perspectives, one of the most important considerations of this unit, and also looked at more ideas relating to the importance of living sustainably for now and the future.
What are your thoughts?
Does deep ecology provide some answer for how to live more sustainably, or is this just a pipe dream?
What are the issues about sharing resources equitably across species, nations, the rich and poor, and across generations?
How do issues of biodiversity affect ecological perspectives and how can children make a difference?
What are your thoughts about plastic and does knowing more now make you feel differently about how you use and discard plastic every day?
Summary of this week’s readings, referenced in APA style
A reference list is provided at the end of the weekly learning materials. The correct APA style should be used as much as possible to promote your skills in academic citation. This is particularly important in each of your assessments.
EDU20005 Sustainable Education and Perspectives
Week 7: Ecological literacy
OVERVIEW
LEARNING MATERIALS
DISCUSS
Connections with nature
EfS has the potential to foster an intellectual understanding of ecology and the emotional bonds with nature that make it more likely that children grow into responsible citizens who care about the Earth. Fritjof Capra (2007a) argues that to prepare “students to participate effectively as members of sustainable communities in an ecologically healthy world…(an operational and defined model of sustainable development is needed)…” to facilitate understanding of nature’s principles, while fostering a deep respect for living nature through an experiential, participatory, and multidisciplinary approach” (p.9). The first step is to understand how nature supports the web of all life and ecosystems that have evolved over billions of years to support life.
The systemic understanding of life that is now emerging at the forefront of science is based on three fundamental insights: life’s basic pattern of organization is the network; matter cycles continually through the web of life; all ecological cycles are sustained by the continual flow of energy from the sun.
These three phenomena—the web of life, the cycles of nature, and the flow of energy—are exactly the phenomena that we can explore and understand through direct experiences in the natural world. Through these experiences, we become aware of how we ourselves are part of the web of life, and over time the experience of ecology in nature gives us a sense of place. We become aware of how we are embedded in an ecosystem; in a landscape with particular flora and fauna; in a particular social system and culture.
(Capra, 2007b)
Read
In Participation and the ecology of environmental awareness and action (2008), Chawla poses questions about what is “essential to participatory environmental education” (p. 98):
What experiences prepare children to be aware of their environment and to take action on its behalf? And, how can communities support children’s environmental learning and action? I suggest answers to these questions based on an ecological approach to psychology and show how research on the significant life experiences of people committed to environmental education and action can be understood within this framework. I also argue that environmental education can most productively encourage children to know, value, and protect the diversity of life on this planet if it builds on a theoretical foundation that embeds human development in an ecological context. (Chawla, 2008, p. 98)
Ecological literacy (ecoliteracy)
Ecoliteracy has been described by the author introduced in Week 6, Daniel Goleman (2009), as a sort of ‘ecological intelligence’ where the word ‘ecological,’
…refers to an understanding of organisms and their ecosystems and intelligence connotes the capacity to learn from experience and deal effectively with our environment. Ecological intelligence lets us apply what we learn about how human activity impinges on ecosystems so as to do less harm and once again to live sustainability in our niche – these days the entire planet. (p. 43)
A similar descriptions is given by another researcher and writer in the field, David Orr:
The term ecological literacy identifies the goal towards a deeper transformation of the substance, process and scope of education at all levels… An ecologically literate person would have at least a basic comprehension of ecology, human ecology, and the concepts of sustainability, as well as the wherewithal to solve problems. (2004, p. x)
Read
David Orr begins Chapter 5: Ecological literacy of his book on ecological literacy, writing, “Literacy is the ability to read. Numeracy is the ability to count. Ecological literacy… is the ability to ask, “What then?” (1992, p. 85).
Children and ecoliteracy
Ecoliteracy moves beyond experience in, about and with nature to understanding the systems and mechanisms that support life. Some of this information is considered sensitive or ‘inappropriate’ for young children – like gaining knowledge about food sources, especially food sources from animals, or environmental degradation. The question of when children might be ready to understand such issues has perplexed early childhood educators and environmentalists. Louv (2005) referred to this in his reference to children understanding global issues like the Amazon rainforest, but not local issues, and Sobel (1996) is adamant that children need to “bond with the natural world before we ask them to save it” (p. 10). This familiar dichotomy is devalued by the ‘either or approach’ and whist it is wise to be cautious of a doom and gloom approach or only focusing on global issues, a balance between macro and micro understandings and pedagogy would meet the needs of children in the 21st century who live in a globalised world where information is readily accessed (UNESCO, 2008).
Read
Chapter 3: The knowledge is in the story, pp. 40-58, considers the question of how a non-ecoliterate society can become literate (Sveiby & Skuthorpe, 2006). Australian indigenous communities represent a continuation of some of the oldest cultures on Earth, and this survival reflects a deep connection to the land the people live in, and their cultural traditions provide profound examples of a highly ecoliterate relationship with nature.
Biophilia
Orr and Goleman’s definitions of ecological literacy or ‘ecoliteracy’ above both describe a knowledge that encompasses a basic level of understanding about ecology along with an evolving affinity for the multitudinous aspects of life on planet Earth. A person does not need a science degree to be ‘ecoliterate’ – although, of course, having extensive knowledge of nature and natural processes helps – but rather it requires that people develop a level of awareness and appreciation that E. O. Wilson termed ‘biophilia’. As Wilson defined it in Biophilia (1984), this relates to the connections that human beings innately seek with the rest of life on the planet. Through fulfilling this innately programmed need to feel a part of, rather than separated from, nature, Wilson suggested that, “Humanity is exalted not because we are so far above other living creatures, but because knowing them well elevates the very concept of life” (p. 22).
Photo: Child looking at various oleaves with a magnifying glass and filling in a worksheet.
The school garden debate (2014) <https://bit.ly/1rBLiM1>
In initially proposing his ‘biophilia hypothesis’, Wilson (1984) suggested that this “urge to affiliate with other forms of life” (p. 85) was inherent in our genes but, later, he went on to give emphasis to the role of emotions and suggested that when we come into contact with the natural world, our feelings about what we encounter can range “from attraction to aversion, from awe to indifference, and from peacefulness to fear-driven anxiety” (Wilson, 1993, p. 31, cited in Verbeek & de Waal, 2002, p. 1).
This development in Wilson’s ‘hypothesis’ has been as a response to contentions about his initial thesis (Kahn, Severson & Ruckert, 2009) challenging the notion that biophilia is ‘hard-wired’ as a reflection of millennia of biological relationships between humans and the living environment. These contentions raise questions about the place of “free will, development and culture”, and whether “affiliation with non-living nature, such as mountains” (p. 38) affect how people ‘feel’ about the natural world. Indeed, Louv (2005) coined the phrase ‘nature deficit disorder’ to delineate how children’s lives are affected by an increasing disconnection with nature. He cautions against the shift in diminished natural environments. In fact, there may be evidence to suggest that both biophilic and biophobic (‘fear of nature’) tendencies have a “partly genetic basis… reflected in biologically prepared learning” (Ulrich, 1993, p. 75) but that increasingly urban lifestyles giving limited opportunities for children to associate with nature significantly influence how they feel about nature. What do you think?
Shifting perspectives
This week we have considered the importance of understanding the interconnections between living things and in living systems. Understanding these ideas goes a long way to building ecological literacy with a deeper understanding of the implication for the decisions we make about living a sustainable life.
In the activity for this week we’ll be exploring our own feelings about nature and how these relate to the biophilia – biophobia equation.
Summary of this week’s readings, referenced in APA style
A reference list is provided at the end of the weekly learning materials. The correct APA style should be used as much as possible to promote your skills in academic citation. This is particularly important in each of your assessments.
EDU20005 Sustainable Education and Perspectives
Week 8: Transformative learning
OVERVIEW
LEARNING MATERIALS
DISCUSS
The extent of environmental issues in the 21st century demands solutions. Yet, to a surprising degree, past and present efforts to effect social change have been sprung from ideas that are not based on evidence and are often ineffectual. Think about campaigns to stop people smoking, drinking or overeating and how hard it is to change these behaviours! Human behaviour is complex and irrational. The psychology of behaviour change is a complex field of social and motivational psychology that is emerging to try and understand what motivates people to make changes in their lives. Communication is an essential part of this strategy. However, as the author of the next reading explains, “trends are emerging that suggest that further progress will depend on design thinking rather than communications theory“ (Johnson, 2013).
Consider some of these ideas about behaviour change in the next two readings and how they affect your role as a teacher.
Read
In The future of sustainability is design, not communication, Steven Johnson (2013) offers an approach to the future suggesting that: “we transform and enable behaviour change, rather than communicate it; empower rather than persuade; build value in people’s lives, rather than plant messages in consumers’ heads”. The author’s main message is that we need to design products, services and environments, rather than simply “craft messages, images and campaigns”.
Many Australians declare their interest in sustainability and reducing their environmental impact. But how many of them are prepared to reduce the amount they actually consume? Green hypocrites? Behaviour change in a consumerist society outlines a recent study of Australian households to see if they could identify “an ‘attitude-action gap’ on environment and consumption” (Newton, 2013) by surveying over a thousand households examining their occupants “attitudes, intentions and opinions related to the environment and urban living” and also recording data on each household’s consumption of energy, water, housing space, urban travel and use of domestic appliances.
Change is always difficult, but if you create an atmosphere where it’s safe for people to experiment and take risks, they more willing to try new things.
Californian elementary school Principal, Jeanne Casella, interviewed in Barlow, Marcellino & Stone (2005 p. 156)
Leadership can either constrain or enhance transformational practices. In the educational context, leadership plays a vital role in creating change for sustainability. Essentially, leadership is about vision and influence and can operate in a number of ways:
Transactional leadership – this style of leadership relies on influencing people through rewards and sanctions. Expectations are clearly outlined and adherence to organisational systems and structures is rewarded (Sinclair as cited in Davis, 2010 p. 86).
Transformational leadership – uses inspiration and motivation as tools to bring about organisational changes and growth.
Shared or distributed leadership – is described as a relational process that is dependent on social interactions and networks. In this model of leadership,power is shared and leadership becomes a participative process as staff are viewed as equals. As such, it is important that both leadership and staff have ‘the ability and inclination to be involved in shared decision making and to reach a consensus” (Locke as cited in Davis, 2010, p. 87).
According to Gibson (as cited in Davis, 2010), when providing a foundation for an organisation to grow and develop, “inclusive leadership that involves active listening, participative decision making and the creation of a shared vision is essential” (p. 85). Leadership and organisational culture are interrelated and an understanding of the culture of an organisation can provide valuable insight into ‘what makes it tick’; insight that can offer clues into how organisational growth and change such as EfS can be instigated and supported. Establishing a culture of trust, respect and motivation is integral to inclusive leadership and shared decision making.
Setting realistic goals and creating a shared vision with strong leadership is paramount. Relationships, relevant professional development, policies and future oriented planning are effective strategies.
Gibson (as cited in Davis, 2010, p. 97) suggests ‘evolution rather than revolution’ as a more viable strategy when considering organisational change for sustainability. This process is described as small steps of advancement over a period of time. A slow pace together with a shared sense of ownership can provide a strong platform for change.
Read
Educating for sustainability in the early years: Creating cultural change in a child care setting (Davis, 2005) is a reflection on a process of change in a Queensland childcare centre.
There are many elements of sustainable leadership and the process of behaviour change in organisations and education settings:
Value – we must enable those who lead change to see its merit and value (why should EfS be a priority in education settings and how can this be communicated to team members and stakeholders?)
Investment – Once parents, principals and early childhood directors recognise this importance, they are more likely to allocate resources
Shared vision enables this convergence – leaders must be able to reframe a commitment to EfS so their local communities recognise it as a crucial priority.
Many organisations have a distinctive dominant culture. This must be understood to minimise cultural conflict and develop shared goals. Organisational change must be led from the ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’. Drivers of change must be identified and supported. Intensive and personalised support must be provided; this includes time, resources and space that allows for employees and stakeholders to deeply reflect, think systemically and shift to new mental models, assumption and beliefs about their role in EfS.
Read
Leadership and the learning community, pp. 148-160, focuses on the teacher’s role, leadership and the learning community with an interview from an exemplary school in the USA (Barlow, Marcellino & Stone, 2005)
Advocating for change
To achieve sustainability, every community must decide, what is essential for a good life? What should be sustained and for whom? How should people live now so that future generations are not penalized? How many future generations should be taken into account? Who will manage continued sustainability and in whose interest will it be managed?
(Mileti, 1999)?
An advocate is a person who supports or promotes the interests of another, and that is what a teacher is doing when they engage children and their parents as partners in a positive, learning-focused classroom community.
A social justice approach to advocacy involves advocating for people, the environment and other species within. An advocate is also one who promotes a cause, and speaks out against injustice. Teachers have a role in advocating not only for student and parent engagement in learning, and for learning in general, but to also widen the children’s experience and understandings with real world examples that empower children to be active citizens and feel that they can make a difference in the lives of others and their communities.
Humane education is a lens, body of knowledge, and set of tools and strategies for teaching about human rights, animal protection, environmental stewardship, and cultural issues as interconnected and integral dimensions of a just, healthy society.
Humane education not only instills the desire and capacity to live with compassion, integrity, and wisdom, but also provides the knowledge and tools to put our values into action in meaningful, far-reaching ways so that we can find solutions that work for all.
(What is humane education, n.d.)
Humane education includes four elements:
Providing accurate information – to develop the knowledge to face challenges
Fostering the 3C’s: curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking – to develop the tools to meet challenges
Instilling the 3R’s: reverence, respect, and responsibility – to develop the motivation to confront challenges
Offering positive choices and tools for problem solving – to develop the ability to solve challenges
(What is humane education, n.d.)
Shifting perspectives
This week we examined behaviour change in the contexts of ‘transformative learning,’ alternative approaches to ‘communicating the message’, sustainable leadership and advocacy for social justice. The activities this week will help you to reflect on your shifting perspectives in addition to leading you closer to the final assessment for the unit.
TEDxDirigo – Zoe Weil – The World Becomes What You Teach (2011) <https://bit.ly/1ixNK6F>
Summary of this week’s readings, referenced in APA style
A reference list is provided at the end of the weekly learning materials. The correct APA style should be used as much as possible to promote your skills in academic citation. This is particularly important in each of your assessments.
EDU20005 Sustainable Education and Perspectives
Week 9: Sustainability across the curriculum
OVERVIEW
LEARNING MATERIALS
DISCUSS
This week
This week we consider how environmental sustainability can be integrated throughout the curriculum in early childhood and primary education with a focus on ecologising education.
This week’s objectives
By the end of this week you should be able to:
articulate how EfS can be integrated across the curriculum for early childhood and primary education
describe how sustainability is presented in the Australian Curriculum
identify some of the key barriers for integrating EfS in the curriculum
identify some of the key drivers for integrating EfS in the curriculum.
Related Unit Learning Outcomes
4. Formulate ways for integrating issues of sustainability into a range of learning experiences for children.
Infographic: Highly complex. Showing the schedule for a 2009 sustainability education summit.
Sustainable Education Summit (2009) <https://bit.ly/1sHe7v2>
EDU20005 Sustainable Education and Perspectives
Week 9: Sustainability across the curriculum
OVERVIEW
LEARNING MATERIALS
DISCUSS
Integrating EfS in the curriculum
Embedding sustainability principles into curriculum in educational settings involves significantly more than minor adjustments to existing programs and practices. Teachers have a responsibility to make EfS a part of the everyday experience of learning in all contexts, finding relevance to subject areas and making sustainability a consideration that underpins daily practice.
Barriers and drivers
It makes good sense to consider the strengths and challenges of integrating EfS into curriculum in any education context with a strategic and systemic approach. Littledyke and McCrea (2009) discuss many of the factors working against making EfS widely integrated into the curriculum. These issues include:
a poor understanding of the concept of EfS and the inability to see EfS knowledge and processes as having wide ranging relevance to curriculum aims and content
a lack of understanding and awareness at many levels in educational institutions regarding contemporary state and national EfS policies
slow progress among educators to conceptualise and articulate environmental and sustainability issues and link these to social, cultural, economic and political contexts
a want of will to promote the skill-base to integrate sustainability teaching and content into a curriculum, compounded by a perception among teachers and administrators of an already overcrowded teaching program
an under-appreciation of the importance of teaching action-taking to upcoming generations to counter potential apathy and paralysis regarding the big issues
Read
Drivers and blockers: Embedding Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Primary Teacher Education, pp. 42-56, will help with the activity for this week where you are asked to analyse the integration of EfS into the Australian Curriculum (Wilson, 2012).
EfS in the Australian curriculum
Sustainability has been made a cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum. The next two readings will support your understanding of what this mean for education.
Read
The following ACARA (2012) statement on sustainability aims to inspire visionary teachers characterised by these final sentences:
“Sustainability education is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed action. Actions that support more sustainable patterns of living require consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and their interdependence” (ACARA, 2012).
The statement articulates powerful ideas drawn from critical curriculum traditions and from the field of sustainability.
Kennelly, Taylor & Serow’s (2011) discussion paper, Education for Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum, regarding sustainability in the new curriculum.
The developing Australian Curriculum, along with the teacher accreditation and initial teacher education program standards, claim to support guiding statements that describe aspirations for all young Australians. Those guiding statements acknowledge that ‘sustainability’ is an essential element of education for young people in Australia. However ‘sustainability’ is unconvincingly represented in the curriculum and is not visible in the standards. This could potentially result in its omission from teacher education and qualification at all levels. This article illustrates the positioning of five freshly graduated primary teachers within the context of their five NSW schools and from this distils implications for teaching ‘sustainability’ within the developing national proposals (p. 209).
Infographic:
Real world contexts and best practices
Connect schools, communities and business – engage students, inquiry based learning – transform curriculum.
Outcomes: systems, critical thinking – respect, environment – agents of change – achievement – passion for learning.
Sustainable Sustainability Programs (2014) <https://bit.ly/1lYnSBm>
Early childhood EfS education
The possibilities for embedding environmental sustainability within the curriculum are evident for early childhood and primary education. According to Young (2010), two cautions emerge that require careful, ethical consideration:
The first relates to children feeling a sense of hope for the future and not feeling disempowered, hopeless, scared and overwhelmed by the magnitude of environmental problems. Adults need to be mindful of this and balance curriculum content with an understanding of the children in the group. A similar approach is adopted with sex education pedagogy where children ask questions about where babies come from. The knowledge is not denied but, gauged by the response of the child and information, is adapted accordingly.
The second caution relates to the common scenario of referring to children as ‘planet savers’ with the objective to fix up the problems that have been created by the very adults who are delivering these intentions. Dahlberg & Moss (2005) argue that this is symptomatic of modernity and that this type of discourse ensures, “social regulation and economic success, in which the young child is constructed as a redemptive agent who can be programmed to become the future solution to our current problems” (p. vii). There is a danger that children and young adults may become increasingly despondent and cynical if this approach is adopted. Siraj-Blatchford (2008) takes up this point:
We should be acutely aware of the danger of relying too heavily on children to ‘save the planet’, In this context, children might very well be considered at times as ‘redemptive agents’, programmed as solutions to our present problems (Dahlberg and Moss 2005, p. 11). Young children have always learnt the most from our actions, they have learned from what we do, more than what we say. It will therefore always be through the sustainability of our own day to day practices that we are most influential to them. This draws attention to the importance of adult modelling, and on working in partnership with professional colleagues and parents in developing sustainable practices in our everyday lives. (p. 68).
Read
Why do young children need to know about climate change? (Young 2007) highlights some of the tensions and considerations for integrating sustainability into early childhood curriculum.
In Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) there is also a predominant focus on the physical outside environment as a way of addressing sustainability through play with natural materials and gardening. The next reading challenges these ideas with the premise that they are not enough and that EfS is more than playing with nature. This reading also addresses how sustainability is integrated into the National Quality Standards for early childhood education.
Read
Exploring sustainability, pp. 22-24 (Elliott, 2013).
Shifting perspectives
What are your thoughts concerning young children learning about and experiencing EfS?
How would you discuss this with a community member who thinks children are too young?
Why is this attitudes against educating young children and involving them in these issues a dominant in communities and society?
Summary of this week’s readings, referenced in APA style
A reference list is provided at the end of the weekly learning materials. The correct APA style should be used as much as possible to promote your skills in academic citation. This is particularly important in each of your assessments.
