What is Education for Sustainable Development
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) enables people to analyse the world around them, understand the problems facing people and the planet, and take action to change things. ESD involves transformative learning through critical pedagogies to create a more just and sustainable future.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been identified as a key instrument to support the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by United Nations member states in 2015.
Sustainable Development Goals
The SDGs provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity, for people and the planet, now and into the future.
UNESCO aims to integrate the SDGs into all levels of education using the ESD framework, or ESD for 2030, to build a more just and sustainable world.
ESD has also been identified as a priority by the European Union. The EU has developed a sustainability competence framework, known as GreenComp, which they argue can “help learners become systemic and critical thinkers, as well as develop agency, and form a knowledge basis for everyone who cares about our planet’s present and future state.”
Closer to home, ESD complements the three pillars of DCU Futures as it enables educators to innovate in the areas of what their students learn, how their students learn, and the skills their students need to thrive in an unscripted future.
ESD also complements pedagogical approaches such as Challenge Based Learning; particularly, as it should enable learners to apply their disciplinary knowledge to solving real world challenges.
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