APPENDIX 30
Letter to the Clerk of Committee from
Northmoor Trust
The work of our Education Team brings us into
contact with a high proportion of Primary Schools and a few secondary
schools within Oxfordshire. We feel that our involvement with
them is sufficiently long term to enable us to comment on the
integration of ESD in to key areas of learning.
It is our experience that, whilst some teachers
have knowledge and understanding of ESD—they can explain
what it is and why it is important, these are few and far between.
Very few schools have incorporated ESD into their long term plans,
and some who have made this incorporation have made it into a
separate curriculum area rather than the raising of awareness
of life style changes that are required in order for sustainable
development to become a reality. There is far too much paperwork
with ESD as the main topic — and, as teachers are already
overwhelmed with paper, tend to put it to one side. It is our
opinion that ESD should not have been used as a title to replace
environmental education—but rather that environmental education
should remain—as education in the environment, for the environment
through the environment and about the environment.
Citizenship should embrace the principles of
ESD and recognising that effecting and integrating life style
changes will be the only way that ESD will take place. The confusion
over terminology for ESD makes understanding even more difficult
and a decision should be taken about which definition is the most
acceptable and then used.
Some schools we work with have excellent "walking
bus" schemes, promote Healthy Eating and are working towards
becoming Eco-Schools. Many have improved school grounds for wildlife
and pupils, some have set up recycling schemes, but most do not
connect the work done to ESD. Some class work does have connections
with ESD, and some teachers recognise this but because it is not
integrated as part of the whole school plan it is not highlighted.
To be effective, it is our opinion that ESD
must be statuary across all curriculum areas and teacher training
both for teachers in training and those already in post becomes
a priority.
We need people in the schools who are trained
and believe in ESD to help teachers recognise the good practice
they are already engaged in and help take it further.
Handing over ESD to already over stretched Humanities
advisors who only recognise a strand of ESD in geography is not
the answer!
The government should recognise the urgent need
to ensure successful incorporation of ESD throughout the whole
curriculum, in order to embrace all seven key concepts, actively
promoting global citizenship.
February 2003
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