APPENDIX 6
Memorandum from Carnyorth Outdoor Education
Centre
Has the term Education for Sustainable Development
lost its currency? Does it have any resonance with the general
public? Has the environmental message within it been lost?
— Whilst it is clear to all but the
most clouded of minds that the need for carbon neutrality and
economic equality is of the highest possible urgency, this does
not appear to affect the thinking of business and economists.
The term "sustainable development" has come to mean
"economic development that can continue to grow ad infinitum",
which many believe to be both an illusion, and potentially incredibly
damaging to the environment, if not the death knell for life as
we know it. The idea of "development for a world that lives
within its environmental means", which many would argue is
what "sustainable development" has to be if it is to
be truly sustainable, appears to have been lost.
— There is a sense that "sustainable
development" has become a tickbox exercise, to gain brownie
points, but doesn't actually get to the heart of the issue.
— There is amongst the public at large
an awareness of a huge black cloud on the horizon, so large that
they are unable to deal with it themselves, and yet no one else
seems to be facing up to it. Consequently very few really dare
look at (1) the cloud, or (2) their personal response to it too
closely. Thus a communal act of ostrich-head-in-the-sand is being
committed. I believe that this is a direct consequence of the
failure to include the Brundtland definition, or something reminiscent
thereof, in the UK government definition.
The DfES said in 2003 that the Sustainable Development
Action Plan was supposed to signal the start of a process of change,
identifying the most powerful levers—what can be achieved
immediately and what can be built upon. More than a year on can
it be said that that process of change has begun and have there
been any immediate achievements?
— It is not tangible from my perspective
as an environmental educator of pupils aged 8-14.
— There are schemes operating which
are in the right direction—for example Healthy School schemes
and Sure Start. These are going to help children grow into healthy
adults, which is an important start, but they are not directly
addressing the Sustainability question.
Government is currently reviewing the UK Sustainable
Development Strategy. What should the Strategy include in order
to significantly strengthen the role of learning within it?
— A definition that is based on the
reality of a finite planet, such as the Brundtland definition,
which is understandable to everyone. Children have taken on board
the ecological message. They know about global warming, they know
about recycling, and windmills and pollution and so on and so
on. But they don't see the political will to make the changes
they already know need to be made.
— The best teaching happens by example,
so the UK's sustainable development strategy should set a framework
or context, for ALL government thinking. This would then powerfully
demonstrate the political will to tackle the environmental challenges
ahead. This would, as a side-effect re-engage a whole generation
in the political process.
— Children's experience of school seems
to be almost universally, too much time in the classroom, and
often with too much uninspired "you-must-learn-this"
imposed teaching. There is solid evidence to suggest that children
learn best what they are interested in. This would then suggest
a shift in emphasis from a packed compulsory curriculum, to a
pupil-driven learning, incorporating play as a teaching tool.
— Much more emphasis on practical hands-on
learning, especially the tools of how to learn and how to think
for one's self. Practical skills lead to reducing, reusing and
recycling, making the individual much more resourceful, and ultimately
a more confident and competent member of their community.
— Incorporating Permaculture into the
national curriculum (look up "permaculture" on Google
for further information). This, in my opinion, would make the
single biggest difference in terms of curriculum changes, especially
if incorporated with:
— Much more time outdoors, away from
the box of the classroom, and out in the open air whether that
be in wide open spaces, or exciting and inspiring school grounds.
It seems crazy to expect children to grow up into adults who love,
respect and protect the environment if they have never had the
opportunity to connect with it as children.
— A much higher adult to pupil ratio,
so teachers have the ability to teach rather than police.
Does the 14-19 Working Group's report, "14-19
Curriculum and Qualifications Reform", go far enough?
Will ESD be adequately represented if this report is used as the
basis for the forthcoming White Paper? What must be included in
the White Paper if progress is to be made to fully integrate ESD
into all aspects of learning, formal and informal?
— There is a need for specific, quantifiable
education regarding the environmental challenges that these young
adults will be inheriting from us.
In response to our last inquiry the DfES said
they recognised that more could be done to embed ESD in the school
curriculum and that they would lead on strengthening ESD links
within geography, design and technology, science and citizenship.
Has there been any discernible improvement in these areas? Is
there evidence that this work has been taken forward by the DfES
and its agencies?
— As a non-school based educator, I
am not well placed to answer this question.
The role of informal learning, including youth
work, work-based learning and adult and community learning, in
taking the environmental education agenda forward is key. Is the
Government doing enough in these crucial areas?
— No. The government needs to put ESD
(of a Brundtland persuasion) at the very forefront of its thinking
and actions. The changes that our profligate use of natural resources
in the past 200 years have created are going to fundamentally,
dramatically and possibly devastatingly, change the nature of
human life on this planet. There is no more pressing challenge
for this, or any, government.
Is there any evidence to suggest that the Government,
through its stewardship of education, is getting better at getting
the environmental message across to the general public? And is
there any evidence to suggest that sufficient work is being done
at regional and local levels to support environmental education?
— As an environmental educator in an
LEA controlled Outdoor Education Centre, I am very much aware
of the lack of funds and support for environmental education.
— Children have grasped the ideas of
global warming, sea level rise, renewable energy, recycling and
so forth, so awareness of the problems has been successfully imparted,
but not the solutions. And seeing no solutions, children are at
best frustrated at the lack of solution, and at worst entirely
disempowered and disenfranchised.
Are there sufficient resources available to
deliver the Government's commitment to education for sustainable
development?
— As I understand it there are no resources
available. However education for sustainable development is to
be resourced it is not sufficiently high a commitment for the
Government to put money behind it. How are teachers to train?
How are schools to become the "environmentally sustainable
schools, teaching children by example" that the DfES
has promised in the next five years?
November 2004
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