APPENDIX 29
Memorandum from Learning South West and
Sustainability South West
Learning South West is a regional cross-sector,
membership-based voluntary organisation that promotes excellence
in learning and skills. Our membership comprises further and higher
educational institutions and other organisations from the private,
public and voluntary sectors.
Sustainability South West is the region's independent
charity for promoting sustainable development. It's members bring
together the experience and expertise of a wide range of sectors
to support the staff team, exchanging ideas and best practice
to promote a consensus on the best way forward for a sustainable
South West.
Our two organisations work together closely
on the promotion of education for sustainable development in the
South West region.
1. 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?
1.1 ESD has currency with teachers in England
and across international boundaries, however, the phrase is problematic.
1.2 The term "education" has connotations
of "teaching". At a recent regional conference on sustainable
development, people with a business background thought that sustainable
development would be addressed by "getting it into the curriculum";
for them, "education" meant "school". We would
therefore prefer to use the word "learning" as this
encompasses informal learning which is crucial in the formation
of attitudes.
1.3 The term "development" has
come to mean "economic development" or "economic
growth"—it has therefore been easily co-opted by those
who promote models of economic growth that are incompatible with
a sustainable society. The word "sustainable" is often
used to mean "long-term economic viability" while ignoring
or often postponing social and environmental issues. However,
because of the high quality of the environment, the South West
region has many examples of small businesses that recognise "quality
of life" as a key outcome rather than economic growth per
se. This is a point missed by the Regional Development Agency
whose remit is one of stimulating "growth" in a narrow
economic sense.
1.4 The term "sustainable development"
is not user-friendly—it sounds technical, is not widely
understood and does not therefore have resonance with the general
public. One member of Sustainability South West studying at the
University of the West of England (UWE) noted that he has to explain
the term "sustainable development" to lecturers and
students alike. ESD would mean even less to them. Interestingly,
people tend to grasp the environmental aspects of the term. Students
who major in sustainable development at UWE tend to choose environmental
topics to complete their full degree course.
1.5 Where sustainable development has been
addressed in regional level strategic discussions, people tend
to atomise the term into its component parts. For example, in
discussing the Regional Spatial Strategy, planners looked at economic,
social and environmental concerns separately, juxtaposing them
in conflict with one another rather than understanding that solutions
needed to address all three aspects simultaneously. What is clearly
missing is a systemic view of the world and the way that social,
environmental and economic aspects are deeply interconnected (cf.
paragraph 4.2).
1.6 Although the wider sustainable development
debate has focused on the socio-economic spheres, in our experience,
the environmental message is still dominant in educational institutions.
In schools, ESD tends to be environmental education by a new name,
while in higher education institutions sustainable development
is often addressed through institutional environmental audits.
1.8 We feel that learning for sustainability
or learning for sustainable living would be better terms to promote.
These avoid the word "development" but the process still
requires a realising of potential or a "healthy emergence".
1.9 The "for" in ESD is still
problematic. If we accept that education is a "drawing out"
or realising of potential, then education should not be "for"
some externally pre-determined goal, even one as laudable as sustainability.
However, we are hard pressed to find a succinct term that serves
us better than learning for sustainability.
2. 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?
2.1 Our view is that there has not been
a discernable change.
2.2 The most powerful lever of change in
schools is the way that a school is judged. The combination of
Ofsted inspections and the publication of league tables based
on a narrow band of test results have a profound effect in determining
what a school sees as important. Neither of these mechanisms reflect
progress on ESD whether or not this is in line with the Action
Plan.
2.3 Those who are already promoting ESD
refer to the Action Plan. For example, it was mentioned a recent
conference of Devon teachers who are committed to ESD although
it seemed to hold scant interest compared to teachers' thirst
for practical tips and resources.
2.4 As well as lacking any relationship
to the inspection framework, the DfES Action Plan includes no
statutory requirements for schools, no specific entitlements for
learners and no additional resources that might promote a deeper
engagement from the education sector.
2.5 There is no clearly identified or resourced
service that co-ordinates the development of ESD in schools at
the local or regional level in the South West. This has hampered
progress on the Action Plan and ESD in general.
2.6 Curriculum development has been out
of the hands of teachers for many years now. This puts reduces
creativity and professional engagement. Teaching and learning
should be a powerful lever for progress but the high degree of
managerialism currently in the system serves as a brake.
3. 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?
3.1 The regional consultation on the Sustainable
Development Strategy in the South West highlighted the role of
learning and skills. This should also be reflected at the national
level.
3.2 We would recommend that the Strategy
includes a high level "learning" indicator that is not
linked to the achievement of general qualifications at any given
level. A more specific indicator that would reflect engagement
with the concept of sustainable development might be:
The number, or proportion, of (children/students/residents/workers/members)
who have developed sustainable development indicators for their
own (class/community/social group/company/team).
This is a flexible indicator that can be adapted
to any group but one that can be measured to demonstrate progress
over time. It also challenges groups to find out what to do and
how to do it in order to improve the quality of their SD indictors.
3.3 We would like to see the Sustainable
Development Strategy call for a reorientation of the goals of
education, learning and skills away from maintaining an unsustainable
economic model to "challenging the assumptions" of our
current development model and exploring a more sustainable system.
4. 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?
4.1 We are disappointed to find that no
reference is made in the Tomlinson Report to sustainable development,
sustainability or ESD although many aspects of ESD are addressed
in the report (see below).
4.2 Our chief concern is that no reference
is made to systems thinking. The ability to recognise the high
level of interconnection that exist between and among species,
sectors, life worlds, "environments" is one of the important
prerequisites for understanding the nature of sustainability.
Nowhere in the 14-19 Working Group's report is reference made
to the need for a systemic view of the world.
4.3 Although no reference is made to ESD
in the Tomlinson Report, there are some very promising passages
and care should be taken not to lose the essence of these in the
White Paper. We would highlight the importance of paragraph 30
in the Introduction:
"They should be active citizens, equipped
to contribute to the economic, social, political and cultural
life of the country as well as developing an understanding of
the wider international community. They should share in the cultural
heritage of the country and of its many communities. They should
have a passion for learning and should see it as a natural, necessary
and enjoyable part of adult life."
4.4 Other features of the Report that capture
the nature of ESD include:
— The idea that every young person
should develop positive attitudes towards "continuing learning
and active participation within the community" (this is crucial
because sustainable development is a learning process for society).
— reference to specific attributes
such as personal awareness, problem-solving, creativity, team-working
and moral and ethical awareness (we would suggest that these are
important dispositions for living in a sustainable society).
— Recognition of the need to allow
more space for exploratory learning (because the solutions to
unsustainable development are often unseen or are as yet unknown).
— Ensuring breadth of study (thus avoiding
an unnecessarily tight focus of study at a young age).
5. 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?
5.1 As we are not involved in daily curriculum
delivery we are not in a position to tell. However, anecdotal
evidence from an unscientific sample of children and teachers
would suggest that while specified subjects do carry sustainable
development, it is unusual to find examples of linking across
subjects. We feel that sustainable development shouldn't only
sit in a narrow range of subjects. Cross-curricular linking is
often difficult but it crucial to understanding the holistic nature
of SD.
6. 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?
6.1 Global education is identified as a
key curriculum area by the National Youth Agency; they are funded
by a DFID Enabling Effective Support grant. Environmental issues
and sustainability are not identified or supported nationally
in this way. Youth curricula are devised at the local authority
level and the environment is often given prominence at this level.
There is no specific regional level co-ordination of ESD to share
good practice in this area.
6.2 Learning South West co-ordinates the
UK Youth Parliament in the South West. The MYPs have a strong
concern with sustainability issues and are often critical of formal
sector provision in this area. We would recommend that some MYPs
meet the EAC sub-Committee you are able to visit the South West.
6.3 ESD is not well represented in adult
and community learning. One-off courses in building renovation
or hedge-laying might be deemed relevant to the field but there
are no resources for co-ordination or networking on ESD at the
local or regional level in this learning sector in the South West.
6.4 Work-based learning is hugely influential
in terms of promoting Education and Skills for SD arguably of
equal import to pre-16 formal education. There are a multitude
of players involved from sector skills councils, auditors and
accreditation bodies, private work-based training providers, colleges,
trade associations, trade unions, in-house trainers and NGOs (such
as Global Action Plan) offering both accredited and non-accredited
learning via the workplace. Representatives of most of these players
were interviewed as part of the research for "The Way Ahead?"
report and analysis of responses will inform the final regional
ESD strategy and action plan.
6.5 Sustainability South West identified
a gap in leadership for sustainability within the management development
training programmes of senior managers in the public sector. It
worked in partnership with the training arm of the Regional Assembly/Local
Government Association to pilot the "Symphony" training
session.
6.6 Funding for vocational training is set
against economic objectives and mechanistic measures of learning
(ie formal qualifications). This militates against creativity
in the learning and skills sector. Learning South West is carrying
out work in partnership with others, at the national and regional
level, on the recognition and recording of achievement and prior
learning that lies outside the current qualifications framework.
This may well assist in refining the funding mechanisms currently
used by Learning and Skills Councils and should not be restricted
to "entry level" learners. To misquote some South African
colleagues who work in the environmental education field, "there
is an inverse relationship between the ease with which data can
be counted and the usefulness of the data."
6.6 The recommendations of the Egan Skills
Review (2003) are not yet reflected in learning and skills provision
and much needs to be done to develop (and practise) sustainability
skills in work-based learning. There is a question mark over Egan's
use of the word "sustainability"—it appears to
include local self-reliance but does not embrace the wider environmental
aspects of the term. A regional conference on this issue is being
organised by Learning South West in December 2004.
7. 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?
7.1 we are unsure why the term environmental
education is being used here when other questions refer to ESD.
Our response is in relation to ESD.
7.2 The approach of using voluntary sector
organisations to front national campaigns appears to be more successful
although care is needed by both parties not to undermine the independence
of NGOs. Campaigns are successful when they "speak"
to our experience and reflect our current concerns rather than
those of the Government or any other agency. For this reason it
is unlikely that a national level campaign, that necessarily reduces
complex issues to simple messages, will have an impact although
such a campaign would almost certainly irritate millions.
7.3 This is an opportunity to build on local
and regional pride/sense of place. Many sub-regions within the
South West have a strong sense of identity. This may provide fertile
ground for locally-based sustainability campaigns, linked to practical
actions with coordination regional level. Regional coordination
is important to engender a sense that "we are all on this
journey". As a report by David Uzzell, University of Surrey
(Changing Assumptions about Attitudes to Sustainable Lifestyles)
said:
". . . without the sense that society
was collectively embracing change, few individuals would be prepared
to do so. "
7.4 This regional approach is in the early
stages development in the South West but there is a great deal
of important work as well as goodwill to build upon. There are
many exciting but uncoordinated efforts, to mention a few:
— The Devon Education for Sustainability
Working Group supports a wide network of teachers.
— Envolve, a local NGO in Bath conducts
participatory community projects and works with schools on ESD.
— Bristol has its own ESD Strategy,
prepared through a voluntary network and coordinated by the City
Council.
— Learning South West and Sustainability
South West have published "The Way Ahead?", a first
step towards a regional ESD strategy.
7.5 The work on "The Way Ahead?"
project has highlighted the critical role of learning and skills.
There are many aspirations linked to sustainability to be found
within the numerous regional strategies but these cannot be achieved
by simply wishing. Sustainability needs to be a core component
of the initial training and continuous professional development
of every professional and vocational field of study if these regional
aspirations are to be achieved (this also applies to the 14-19
agenda).
7.6 We recommend that the EAC sub-committee
visits the South West in order to meet a range of people who are
currently engaged in ESD in different sectors across the region.
8. Are there sufficient resources available
to deliver the Government's commitment to education for sustainable
development?
8.1 Funding is woefully inadequate—and
not simply because we all need more but because the resources
marshalled towards unsustainable development are so much greater!
8.2 A critical success factor for the development
of a "regional ESD movement" will be our ability to
secure modest but long-term funding. The Regional Development
Agency has offered limited support to date but it is hampered
by it's own narrow remit of economic development. This raises
the issues of the goals of the RDAs that need to be adjusted to
reflect sustainable economic development. But that's for another
enquiry.
November 2004
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