Education for Sustainable Development in Scotland's Colleges

Crawford, E., Davis, R. and Wood, B. (2015) Education for Sustainable Development in Scotland's Colleges. 8th World Environmental Education Congress: Planet and People, how can they develop together?, Gothenburg, Sweden, 29 Jun - 02 Jul 2015.

Abstract

The overarching goal of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development was to 'integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning' (UNESCO, 2004). In response to the Decade the Scottish Government aimed that by 2014 Scottish people would have 'the knowledge, understanding, skills and values to live sustainable lives by fully integrating sustainable development into all stages of the formal education system' (Scottish Executive, 2006). The central themes of this research are twofold: firstly to determine to what extent education for sustainable development (ESD) is already considered within Scottish college education and secondly to evaluate my approaches as an active sustainability practitioner as a means of embedding ESD in college education, mainly vocational education and training, in Scotland. It was found that most Scottish colleges have prioritised ESD to some extent, with some colleges being more proactive in their approaches. Where ESD is most successful is where there is senior management support aligned with active sustainability champions. In these circumstances once an ESD practitioner aids staff with approaches and relevant materials ESD can be embedded within the curriculum in a manner that students find engaging and provides them with appropriate vocational sustainability skills.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Keywords: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), vocational education and training, vocational sustainable skills
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wood, Dr Bethan
• Authors: Crawford, E., Davis, R., and Wood, B.
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General); L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2361 Curriculum
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Interdisciplinary Studies