Education for Sustainability and Eco-Literacy - Essay Example

Running Head: EDUCATION FOR SUSTANABILITY AND ECO-LITERACY Student’s name Institution Course Professor Date EDUCATION FOR SUSTANABILITY AND ECO-LITERACY Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet there own needs. The pressure to have sustainable development and sustainable existence has necessitated the introduction of sustainable education for sustainable development. This is a life-wide and life-long endeavor which challenges individuals, institutions and societies to view tomorrow as a day that belongs to all of us, or it will not belong to anyone, (United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2006-2014). This kind of education encompasses a version of education that seeks to empower people of all ages to assume responsibility for creating sustainable future. In Australia, this kind of education began in 1970 and it has continued to gain momentum especially with support and influence of the national and international developments. This has lead to the development of Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability. On the other hand, ecological literacy or eco-literacy is a term used in order to introduce into educational practice the value and well-being of the earth and its ecosystems. It is thus a way of thinking about the world in terms of the earth’s interdependent natural and human systems, including consideration of human actions and interactions within the natural context. This kind of literacy equips students with the knowledge, skills and competencies to address complex and urgent environmental issues in integrated way and be able to shape sustainable society that does not undermine the ecosystems it depends on, (Department of the Environment, Water & Heritage and the Arts, 2009) Environmental education for sustainability involves all aspects of the school running, curriculum, teaching and learning, physical surroundings and relationships with the local community. All the stakeholders in the education system are important and necessary in the construction and sustaining this education. This thus calls for a shared vision, goals and objectives. Other parties like the government and other non-governmental organizations are also of much help to this education, Australian Government, Department of Environment and Heritage (2005). Environmental education for sustainability also involves applying knowledge, skills, understandings and values in informed and active participation in addressing environmental problems, issues and opportunities. Values of education for sustainability For this form of education to achieve its intended objectives and goals it should comply with the following values and principles. The education should teach or encourage on the following issues: Interdependence- Human beings are part of the general ecosystem and thus are inseparable from the environment. There is a system connecting individuals, their culture and natural surroundings. This form of education should foster the understanding of this connectivity and how specifically human beings should be able to bring sustainability in this connectivity. Resource management- The main contributor towards sustainability is the use and management of resources. The natural environment consists of a wide range of both renewable and non-renewable resources used in fulfillment of various human needs and wants. In their use, there should be good use to ensure future generations are not compromised. This education system should promote effective and sustainable management of the scarce resources. Knowledge and skills about the natural environment- The natural environment comprises plants, animals and various non-living systems. There is a web of life in the interactions in the ecosystem and its functionality is one unit, Fritjof Capra (1996). The education should be able to explore this and hence making the students to clearly know their surrounding and the environment functionality in general. Cultural environment- Cultural environment in this context is all the human activities touching on the use of resources. Community or society culture influence the ecological environment since it dictates the way the people interact with their surrounding, Albany (2004). This form of education should foster an economy serving a culture of mindful-sufficiency and the voluntary simplicity. This promotes life, more life, and not an economy that chronically conflates life with growth and profits, Alexande, S (2012).Some elements have cultural and historic values that require protection from destructions. The education should be able to foster sustainability and good cultural environment activities. Implementation of good values and lifestyle choices- The main contributor to presence or lack of sustainability is the human life styles and choices. Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell, (2008) in their description of the walking up syndrome explains how various actions and reactions of people affect various situations and problems. Balance between the natural ecosystem and cultural heritage is influenced by human activity. This education should foster good management practices and lifestyles necessary in rebuilding ecological balance. Foster social participation- This type of education should be able to equip people with knowledge and motivate them to develop skills necessary to take part in environmental problem solving. It should encourage collectiveness in problem creation and carrying out necessary sustainability measures. Since the people participate collectively in one way or another in environmental pollution or other forms of environmental degradation there should be also collective participation in creating solutions for the same, Kao (2010). It should be more practical than just being theoretical in its teachings. Should analyze diversity in the economy and the environment-This education must be able to discuss and give a clear picture of the diversity in nature concerning political, economic, ecological and cultural variations. It should show importance of each of them in quality of human life. ECO-LITERACY For eco-literacy to achieve its intended objectives, the approach used must have some features that enable it to work effectively. Some of the necessary features include the following: Education for transformation and change where eco-literacy education is not simply provision of informative education but involves equipping people with skills, capacity and motivation to plan and manage required change that will result to sustainability within an organization, industry or community. Education should provide an understanding on the natural and cultural values intrinsic to the environment, impacts of human activities on the environment and how environment shape human activities, environmental citizenship and conservation methods, various changes of climate among other environmental issues. Skills like ability to engage in exploration of environment, studying and assessment of environment, creating solutions to conservation of environment and collective action to support desirable outcomes among other skills. The knowledge and skills should be able to drive transformation and change to those involved. The students should not just get the information but they should be able to put into practice to transform the world towards sustainability. Education for all and lifelong education implies that education for sustainability should be driven by education that includes people of all ages, backgrounds and at all stages of life and takes place in all possible learning spaces, formal or informal. According to Fritjof Capra, majority of ecological disasters and problems facing our society are due to lack of understanding of our place in web of life. Provision of all and lifelong education will enable many people to connect with the natural systems and thus be able to have a deep sense of place and an understanding of the local environment. This will enable many people to realize the need for sustainable development and thus strive to achieve it. Design inspired by Nature where the guiding principles and the characteristics of living systems should serve as a basis for envisioning and designing sustainable education systems. Ecological literacy goes beyond understanding the natural systems to applying this understanding to the redesign of organizations, communities, businesses and societies to align with ecological principles. Eco-literacy asks what people know and how they should teach given the limits of the earth and its systems, Webster & Johnson (2010). It thus demands that human actions and their designs conform to how the world works as a biophysical system and the societies be designed with future generations in mind. Systems thinking imply that education for sustainability aims to equip people to understanding the connections between environmental, economic, social and political systems. This is sometimes called the holistic or relational thinking. Ecological literacy involves applying a way of thinking that emphasizes relationships, connectedness and context. Systems operate on multiple scales, with systems nested within systems, Stone (2007). System thinking is thus necessary in understanding the complex interdependence and unpredictable dynamics of ecological systems, social systems, economic systems and other systems in all levels. This requires looking the all system rather than snapshots of their parts, looking for connections and patterns and testing and uncovering assumptions. Envisioning for a better future since a sustainable development demands the enjoyment of current generations while taking the consideration of the future generations. Education for sustainability engages people to understand and developing a share vision of a sustainable future. As stage six of waking up syndrome demands for acceptance, empowerment and action, this education should be able make people accept the situation and empower them to be able to take necessary actions in order for sustainability to be achieved. Critical thinking and reflection should be able to incorporate the capacity of individuals and groups to reflect on personal experiences and worldviews and to challenge acceptable ways of engaging and interpreting the world. Various scholars have been able to come up with a wide range of views on the ecosystems and sustainability in general, ecological literacy should be able to equip students with the abilities to interrogate the various views and be able to implement or recommend good once. More knowledge and skills are generated in this critical thinking and analysis. Participation- This literacy involves the engagement or participation of groups and individuals in sustainability. Education and learning mainly involves many people and therefore ecological education should involve many people or groups in order for them to share ideas. Collaboration, community building and citizenship- Eco-literacy comprises emphasizing collaboration and partnership as main hallmark of life and living systems, United Nations (2007). It focuses on the use of genuine partnerships to build networks and relationships and improving information flow between different sectors of society. Eco-literacy students should also be community builders and active citizens. It thus enables interrelationships necessary since sustainability is a community practice. Advantages of eco-literacy The introduction of eco-literacy to the education systems have resulted into a wide range of benefits. Some of these benefits include: Eco-literacy knowledge has empowered students to help in the creation of a better society and make a difference. Students in during their learning process participate in various sustainability measures. After getting the knowledge most of the students also carry-out sustainability measures. Most students causes further in putting into practicability the knowledge learned, Cutter-Mackenzie (2009). It creates positive change leaders. These leaders are willing to use their ecological literacy and civic engagements in participation as citizens and engage in the creation of sustainability solutions. It equips students with knowledge, skills and competencies required in addressing the urgent and complex environmental issues. This thus leads to an integrated way of solving these problems. It also helps students in shaping a sustainable society that does not undermine the ecosystems upon which the entire community depends in. Generally, Eco-literacy has gone a big stride in the implementation of sustainability measures in Australia and the global world in general. Despite the advantages realized from eco-literacy it stills suffers from some limitations and challenges. Some of them include: The eco-literacy education consumes a lot of money. A lot of money is incurred in the teaching environment. This money could have been put in direct measures of maintaining environmental sustainability. A lot of time is spent in classrooms in teaching this literacy. This education is more of theoretical instead of carrying-out practical education measures to cope with this problem. Students thus tend to have a lot of theoretical knowledge instead of practical skills. It also suffers from limitations like taking a lot of students’ time that could be used in other studies. Some scholars have even argued that such literacy be taught only to those wanting to be experts in this field while only basic knowledge being offered to other students. Some challenges in its implementation include lack of enough funding, lack of enough personnel, and no clear set curriculum among other challenges. CONCLUSION Education for sustainability and ecological literacy has been of much help since its introduction in Australia in 1970’s. Implementation of education for sustainability with good concepts and principles has seen the carrying out of a wide range of sustainability measures since most of the students are well equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, competence and understanding on the need and importance of having a sustainable world. Eco-literacy has enabled deep understanding of ecological systems. This approach with good features has resulted into various benefits to human life despite experiencing some few limitations and challenges. Since sustainability is a continuous need, the Australian government, non-governmental organizations and all the stakeholders in the education sector should continue supporting both eco-literacy and education for sustainability in order for the current and future generations to live in a sustainable world. Reference Alexender, S. (2012). Living better on less. living on economics of sufficiency. Melboune: Simplisity Institute. Bodin, O. &. (2011). Social networks and natural resource management: Uncovering the social fabric of environmental governance. . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge, UK. Buzzell, S. A. (2008). The walking up syndrome . Capra, F. (1996). The web of life. London: Flamingo. Corcoran, P. B. (2009). Young people, education, and sustainable development: Exploring principles, perspectives, and praxis. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Wageningen Academic Publishers. Cutter-Mackenzie, A. (2009). Eco-literacy: The "missing paradigm" in environmental education. Saarbrücken: Lambert Academic. Department of the Environment, W. &. (2009). • Living Sustainably, the Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability. Educating for a sustainable future. A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools. (2005). Carlton South Vic: Published by Curriculum Corporation Huckle, J. &. (2006). Education for sustainability. London. Johnson, W. &. (2010). Worldviews matter – sense and sustainability Kao, R. W. (2010). Sustainable economy: Corporate, social and environmental responsibility. Singapore: World Scientific. Myers, S. &. (2004). The interdependence handbook: Looking back, living the present, choosing the future. . New York: International Debate Education Association. Nations, U. (2007). Indicators of Sustainable Development Guidelines and Methodologies. New York: United Nations. Nations, U. (2006). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2006- 2014). Washington DC: United Nations. Stone, M. K. (2007). Ecological literacy: Educating our children for a sustainable world. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books. York, A. S. (2004). Educating for a culture of social and ecological peace. Press., . Read More

Values of education for sustainability For this form of education to achieve its intended objectives and goals it should comply with the following values and principles. The education should teach or encourage on the following issues: Interdependence- Human beings are part of the general ecosystem and thus are inseparable from the environment. There is a system connecting individuals, their culture and natural surroundings. This form of education should foster the understanding of this connectivity and how specifically human beings should be able to bring sustainability in this connectivity.

Resource management- The main contributor towards sustainability is the use and management of resources. The natural environment consists of a wide range of both renewable and non-renewable resources used in fulfillment of various human needs and wants. In their use, there should be good use to ensure future generations are not compromised. This education system should promote effective and sustainable management of the scarce resources. Knowledge and skills about the natural environment- The natural environment comprises plants, animals and various non-living systems.

There is a web of life in the interactions in the ecosystem and its functionality is one unit, Fritjof Capra (1996). The education should be able to explore this and hence making the students to clearly know their surrounding and the environment functionality in general. Cultural environment- Cultural environment in this context is all the human activities touching on the use of resources. Community or society culture influence the ecological environment since it dictates the way the people interact with their surrounding, Albany (2004).

This form of education should foster an economy serving a culture of mindful-sufficiency and the voluntary simplicity. This promotes life, more life, and not an economy that chronically conflates life with growth and profits, Alexande, S (2012).Some elements have cultural and historic values that require protection from destructions. The education should be able to foster sustainability and good cultural environment activities. Implementation of good values and lifestyle choices- The main contributor to presence or lack of sustainability is the human life styles and choices.

Sarah Anne Edwards and Linda Buzzell, (2008) in their description of the walking up syndrome explains how various actions and reactions of people affect various situations and problems. Balance between the natural ecosystem and cultural heritage is influenced by human activity. This education should foster good management practices and lifestyles necessary in rebuilding ecological balance. Foster social participation- This type of education should be able to equip people with knowledge and motivate them to develop skills necessary to take part in environmental problem solving.

It should encourage collectiveness in problem creation and carrying out necessary sustainability measures. Since the people participate collectively in one way or another in environmental pollution or other forms of environmental degradation there should be also collective participation in creating solutions for the same, Kao (2010). It should be more practical than just being theoretical in its teachings. Should analyze diversity in the economy and the environment-This education must be able to discuss and give a clear picture of the diversity in nature concerning political, economic, ecological and cultural variations.

It should show importance of each of them in quality of human life. ECO-LITERACY For eco-literacy to achieve its intended objectives, the approach used must have some features that enable it to work effectively. Some of the necessary features include the following: Education for transformation and change where eco-literacy education is not simply provision of informative education but involves equipping people with skills, capacity and motivation to plan and manage required change that will result to sustainability within an organization, industry or community.

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