Education

From Wikipedia:Education for sustainable development

Sustainable development is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy, environment, and society. Equitable health access is a pillar of social sustainability. The Brundtland Report, published in 1987, helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known.

For information related to student work on Appropedia, see Appropedia:Service learning and Portal:Service learning.

Education levels among women is the most important factor^{[verification needed]} in reducing family size and thus population growth.

Educated mothers are better able to ensure the health of their children.

Educated farmers are better able to learn about alternative farming methods, and read other useful information.

Education provides opportunities for work, and thus financial security, access to healthcare and other essentials and many more choices in life.

Should we try to maintain an exhaustive list, on an Appropedia page, or is that already done elsewhere? It would be a huge task.

Face-to-face courses include:

• RedR^W's training programs.
• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) (Village Earth) at Colorado State University.[1] Courses include $345 courses with 20 face-to-face hours, and 2 week courses for $1450.
• Educational Materials/Programs at NCAT's Smart Communities Network lists courses and materials in Sustainable Development.

Many universities have relevant programs. Notable examples include

• Michigan Technological University - Peace Corps Master's International Program in Forestry

Open Educational Resources (OER) is the standard term for educational materials that can be freely accessed and used, either for personal learning or for classes.

For a listing of some relevant material on sustainability and international development, see the Open Educational Resources page.

People in many fields find themselves educating others about sustainability; social entrepreneurs, corporate communicators, non-profits, municipal workers, social workers and teachers are examples of those engaging the masses with sustainability.

Here's how Algonquin College trains educators to enroll people with the sustainability agenda. We begin with recognizing the critical importance of worldviews. The dominant model of development is unsustainable because it is based on a flawed view of the world. http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/briefings/data/000241

There are other worldviews wherein "the limits to growth" are understood and local, traditional knowledge informs "resource management" and "community development" (to put it in conventional lingo). http://inesad.edu.bo/developmentroast/2012/11/we-try-to-protect-the-biosphere-but-what-about-the-ethnosphere/

When we realize how many ways there are to see the world we realize that Western education was and is grounded in a colonial worldview that systematically discounts other ways of interpreting reality, other types of wisdom and other forms of governance.

http://web.archive.org/web/20140408125754/http://www.icemag.org:80/2/post/2011/4/postcolonialism-and-me-a-review-of-the-key-concepts-in-postcolonial-theory-and-their-relevance-to-my-research-in-the-field-of-international-and-comparative-education.html

Hence, some Sustainability Educators focus on decolonizing minds and mindfully re-inhabiting places.

http://web.archive.org/web/20210121013517/https://tinalynnevans.com/

Next, we look at the values embedded in media, policy and curriculum. We're inundated with competitive, individualist and exclusivist values, which are proven to be incompatible with the values of community involvement and addressing the big issues.

http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=4224

We need new media, policy and curriculum but for that to happen more people have to demand it. Sustainability Educators investigate what leads to participation in social change. We critique social and economic systems so we understand how to holistically engage people with sustainability; we understand our work as facilitating the much anticipated "paradigm shift". Here's a link to our program

http://web.archive.org/web/20120629072650/http://xweb.algonquincollege.com:80/woodroffe/program.aspx?query=1816X07PWO

and our original wiki

http://web.archive.org/web/20130516170219/http://sustainabilityeducationresources.wikispaces.com

As you can see, Sustainability Education is much different than Environmental Education, though that is a part of our program. This quick introduction gives a little insight into how we define and approach Sustainability Education. We've brought the dialogue here so we can share ideas and curate progressive media/curriculum together.

• Online courses and materials
• Education for sustainability

• Tips for Educators