Socio-scientific issues and education for sustainability : practice and possibility

Presentation of a Special Issue of Research in Science Education (RISE) which focuses on the role of the use of socio-scientific issues in science education within the context of the United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development that runs from 2005 to 2014 (Unesco 2003)

Re-badged environmental education: is ESD more than just a slogan?

In the field of environment-related education, the period from the early 70s to the present is marked by continuity and contestation. There has been a remarkable continuity of environmentrelated practice; and there has also been contestation in the language of the field, with terms like ecology education, environmental education and education for sustainable development becoming highly visible at different times. Presently, the environment-related work formerly known as &lsquo;environmental education&rsquo; (EE) is being aggressively and extensively &lsquo;re-badged&rsquo; as &lsquo;education for sustainable development&rsquo; (ESD). This paper explores the role of slogans in the fields of environmental education and education for sustainable development.<br /

What is the position/contribution of biology in environmental education

In this paper I intend to argue that biological science education and environmental education have traditionally represented fundamentally different discourses - that they have explicitly or implicitly adopted different epistemologies and ontologies - and that this difference has had implications for the conduct of research in these fields. I will draw on recent developments in theory, policy and practice in the field of environmental education to argue that this field tends to be located within a social discourse - that there is a foundation in policy and practice for considering environmental issues as fundamentally social and ethical in nature, rather than in some sense objectively existing. I then consider a rising topic in biology education (that of Biotechnology) as one which while tending to be treated within a scientific discourse, would be more fully explored educationally within a social discourse. I conclude by suggesting that in biology education research we need to consider a reconciliation of these historically differing perspectives.<br /

Constructivism in environmental education: beyond conceptual change theory

Abstract constructivism, as a set of theories about how learners learn, has been an important discourse in the educational research literature for a number of years. Interestingly, it has been far more visible in science education research than in environmental education research. This article considers conceptual change theory within constructivism as a contested concept, outlines differing expressions of constructivism in science education and environmental education, and argues for approaches to environmental education that adopt socially constructivist perspectives with respect to the character of the subject matter content as well as to learners\u27 apprehension of such content. In considering implications for research, this perspective is juxtaposed with a recent United States Education Act, which prescribes a far more objectivist approach to educational research and which serves as a reminder that research itself is a powerful factor in shaping how the nature of subject matter is constructed, learning and the implications of these for teaching practice.<br /

Research paradigms in environmental education : post war reconciliation?

Methodological self-reflection is an aspect of research rigour. Yet the &quot;politics of method&quot; perspective has been slow to take hold in North American environmental education. While arguments have been made concerning the need for deliberation about and congruence among the political theories of substance and method, polarisation of quantitative and qualitative researchers has tended to persist. This presentation provides an outline of the issues arising at a recent forum which aimed to transcend this polarisation of research in environmental education.<br /

Permanently peripheral? Opportunities and constraints in Australian environmental education

It comes as little surprise that much reference has been made to the theme of 'Change' in this conference. Even first-time visitors to southern Africa (like me) cannot escape the imperative of addressing the theme of social, political and cultural change in this region of the world. And education self-evidently has an important role to play. A recent International Development Program- Education Australia document calling for proposals for projects establishing links between South African and Australian educational institutions speaks of the need to address the issue of education for social reconstruction. Improvement of the capabilities of higher educational institutions in South Mrica to contribute to the Reconstruction and Development Programme {which also implicate primary and secondary schools) is a specific aim of the International Development Programme. So it is important to consider and perhaps restructure the role that education in general and environmental education in particular play in processes of social reconstruction

Think Piece. Re-badged Environmental Education: Is ESD more than just a slogan?

In the field of environment-related education, the period from the early 1970s to the present is marked by both continuity and contestation. There has been a remarkable continuity of interest in linking education and environment (especially, but not only, in schools); and there has also been contestation and resultant evolution in the language of the field, with terms like ecology education, environmental education and education for sustainable development becoming highly visible at different times. Environment-related education represents an interesting case in educational innovation – one being played out at an international level. In particular, we are currently in the throes of a situation in which the environment-related work formerly known as ‘environmental education’ (EE) is being aggressively and extensively ‘re-badged’ as ‘education for sustainable development’ (ESD). There are strong attempts internationally to supplant the use of the term EE with the newer term ESD; most of these attempts are associated with the current international United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) runs for the period 2005–2014, and is gathering pace across the world (Selby, 2006). Speaking at the international launch of DESD in New York in March 2005, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura suggested that The ultimate goal of the Decade is that education for sustainable development is more than just a slogan. It must be a concrete reality for all of us – individuals, organizations, governments – in all our daily decisions and actions, so as to promise a sustainable planet and a safer world to our children, our grandchildren and their descendants… Education will have to change so that it addresses the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems that we face in the 21st century. (UNESCO, 2005:2) Now that the United Nations has taken this concept on board in such a significant way in proclaiming a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, ESD is clearly supplanting environmental education in the language of environment-related education

Community-based sustainability: conservation in the Ballarat region

The discourse of sustainability is promoted internationally, with the United Nations declaring 2005-2014 as a Decade for Education for Sustainable Development. There is discussion concerning the nature, status and significance of Education for Sustainability and its relationship with the somewhat established discourse of environmental education. This debate requires continuing theorising and one approach is to reflect critically on specific examples of sustainability within specific communities. This article seeks to promote further discussion about sustainability, and to contribute to ongoing theorisation about Education for Sustainability, by considering a particular instance &ndash; that of environmental sustainability in the Ballarat region of Victoria. The case study suggests that implementation of this local environmental sustainability strategy was dominated by technocratic and individualistic ideologies.<br /