Understanding Education for Sustainable Development

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Education of Sustainable Development (ESD) has four key thrusts.
They are to:

  • improve the access and quality for all to basic education.
  • reorient present education programmes and approaches
  • develop greater public awareness and understanding of sustainable development issues
  • provide training in all sectors.

Schools will be important in preparing and empowering learners to assume responsibility for creating and enjoying a sustainable future.

Such an approach involves a vision of education and teaching and learning that seeks to help all learners better understand the world in which they live, to enable them to face the future with hope and confidence.

They need to know that they can play a role in addressing the complex and interdependent problems that threaten our future such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, wasteful consumption, environmental degradation, urban decay, population growth, gender inequality, health, conflict and the violation of human rights.

ESD is thus more than a curriculum issue related to one learning area and requires a whole-school approach (involving all staff and management) and innovative teaching and learning approaches.