Education and Learning for Sustainable Futures by Macintyre, Thomas; Tilbury, Daniella; Wals, Arjen;

Short description:

Responding to growing interest in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and global concern over climate change, this volume provides an analysis of how our understanding of the relationship between environment and education has evolved during the past fifty years.

Long description:

Responding to growing interest in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and global concern over climate change, this volume provides an analysis of how our understanding of the relationship between environment and education has evolved during the past 50 years.

Spanning from the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment through to the present day, chapters examine whether our approach to education about environmental sustainability is enacting effective change. Examining the evolution of educational approaches to environmental learning, contexts, and themes, this book moves through the decades, from the 1970s until the 2020s, tracking the impact of historical events and shifting sustainability discourses within education. Through historical, research-based analyses, this book recognises patterns, trends, and countertrends that help critically (re)assess the potential of education in creating a world that is more sustainable than current scientific predictions estimate.

Proposing a set of key considerations for the future of environmental education, this accessible book will be of value to scholars, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working within sustainability education, environmental research and policy, and teacher education more broadly.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

"This book by long standing researchers in the field provides a situated and generous view of histories of education and the environment globally. Highlighting the need for cultural shifts and the role of education in that, the book examines whether and how both policy and research have made a difference over the past 50 years. Essential reading for those wanting to understand perspectives on the past and possible future contributions of education and the environment."

Dr Marcia McKenzie, Professor in Global Studies and International Education, University of Melbourne and Director, Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication, And Education Project (MECCE).

"We live in an era of poly-crises and are in need of transitions toward a more sustainable world. There are no blueprints for this immense endeavour; instead we must explore and learn our way out of unsustainable living. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can help us with the knowledge, tools and means for that.

This book provides us with the history, theories, practices and examples from past and present in how we can apply ‘learning’ as a strategy for a better future.

We stand upon the shoulders of great educators and organisations who ‘walked the talk’ by bringing the head, heart and hands into meaningful change towards the future."

Roel van Raaij, Steering Committee of the national Dutch ESD Program DuurzaamDoor.

"Elevated knowledge and awareness as to the scale and urgency of ecological crisis that is upon is only one aspect of what is needed in changing our impact. Understanding what has been achieved and what more needs to be done is an essential starting point and this book offers a brilliant and timely summary of exactly that!" 

Dr Tony Juniper CBE, award winning environmentalist, writer and Chair of Natural England.

"Without nature, there is no future; without education, there is no understanding. This book poignantly explores the past, helps us meet the future, reveals success stories in safeguarding the environment and elegantly demonstrates that environmental education is the incubator that will solve complex issues and safeguard this planet. A must read!"

Jan-Gustav Strandenaes, Senior Adviser on Governance, the Environment and Sustainable Development, Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future.

"Environmental educators are a unique breed - combining their passions for both the living world and education into one vocation – and this unique breed of educators is now needed on the planet more than ever. The importance of this keystone work lies both in its acknowledgement of the genealogies of environmental educators who have come before, and its sharing of crucial understandings about the challenges that lie ahead for our field of education. It is a book that is very much needed in this time and is a welcome addition to our body of knowledge." 

Dr. Lisa Siegel, National President, Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE).

"A seminal work that traces the evolution of education over the past 50 years, shedding light on our changing understanding of the environment and education. This book offers valuable insight into how education can play a pivotal role in shaping a more sustainable world amidst the challenges of climate change and other environmental shifts."

Dr Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition.

"This history – by authors who each have significant international reputations in Education for Sustainability – have together written a major new contribution to the field. The book builds on well-understood shifts since the 1970s, but extends these by addressing newer trends up to, and including, the current decade. In this period – a time for ‘regenerating and embracing uncertainty’ – the authors make links to recent international policies and programs where education for sustainability has primacy, as well as addressing the new uncertainties of societal polarisation and mis/disinformation. Overall, though, the book helps us to understand the continuing role of education and learning in creating sustainable futures, especially through the ongoing task of raising the profile and status of education  and learning in national and  international fora, and by strengthening and extending international cooperation."

Julie M. Davis, Adjunct Professor, School of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introducing 50 years of Education and Learning for the Environment and Sustainable Futures;  Chapter 2. Education and the environment in the 1970s: Inform and Experience;  Chapter 3. Education and the environment in the 1980s: Investigate and Solve;  Chapter 4. Education and the environment in the 1990s: Rethink and Engage;  Chapter 5.  Education and the environment in the 2000s: Connect and Change;  Chapter 6.  Education and the environment in the 2010s: Reframe and Transform Futures;  Chapter 7. Education and the environment in the 2020s: Regenerate and transition;  Chapter 8. Facing the Future: Creating Learning Landscapes for Environment and Sustainability