Creating A Sustainable Future Together - Province Of

Education for Sustainable DevelopmentLeadership Council:Creating a Sustainable Future Together

ESD Leadership CouncilThe establishment of an Educationfor Sustainable Development (ESD)Leadership Council was proposedin the 2010 report SustainableDevelopment and Living throughChanging Teacher Education andTeaching in Manitoba (Babiuk, etal.). In June 2012, with the releaseof Tomorrow Now: Manitoba’sGreen Plan (Manitoba Conservationand Water Stewardship), an ESDLeadership Council, consistingof senior-level representativesfrom various educational sectorgroups, faculties of education,and government departments,was established to assist with thedevelopment and implementationof a three-year provincial Educationfor Sustainable Development ActionPlan (2013–2016).The ESD Action Plan is intended tocontinue to guide the whole-systemapproach toward implementingESD throughout the pre-schooland Kindergarten to2Our VisionGrade 12 (Pre-K-12) school system inManitoba. As the primary documentfor steering the implementation ofESD in Manitoba, the ESD ActionPlan is intended to be a dynamicresource that establishes a series ofactions to guide government and itseducational partners in developingappropriate responses for ESD inManitoba. The ESD Action Plan willbe released in the winter of 2013.“As members of the ESDLeadership Council, we believeit is time to boost our collectiveefforts to ensure a sustainablefuture. By working togetherthrough a strong coalition ofpartners, we will strengthenour capacity to provide thefoundation for a more relevanteducation and a sustainablefuture for all.”The Manitoba school system willprovide quality education througha whole-system approach orientedtoward a culture of sustainability.By 2020, all Manitoba studentsprogressing through the schoolsystem, and their educators, willhave the knowledge, skills, andcommitment to make decisionsin their career and personallives supportive of sustainabledevelopment within a culture ofcollaboration—working seamlesslyacross departments, institutions,sectors, and communities.Students will be informed decisionmakers and active, responsiblecitizens of Canada and the world,contributing to environmental,economic, social, and cultural wellbeing and to an equitable quality oflife for all, now and in the future.

What Is ESD?Quality education is essential tocreating a sustainable future for all.The education of today is crucialto enhancing the ability of presentand future leaders and citizens tocreate solutions and find new pathsto a better, more sustainable world.With an increasing population anddiminishing natural resources, thepresent and future generations inManitoba and around the world willneed to be engaged to think andact in ways that reflect responsibleenvironmental, economic, social, andcultural choices. ESD helps prepareour students for a sustainablefuture by ensuring that they areenvironmentally responsible, globallyaware, economically astute, sociallyresponsible, and technologicallyproficient citizens who are capable ofcoping with the emerging challengesand opportunities we are facing nowand will continue to face in the future.ESD is a particularly importantdimension of quality education.We know that simply increasingbasic literacy and numeracy,while important, will not producesustainable societies. ESD is farmore than teaching knowledge andprinciples related to sustainability.ESD also involves learning to ask critical questions clarify one’s own values envision more positive andsustainable futures think systemically respond through appliedlearning explore the tensionbetween tradition andinnovation (Tilbury 8)In a comprehensive sense, ESD “iseducation for social transformationwith the goal of creating moresustainable societies. ESD touchesevery aspect of educationincluding planning, policydevelopment, programmeimplementation, finance,curricula, teaching, learning,assessment, [physical operations,and] administration” (UNESCO,Education for SustainableDevelopment Sourcebook).One example of what should beincluded in a whole-system approachis illustrated in the diagram below,and is also reflected in the DomainFramework for Whole-System Approachto ESD (Sustainability and EducationAcademy).This whole-system approachto ESD infuses sustainabilityawareness into all aspects ofschooling in such a way that ESD is reflected in thecurriculum across all subjectareas and grades teaching and learning arelearner-centred, exploratory,and action-oriented student-teacherstaff interactions areparticipatory buildings and schoolgrounds are managedsustainably and provide asustainable learning space the school interacts with thelocal communityESD can build interconnectionsamong a range of school initiativesand practices, such as healthy living,school travel planning, responsiblecitizenship, social justice, integrationof Aboriginal perspectives, andschoolyard greening. It is alsofundamental for preparing youngpeople for green jobs, for adaptingto a changing physical environment,and for changing unsustainableconsumption and productionpatterns.Ultimately, ESD can provide acommon vision for education—the vision of creating a better, moreequitable and sustainable world.3

Our GoalsThe ESD Action Plan we are committing to will make a vital contribution toward ensuring that ESD is infused intoformal education and that we are all working together to move toward truly living and working sustainably. Over thenext three years, we will focus on working together to achieve the following goals:Goal 1: Ensure Quality Education for AllGoal 2: Infuse ESD Pedagogy into Teacher EducationGoal 3: Integrate ESD into Curricula and Learning(Pre-K-12 and Teacher Education)Goal 4: Establish ESD School PlansGoals1Ensure Quality Education for AllEducation is the basic building blockof every society. Every child hasthe right to quality education andequitable learning opportunities.23Achievement Indicators An inclusive school environment is a major focus in planningand implementing relevant school programming (includingparent-engagement initiatives). Attainment gaps in literacy and numeracy are narrowed. Funding of schools and educational programming is equitablewithin and across school divisions.Infuse ESD Pedagogy into TeacherEducation Professional learning models and teaches ESD pedagogy.Teaching is characterized by practicesthat facilitate critical and creativethinking, media literacy, systemsthinking, interdisciplinary thinking,and responsible decision makingleading to sustainable actions. Student learning is demonstrated through sustainable actions.Integrate ESD into Curricula andLearning (Pre-K-12 and TeacherEducation) ESD concepts are identified in curricula and educationalresources across all grades.Curricula and resource materialsprovide an ethos based on ecologicalliteracy, systems thinking, andglobal concern, enabling studentsto become effective stewardsof the planet. Students gain theknowledge, skills, and values theyneed to cooperate in resolvingthe interconnected sustainabilitychallenges of the future.4Goal 5: Strengthen ESD Capacity Building at All Levelsthrough Training and Professional LearningOpportunitiesGoal 6: Reorient Technical and Vocational Educationand Training (TVET) in Support of a GreenEconomy Teacher education models and teaches ESD pedagogy. Competency-based learning outcomes that addressenvironmental, economic, social, and cultural responsibility areidentified. Faculties of education integrate ESD concepts into theirprogramming.

Goals4Establish ESD School PlansEvery school and post-secondaryinstitution is encouraged to have anESD plan in place by 2015.Achievement Indicators All schools and post-secondary institutions have an ESD plan inplace by 2015. System-wide policies and criteria exist for procurement,school management, and resource use based on sustainabilitypractices. Professional learning and support are provided to assist insustainability practices. Every school conducts regular audits and reports results relatedto school plans. A policy is in place for the provision and weekly use of outdoorclassrooms for all students.5Strengthen ESD Capacity Buildingat All Levels through Trainingand Professional LearningOpportunitiesAll stakeholders in the educationsystem have a commitment to ESDand take action accordingly.6 The school system and school leaders model commitment toESD principles in their roles. Systems commitment to ESD is communicated to all staff,students, school trustees, and the community through practices,actions, and documents. ESD is integrated into professional learning for all stakeholders. Learning communities are established to share successfulpractices, models, and resources.Reorient Technical and VocationalEducation and Training (TVET) inSupport of a Green Economy TVET teachers are trained in ESD.TVET responds to changing jobopportunities and skill requirementsthat a green development agendabrings about. TVET and academiceducation are equally valued and arealigned so that students can accesscredits in both and move seamlesslybetween them. The match between classroom and workplace learning throughapprenticeships has improved. ESD is infused into TVET curricula and new courses aredeveloped. The private sector, trade unions, advanced educationalinstitutions, and employers’ associations are involved indesigning TVET to ensure its relevance to industry needs.5

What Are School Leaders Doing?A sustainable school can helpprepare young people for a lifetimeof sustainable living through itsteaching, learning, and assessment,as well as its day-to-day practices.School leaders are fostering thisculture by taking a whole-systemapproach to sustainability,placing it at the heart ofthe ethos of the school,demonstrating it inmanagement practices,operations, and facilities,embedding it in teachingand learning, and promotingit in communities (To view astrategy for this process, referto Domain Framework forWhole-System Approach to ESD[SEdA].) developing an ESD school planor integrating sustainabilitywithin the existing school plan providing professionallearning for educators andstaff in sustainability issuesand practices developing leadershipmodels, managementpractices, and policies thatreflect environmental,economic, social, and culturalconsiderations promoting sustainability inthe school in ways that helpstudents to understand thefactors that affect their wellbeing and improve theircapacity for sustainable livingWhat Are Educators Doing?ESD empowers students to takeaction, individually and collectively,to effect change now and in thefuture. Educators are supportingstudents in the classroom by providing opportunitiesfor critical thinking aboutemerging issues (e.g., climatechange, poverty reduction,biodiversity), while problemsolving for sustainablesolutions assisting students to becomeeffective citizens and changeagents by addressing theESD learning outcomesinfused across the Manitobacurriculum (Refer to “ESDCorrelation Charts of Student6Learning Outcomes”[Manitoba Education].) using pedagogical approachesto facilitate participatory andlearner-centred educationthat develops critical thinking,active citizenship, systemsthinking, inquiry, activelearning, problem solving, andfutures thinking, emphasizingboth local and global contexts encouraging students to takean active role in the classroom,school, and communityto effect positive changeand to minimize negativeenvironmental, economic,social, and cultural impacts onfuture generations assessing the impact ofstudents’ actions in enhancingsustainability reflecting on the impact ofstudents’ actions on learning,understanding, and changedbehaviour