To: Department of Education and Science
Curriculum Development Unit
Submission to inform the Development of a National Strategy on Education for
Sustainable Development
From: The Development Education and Research Network, NUI Galway
Date: 5 July 2007
This submission comes from the Development Education and Research Network at NUI
Galway. It represents the views and opinions of individual staff and researchers in the
university and does not represent official university views or policy.
The Development Education and Research Network at NUI, Galway
The Development Education and Research Network was established in 2005 to promote
development education and enhance networking between researchers and academics
interested in development issues at NUI Galway. The network aims to enable and
enhance the sharing of knowledge and skills relevant to development issues and
contribute to capacity building for development education at NUI Galway. The network
will promote an interdisciplinary, problem and evidence based approach to development
issues. It affirms the wider aims and values of knowledge-sharing, service learning and
civic engagement that are a core competence and a strategic priority at NUI Galway.
Introduction
DERN welcomes the DES initiative to develop a National Strategy on Education for
Sustainable Development (ESD), recognising that this is an essential step towards the
achievement of sustainable development goals. Education for sustainable development is
in itself a human right and an essential tool for deepening citizenship in a globalized
world. However, ESD has to be more than just an abstract concept and it must go beyond
merely describing problems and solutions. ESD must provide real forms of learning and
change towards a more sustainable society. This submission represents just one of
hopefully many perspectives from the third-level sector. It takes as a starting point the
importance of integrating development education (DE) and environmental education
(EE), combining these two strands into a vision of ESD within the third level context.
While DE and EE have evolved in parallel over a long number of years, they frequently
overlap and have a fundamental common core which emphasises the need for educators
to:
 respond to, and raise awareness about, environmental limits and stimulate
individual and societal measures to halt and reverse environmental degradation.
 recognize and understand the problems inherent in economic growth and
participate in reshaping societal values and behaviours towards more sustainable
directions.
 promote the principles of social justice and inclusion, and increase understanding
about the uneven nature of development and unsustainable forms of
environmental exploitation. Understanding the uneven and unjust distribution of
environmental “goods” and “bads” requires a deeper debate about what needs to
be done to redress inequality, injustice and exclusion. It requires better
information correlating environment and development, and the empowerment of
citizens to act – individually and as part of their communities.
We suggest that citizenship is a central concept that can help the integration DE and EE
into ESD and this citizenship is expressed in processes of participation. The emphasis on
justice and rights and how they are central to citizenship profoundly connects DE and EE.
More specifically, the UN Declaration on Right to Development (1986) emphasises that
the human person is at the centre of development and has the right to participate in
processes of decision-making that impact development and environment policies.
Similarly, the Rio Declaration (1992) and Arhus Convention (1998) recognize people’s
key rights to access information, public participation and access to justice in
environmental matters.
 Integration of ESD into formal and non-formal education and training
This submission suggests that ESD should be integrated into formal education and
training at third-level through a variety of mechanisms. We suggest that the HEA has a
explicit policy to promote ESD at third level. However, due to the diverse, yet specialized
nature of third level education, a “one size-fits all” curricular approach will not be
appropriate. Instead, ESD should take as its starting point an approach that strives to
make sustainability relevant within the content and concerns of individual courses and
disciplines, building up and enriching knowledge about the environment and models of
development, and encouraging interdisciplinary conversations which have problem-
identification, problem-solving and positive change at its core.

Promote ESD in initial training of educators and in continuous professional
development
It is frequently observed that initial training programmes are already overloaded and that
it would be difficult to make the most of new resources and approaches, let alone
introduce additional courses. We suggest that existing and new curriculum and training
resources should be well integrated to maximise the crossover between development
education, environmental education, citizenship education, intercultural education and
peace education.

Support integration of ESD principles and concepts into education and training
for the workplace generally.
An approach to integrating ESD within the workplace that focuses narrowly on
employment training bears the risk of promoting narrow forms of economic citizenship
rather than environmental stewardship and active, participatory citizenship. The proposed
national ESD strategy should include concrete measures and the necessary resources to
help workers make their workplaces more sustainable. At present, few third-level
institutions have explicit sustainability policies and measures. Workers and students are
not empowered to act as agents of change within their own workplaces. In relation to
Third Level, there should be an explicit “Greening Higher Education” initiative,
increasing participation and involving staff and students in monitoring and setting targets
for reducing energy consumption and waste, increasing recycling, localizing and
improving food and promoting social and cultural diversity. There should be greater
policy alignment between the Department of Education and Science and the Department
of Heritage, Environment and Local Government to formulate and encourage such
measures.

Promote the integration of ESD into professional education e.g. engineering, legal
professions and architecture
To further ESD, professional education will have to go beyond meritocratic individualism
and credentialism. Promoting the concept of the professional as a life-long learner and as
a potential educator is the route to developing the active citizenship of professional
engineers, lawyers, architects, doctors etc. One way of encouraging professionals to
become agents of ESD is to promote their involvement in the generation and maintenance
of public goods. Examples of innovative and inspiring practice should be supported,
made more visible and widely shared – these include the work of professional groups
“without borders” (Medécins sans Frontierès, Engineers Without Borders, Architecture
for Humanity) as well as encouraging professionals to interact and engage in
environmental problem-solving with their local community. At Third Level, institutions
should be supported in their efforts to engage with their local communities as well as
with global players. Awards (including travel awards), residencies and sabbaticals to
enable students and staff to visit examples of best practice would promote greater
professional learning and community engagement.

Promote awareness of ESD issues among the general population through mass
media and other means
Within the Third Level context, greater support could be given to third level institutions
to promote outreach and public education and develop third level institutions as sites for
promoting SD. Greater support could be given to student societies and initiatives that
further the aims of ESD. Debate and discussion of key issues and problems may focus on
SD through local issues (e.g. food, water, waste, energy) or global examples of the same.
Better linkages with the media and media training for staff and students could be useful.
There should be an emphasis on linking awareness and action, especially ongoing actions
that might not be new, but are effective. Awareness in itself is insufficient to produce
change towards greater sustainability.
 Promote research on education related to SD (methods, processes etc)
A major challenge for researchers is their isolation within their specific disciplines – a
challenge that is increasingly enforced by research specialization and the predominant
model of scientific expertise. Research needs to be more truly interdisciplinary,
particularly promoting the integration of scientific and humanistic disciplines, through
collaborative, not competitive models of working. While research on educational
methods and processes must be a central pillar of promoting ESD, there is also a need to
integrate educational research with wider scientific research as well as humanistic
enquiry into concepts and practices of development. Illustrative case-studies, comparative
analysis and geographical knowledge can all play a part. New research partnerships
should be fostered, such as participatory action research with community groups and
schools and policy research with, and for, environmental and social NGOs. Linkages with
researchers and educators located within wider regional and international groupings such
as ECO-UNESCO, UNDP and UNEP should be enhanced through academic exchange
programmes, seminars and conferences and e-discussion lists.