Fw: [se-ed] Query: Education for Sustainable Development: Working Models- Experiences; Examples. Reply by 13 May 2008
madhav...@ceeindia.org
An important issue has been raised regarding the aims of education and strategies for sustainable education. I feel these are crucial factors that everybody needs to think over while planning for education. To me education is a way of living a better life. Education can serve as a tool for designing a better society. We have a wide range of educational thoughts and practices before us in this regard. "Thinkers on education" (published by UNESCO) is a bright example before us to know about such thoughts.
In the Indian context I am impressed by few of the experiments. They include Gandhi ji's concept and experiment of Nayee Talim, Active schools in Maharashtra and the Integral Education Movement in Orissa. They are quite different from each other. However some of their elements related to aims of education, and pedagogical processes give us the impression that they are rich, have gathered strong ownership and bear potential.
Nayee Talim: There may not be need for elaborating the salient features of Nayee Talim as quite a lot have been written on the same.
Active schools: Active school is an innovation in selected schools of Maharashtra where teachers have played a lead role in re-designing the curriculum, teaching learning materials, pedagogical processes in their schools to promote active learning. This has been possible through their collective efforts after some exposure to some good schools in different parts of the country and through reference materials. Some years back it all started in one school of Latur district. After some successful classroom processes it was expanded to 15 schools in diffent clusters of the district. Then it was experimented in 117 schools. Presently the State is in the process of expanding this to all primary schools of 4 districts. In this teacher led initiative, the involvement of teachers is very high as it is a home grown approach and teachers have experimented success to a good extent. I will request all of you to have look at the attached paper "Active Schools - Latur" that touches upon various elements of the intervention. It could be accessed at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/education/cr/res23040801.doc
Integral Education Movement: My other example is the Integral Education Movement in Orissa where around 170 Integral Education Centers have been opened by parents and teachers in the rural areas. Financially they are nowhere in comparison to that of any other government or, private school. But the teacher child relationship and their collective efforts to live a different life is highly progressive and creative. They strongly believe in the educational principles of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and try to integrate physical, mental, vital, psychic and spiritual aspects of life in a systematic and conscious manner. One needs to know the principles of education as enunciated by Sri Aurobindo in the following lines.
· 'The first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught. The teacher is not an instructor or task master; he is a helper and a guide. His business is to suggest and not to impose'.
· The second principle is that 'the mind has to be consulted in its growth'.
· And the third principle is to 'work from near to the far', from that which is to that which shall be.
There are many more schools like these including the famous Integral schools in Pondicherry in Sri Aurobindo Ashram, and Mothers' schools (Mirambika free progress school, Mothers' International School and Meera Nursery) in Delhi.
Through these examples I would like to thrust upon the following points related to aims of education and the issue of sustainability.
1. Education needs to designed as a way of living where everybody is treated equally and equitably and it leads to a society based on love, care and cooperation
2. Teachers play a key role in designing the curriculum, pedagogy and teaching learning materials for better understanding, performance and ownership
3. Community knowledge, expertise and local human resources are given more importance than the readymade package designed centrally.
4. Children's learning process, learning pace, interest and perspectives remain the center-stone in the pedagogical processes
5. Teachers and teacher support structures play a facilitative role
6. Education becomes a socially constructive process
The three cases certainly carry majority of the above elements and seem to be powerful examples.
Binay Pattanayak
Chief Consultant
National Technical Support Group (SSA)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
New Delhi
madhav...@ceeindia.org
Moderator’s Note: We are happy to post a query on Education for Sustainable Development, a topic relatively unexplored, but of great importance for the times. We encourage you to share experiences and examples that you have come across, howsoever nascent they might be. Please also enlarge the discussion to your friends in other areas, who might be doing work related to this in whatever way. We look forward to an enriching sharing on this topic.
Dear Members,
We propose pilot programmes on ‘Education for Sustainable Development’, and are trying to understand its current practice.
The term “sustainability” here, covers a range of concepts within the notion of human interaction with both natural and socially constructed environments. A key principle is that of education as a transformative force through which sustainable environmental practices, valuing of human rights and responsibilities, and community cohesion can be realised. The slogan of “Think Global, Act Local” is one of the corner-stones of this ideal.
We would like to learn from real examples on social transformation through Education towards Sustainable Development (ESD), to better understand how ESD principles are being practically applied in educational design and implementation. There are several aspects that are especially useful. One, is inequality in education – access to basic resources for children living in poverty, caste/ethnicity, and its relationship with educational expectation, and gender equity. Two, is the idea of sustainable development as an educational theme – examination of programme design and implementation that aims to teach environmental sustainability, co-operative decision making, community contribution, or a culture of peace
We are working on the idea that “Well-designed and implemented teaching programs in ESD show potentially positive outcomes for communities”.
As a first step, we would like to know about the teaching and learning aims of Education for Sustainable Development. We would also like to know how these are being applied in practice, and therefore request members to share:
· Information on activities and resources that teachers are designing for ESD and outline how these have facilitated student learning
· Experiences of teachers and students who have used this approach, and include any available documentation
· Examples of benefits the wider community derives, as a result of ESD, especially evidence of a positive impact on social and environmental issues
Members’ inputs on the above would help us considerably in designing programmes on ESD at UNESCO.
Thanking you.
Huma Masood
UNESCO, New Delhi