Graduate School of The Environment
Research Projects
Developing Indicators for the UN Decade of ESD in the Asia-Pacific
The UNESCO – IUCN CEC Asia-Pacific Indicators project has initiated an open comment period on 2 documents that aim to assist stakeholders in the region with the monitoring and assessment of progress and achievements during the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
Background
The project is a collaborative effort between UNESCO Bangkok, the Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). It was launched in response to the DESD International Implementation Scheme's call for the development of relevant and meaningful ESD indicators and reporting mechanisms from the beginning of the Decade. Since March 2006, stakeholders have been engaged in an on-going dialogue to assist with the production of a set of guidelines for the development of ESD indicators at the national level.
Two groups have been vital to ensuring that i) the documents reflect the latest thinking on ESD indicators and that ii) the content is practical for the user. An international team of ESD experts was connected via an electronic email list and asked to share their experiences and ideas on ESD indicators. Similarly, a team of representatives from UNESCO National Commissions and Field Offices in the Asia-Pacific participated via email list to identify their needs and priorities for monitoring and assessment during the DESD. In addition, a select group of members from both teams participated in an August 2006 Review Meeting on the first draft of the guidelines document in Hiroshima, Japan assisting to identify key content and areas for improvement. Both teams played important roles as peer reviewers during the guidelines development process.
The Open Comment Period
On December 7th, 2006, an indicators session was held at the 10th Annual APEID Conference in Bangkok, Thailand and was the formal initiation of an open comment period on two Working Draft documents:
- 'Asia-Pacific Guidelines for the Development of National ESD Indicators' which provides detailed information about monitoring and assessment during the DESD, the role of national commissions, ESD indicator types and approaches, the development process, data collection and reporting; and,
- 'Monitoring and Assessing Progress During DESD: An Asia-Pacific Regional Quick Guide to Developing ESD Indicators' which provides a consolidated version of the first and a step by step guide to the development of indicators.
Working draft documents are now available for review until March 16th, 2007.
Guidelines Draft3_Nov30 (pdf)
Quick Guide Nov27 (pdf)
In an effort to receive greater input and generate increased commitment towards monitoring and assessment during the DESD, ESD stakeholders from around the world are encouraged to review the documents and provide their feedback to Daniella Tilbury, Project Leader at dtilbury@gse.mq.edu.au
Next Steps
Following the open comment period, a select group of National Commission representatives from the region will meet in Bangkok, Thailand from April 3-5th. They will assist to finalise the document and begin dialogue on the development of monitoring and assessment mechanisms. Next phases include publishing and distributing the guidelines and quickguide documents, capacity building as identified by stakeholder needs, and the development of national ESD indicators and reporting mechanisms.
For more information
Please contact:
Daniella Tilbury, Project Leader at dtilbury@gse.mq.edu.au or
Derek Elias, Program Specialist for ESD-Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education at d.elias@unescobkk.org
Or visit the UNESCO Bangkok website at: http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=4241
Associate Professor Daniella Tilbury and Sonja Janousek from the GSE, Macquarie University are involved in a UNESCO project which is seeking to develop indicators for the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development. For more information about this project please visit the UNESCO website. Also, please see the following related article:
How is UNESCO reviewing ESD programs in Asia?
A POINT OF AWARENESS by Preciosa S. Soliven
The Philippine Star 07/06/2006
In March 2006, I was invited to be a part of the Guidelines Review Team comprised of 30 members of the UNESCO National Commission and field offices in Asia and the Pacific. Spearheaded by UNESCO Bangkok Regional Office, Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), in conjunction with Macquarie University (MU) of Adelaide, Australia, this team will monitor the progress and achievements of DESD (Decade of Education for Sustainable Development) for Asia and the Pacific, as well as assist in developing the ESD indicators on the national level.
The input from the ESD Expert Team will shape the final Guidelines document that the Guidelines Development Team composed of Dr. Derek Elias of UNESCO Bangkok, IUCN CEC Vice Chair Keith Wheeler, IUCN Asia Communications Coordinator Denise Jeanmonod, Joel Bacha of Kanda University International Studies, Prof. Daniella Tilbury and Sonja Janousek of Macquarie University will put together. Intended to be released by early December 2006, this ESD indicator data collection tools will support the measurement progress and achievements during the Decade.
As a member of the ESD Guidelines Review Team, we engage in dialogue via email. Sharing of information, ideas and experiences is crucial in initiating a collaborative learning process. Relevant DESD documents, commitments and information are shared to form part of a database available to members of the team.
ESD Tower of Babel
In the exchange of emails of our ESD Guidelines Review Team, Sri Lanka member writes that ESD is not yet clear, but it could mean everything. Meantime, the Uzbekistan participant reports that since 1999 ESD has been inputted into their tertiary education, but always linked to environment concerns.
In the recent forum conducted by the Environmental Management Bureau of DENR on "Accelerating Environmental Education Towards Sustainable Development...", EEI Division Chief Elenida Basug described ESD in very generic phrases as "interdisciplinary", "holistic learning for sustainable development", "values driven", multi-method: word, art, drama, debate, and experience."
Ms. Basug referred to "the Asean Environmental Education Action Plan (AEEAP) 2006-2010 as a strategic action plan that would guide the 10 member-countries in the development of programmes for Environmental Education for Sustainable Development." IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY-ORIENTED. No mention is made of how education should be more psychology oriented so that it can develop self-sufficiency from preschool to high school when the child should be economically independent. This ideal education has been practiced in Europe, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
ESD is more than just environment
At the moment, the frequent linkage of ESD to environmental concerns originated with the 1992 Rio de Janeiro conference and the 2002 Johannesburg summit on "environment sustainability". However, when the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2000-2015 was declared naming UNESCO as the lead agency, "sustainability" acquired a broader significance beyond ecology. "Education for Sustainable Development" became the global campaign. It pointed to human capacity building through quality education.
UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program also put together man's critical role in the governance of the environment. A unique lesson for primary school children can make this graphically clear: "There are four blankets of the earth. The blanket of land (lithosphere), the blanket of air (atmosphere), the blanket of water (hydrosphere) and the life present in each sphere. That is the 'biosphere'. All of these are gifts from the Supreme Being that we must treasure and care for. If man were to survive, he must protect this cosmic organization."
After all, what is education? It is a process of learning how to become, how to change, how to transform and fulfill life. And what is "sustainable development", but the natural ability of man to heed the "call to independence."
ESD should be based on the true nature of the child. Childhood spans the years from birth to 18 years as defined by the Geneva Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Thus, the right philosophy of education should be – "the child is in the process of becoming, while the adult has reached the norm of the specie." Therefore, adult teachers and parents should help the child to become. To reach the goal of ESD, we must now veer away from pedagogy to psychology. The former addresses only the intelligence of man forcing them to memorize lessons, while the latter addresses the true developmental nature of man to work in a prepared environment.
Century of the Child
A century ago, a scientist named Dottoressa Maria Montessori discovered Education for Sustainable Development. She said, however, that she did not invent it. "The child showed it to me!"
Maria Montessori realized that within the child is a secret teacher that helps him construct himself to be self-sustainable from infancy (0-6 years old), childhood (6-12), adolescence (12-18) up to adulthood (18-24). So, what Dr. Montessori discovered is now reiterated by UNESCO as the four Pillars of Education: (I) Learning to be: (II) Learning to learn; (III) Learning to work; and (IV) Learning to live together harmoniously. UNESCO may have identified WHAT Education for Sustainable Development is, but Dottoressa Maria Montessori's system showed HOW to work it out. It was the dottoressa who wrote the first Rights of the Child in 1946 when UNESCO was founded.
Dr. Montessori provided the scientific formula for an alternative teacher-training program with a very innovative curriculum and its corresponding set of learning apparata. This is what the children, specially of developing countries, need – the vehicle to develop his full human potential. Whenever this system is properly used, the result of an economically self-sufficient citizen could be replicated throughout the 21st century.
A catalyst of joint action and collaboration
In the recently convened meeting of the UNESCO Inter-Agency Committee on the UN DESD, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura welcomed this "as an important opportunity to build synergy among the United Nations agencies in this field." This was attended by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), ILO (International Labor Organization), UNICEF (United Nations Children's Educational Fund), UNU (United Nations University), WFP (World Food Program), UN AIDS, UN Habitat, and the World Bank.
DG Matsuura also said that: "The challenge before us is to recognize how each agency will make its own contribution to the goals and objectives of the DESD and support one another in doing so. I strongly believe that the DESD provides the opportunity for all of us to work together as 'one United Nations' for the benefit of our stakeholders and Member States."
For UNESCO, the DESD is integrally linked to other major educational initiatives and frameworks, especially Education for All (EFA) and the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD), as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
"UNESCO's approach to the Decade places a premium on partnership. Our intention is to make the Decade a catalyst of joint action and collaboration," DG Matsuura concluded.
For more information or reaction, please e-mail the author at exec@obmontessori.edu.ph or pssoliven@yahoo.com
Action Research for Change Towards Sustainability (ACTS): Change in Curricula and Graduate Skills Towards Sustainability
ACTS is a pilot research project funded jointly by Environment Australia and Macquarie University, Sydney.
The project aims to involve teachers of post-graduate courses in reflective praxis to transform their thinking and action towards sustainability through the use of Action Research with the ultimate aim of preparing graduates for professional work. As a result of this focus the project will contribute towards sustainable development in Australia.
The focus of the project is on:
- Professional development of teachers of postgraduate units in sustainability education
- Cross-faculty recruitment
- Explore research based activities to enhance professional development for sustainability
- Graduate Skills meet needs of industry and business in moving toward sustainability
Background
The project has its beginnings in November 2001 when Macquarie University hosted the National Environmental Education Councils Industry-University Summit. Participants identified the need for university graduates to hav attributes such as critical, creative and futures thinking skills, confidence to deal with uncertainty and awareness of sustainability. Further it was acknowledged that many educators are grappling with the issue of how to integrate knowledge of sustainability and skills into their discipline areas. A key recommendation was that research be undertaken in the area of education for sustainability. An outcome of the Summit was the formation of the Industry Advisory Group to inform future University-Industry Initiatives.
Currently there is no research that reports how academics understand sustainability across the different disciplines, and no research on how academics use the ideas of sustainability and creativity in their disciplines. This project is the first initiative forwarded by the Group.
Action Research
Action Research can be used as a collaborative research tool, which is often represented as a four-phase cyclical process of critical enquiry for participant lecturers -plan formulation, action, outcome observation and reflection. The process engages lecturers in critical research into contextual epistemology, pedagogy and ontology- transforming thinking and action towards sustainability.
Project Stages
The project team have invited teachers of post-graduate students to participate in the project. The participants are involved in a series of workshops in which they explore 'Action Research Methodology, 'Sustainability', 'Management of Change in Higher Education' and 'Graduate Skills in Sustainability'. They then develop and implement plans for change towards sustainability within the University curriculum.
There are at present thirteen action researchers involved in this project. These researchers lecture at Macquarie University's Centre of Environmental Law, MGSM-Graduate School of Management, Department of Health and Chiropractic, Department of Economics and Finance, Department of Language and Linguistics and Department of Psychology.
Participation is voluntary, however, funding or time release is provided to those involved during their workshops. Participants will retain intelletual property rights over their own Action Research outcomes.
Project Team
The study is being facilitated by:
- Dr Daniella Tilbury, Macquarie University, Sydney, Graduate School of the Environment - Project Director and Action Research Facilitator
- Dr Anna Reid, Macquarie University, Sydney, Centre for Professional Development-Phenomenographic Research Facilitator
- Associate Professor Anne Burns, Macquarie University, Sydney, Head of Division of Language and Linguistics - Action Research Facilitator and Team Support
- Dimity Podger, Macquarie University - Project Manager and Action Research Facilitator
- Kate Henderson, Macquarie University - Research Assistant
- Dr Sharon Fraser, Departmental Liaison, Macquarie University
- Richard Horsfield, Macquarie University - Project Evaluator
- Inger Shimell, Environment Australia
For futher information please contact: dtilbury@gse.mq.edu.au
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