<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 2 – Session 4E: <br>Curriculum Development for ESD</STRONG></FONT></P>

Saitip Room, 3rd Floor

13.00 – 13.20

4.E.1. Re-conceptualizing the Practice of School-Community Learning Partnerships for Sustainability

Jose Roberto Guevara
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

The importance of school-community partnerships is identified by UNESCO as an important mechanism for achieving the goals of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. However, based on a preliminary review of the literature in Australia, these school-community partnerships have often been described and examined with a focus in improving student well-being and learning outcomes, and assisting young people in skill development for employment. While there have been case studies that illustrate how these partnerships contribute to generating social capital, like the development of scientific literacy within the community, there is still a tendency for the school-community partnerships models that have been proposed to focus on the role of, and outcomes for, the school. As a result the outcomes for the community, and the valuable processes that occurs with and in communities tends to be diminished. The paper argues for a re-conceptualization of school-community partnership models to a more reciprocal learning partnership. To achieve this, the paper proposes that we need to re-conceptualize the relationship between formal (school) education and non-formal (community) education from being two opposite educational contexts and practices along a spectrum, to an image of the school being embedded within the wider community. The presentation will draw from experiences of the author of working in both formal and non-formal education contexts in Australia and the Philippines.

Download the paper (word, 90kb) and presentation (pdf, 340kb) 

13.20 – 13.40
4.E.2. Languages for Sustainable Development
Denis Cunningham, Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes, Australia
Linguistic wealth across the globe is threatened by a shift towards English as an international lingua franca and towards other languages perceived to be of prestige. Such language choice is evident in the areas of policy and practice in society. This challenge facing languages in Europe and globally is reflected by moves to limit the range of languages on offer in schools, as language death emerges as a threat in society and education. We believe that all languages are valuable and should be promoted in a multilingual world. Solutions are readily available, with some models being proposed for linguistic diversity in society and education. Specific reference is made to the philosophy and operations of the Fédération Internationale des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes (FIPLV). These priorities are continued in a series of recommendations for ensuring linguistic diversity at the global level and a cautionary note against believing one language is enough to ensure sustainable development in education and society.

Download the paper (word, 120kb) and presentation (pdf, 50kb)

13.40 – 14.00
4.E.3 Some Perspectives on Regional Collaboration needed in ESD
Toshio Kobayashi, National Institute of Multimedia Education, Japan 
Lim Cher Ping, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an emerging issue, especially in the developing parts of the world, along with Education for All (EFA). EFA deals with provision of opportunity for education, while the initiatives and measures in ESD are more general. ESD involves addressing a number of issues, such as cultural hegemony, gender inequality, degeneration of local languages and proper use of technology. In this paper the issues surrounding ESD are clarified and concrete items to tackle are identified and prioritized. Some perspectives are introduced which deal with ESD, and a practical scheme is described. This scheme is to be implemented through a collaborative effort by academic institutions, local governments and private entrepreneurs in the Asia-Pacific region.

Download the paper (word, 190kb) and presentation (pdf, 190kb)

14.00 – 14.20
4.E.4 The Implementation of Media Education in Hong Kong’s Secondary Curriculum: Reasons, Means and Impact
C.K. Cheung, University of Hong Kong, China
The strength of the influence of today’s media is well documented. In 1995 Kellner stated that a “media culture has emerged in which images, sounds, and spectacles help produce the fabric of everyday life, dominating leisure time, shaping political views and social behaviour”. A decade later, there are more types of information and  entertainment,  many  more  interactive  modes  for  consuming  mass  media’s  message,  and  a  more interconnected global village than ever before. Studies show that many students spend much of their time watching, listening, and interacting with media. The situation is similar in Hong Kong. In view of this, the call for the inclusion of media education in the school curriculum is opportune. Such curricula have been adopted successfully in countries such as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. With the proposal of curriculum reforms in year 2000, which emphasized “key learning areas” instead of traditional subjects, new curricular spaces are opening up for media education. A 2004 study noted that many schools claime to have already adopted media education in lessons. It is worth studying the reasons why these schools have decided to do so, how they have implemented media education, and the impact that media education has on students, especially in terms of the nine generic skills emphasized in the recent curriculum reform.

Download the paper (word, 110kb) and presentation (pdf, 30kb)