<P><FONT color=#33711E><STRONG>Day 3 – Session 6D: <br>Innovative Approaches for All: Tools and Methodologies for Sustainable Development</STRONG></FONT></P>

Saitip, 3rd Floor

8.30 – 8.50

6.D.1 The Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit

Rosalyn Rae McKeown, University of Tennessee, United States of America

The Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit is an easy-to-use manual for beginning the process of combining education and sustainability. The Toolkit is based on the idea that communities and educational systems need to dovetail their efforts to reach community sustainability goals. This paper describes the seven major components of the ESD Toolkit and discusses how the Toolkit can help schools and communities develop a process to implement locally-relevant and culturally-appropriate education.

Download the paper (word, 100kb) and presentation (pdf, 1.3mb)

8.50 – 9.10

6.D.2 Using Enquiry-Based Learning in Higher Education as Curriculum Tool for Educational Development

Ian Kaplan and Susie Miles, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

This paper discusses a course recently piloted at the University of Manchester which used enquiry-based learning (EBL) as teaching method. EBL is a curriculum innovation which can contribute to educational development as it encourages democratic and student-centred teaching and learning. Supported by the University’s Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning (CEEBL), the course was offered to Masters and PhD students. The pilot course was in “Participatory Photography”, in which participants represented their perspectives by taking, analyzing and sharing photographs. During the course, students explored the use of images as a qualitative research tool while considering their own socio-cultural perspectives on social and educational inclusion. A diverse group of students attended the course and the group was involved in devising criteria for assessment. Participatory Photography provided an accessible means (not dependent on traditional literacy) of engaging with various stakeholder groups and sharing perspectives cross culturally. Students have since used Participatory Photography in working with children and young people in the UK and in development education contexts, such as with students in non-formal education settings in Bangladesh.

Download the paper (word, 1.6mb) and presentation (pdf, 150kb)

9.10 – 9.30

6.D.3. Non-Formal Education for Sustainable Development: A Bangladeshi Perspective

M. Mahruf C. Shohel and Andrew J. Howes, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

Education is a life-long process for the betterment of human well-being. However, many children have no chance to even attend primary school. Dropout and failure rates are alarming; many students leave school semi-literate, soon to relapse into illiteracy. Since the 1960s, non-formal education has comprised a wide spectrum of educational and training activities organized outside the formal school system. Innovative learning methods developed in non-formal education settings aim to develop practical skills, including skills relating to health, sanitation, literacy which can be applied in real life situations. The non-formal sector thus increases pressure for change in the wider education system. The traditional formal education paradigm, aimed at creating human capital for economic growth, is increasingly at odds with the concept of education for sustainability. This paper draws on a three-year empirical study of young people at the point of transition from non-formal to formal education and describes a framework for analyzing how the non-formal education paradigm could usefully and realistically encourage education for sustainable development in the formal system.

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9.30 – 9.50

6.D.4 Facilitating Educational Development: The RMIT Research by Project Programme

David Hodges and Bill Vistarini, RMIT University, Australia

One of the greatest challenges for sustainable development is the forging of learning partnerships and creating practical, contextual knowledge. RMIT University’s “Research By Project” is an innovative post graduate research programme that is based on notions of practical knowledge and the application of this knowledge in a particular context. The “Research By Project” has three aims: a more knowledgeable and skilled practitioner; a contribution to professional and scholarly knowledge; and a change in practice or body of work. These knowledge objectives are practical and trans-disciplinary. This paper explores the challenges of undertaking workplace-based postgraduate research in the context of educational decentralization and capacity building. This paper also looks at issues associated with managing research within the context of a complex and dynamic workplace environment - a world that is characterized by change and shifting priorities. Managing these disruptions requires flexibility and creativity from both students and supervisors.

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9.50 – 10.10

6.D.5 Research into the ESD-awareness of Staff of Peking University and the University of Tokyo

Zunyan Liu , The University of Tokyo, Japan
Akihiro Tamai and Li Zhao, Department of Human Environmental Sciences, Ochanomizu University, Japan

This paper describes a study into the ESD-awareness of staff from Peking University (PKU) and the University of Tokyo (UT). Recognizing the importance of “Education for Sustainable Development” for the future, it was decided to examine four groups of Chinese and Japanese scholars, in terms of their educational background, their  environmental  awareness  and  their  knowledge  about  ESD. The  groups  of  scholars  were  given  a questionnaire with three main parts. The first part investigated awareness of environmental issues, the second part examined action for environmental protection and the third examined knowledge about ESD. The study found that there is currently not enough experience at higher-education levels in China or in Japan. This paper suggests that there is a need to improve the situation and to develop some useful tools concerning ESD for use both within general and professional education.

Download the paper (word, 2.0mb) and presentation (pdf, 850kb)