SUSTAINABILITY AND EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: INTEGRATING ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS INTO LEARNING

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a revolutionary understanding of education which incorporates environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability in the education process. It is a comprehensive review paper which explores modern studies on the implementation of ESD, pedagogical practices, curriculum implementation and learning objectives in the various learning settings. The results have shown that successful ESD entails the students in holistic, action-based learning experiences, that cultivate sustainability competencies that include critical thinking, systems perception, ethical decision-making, and change agency. Nevertheless, there are still considerable obstacles to implementation such as the presence of disciplinary silos, gaps in teacher preparation, time and resource constraints and conflicts between growth based economic paradigm and true sustainability ideals. The article summarizes the literature on effective ESD models, points out the potential of effective pedagogical applications, and suggests the potential ways of addressing the obstacles to implementation in order to promote the Sustainable Development Goals via education.