Developing Values and Purposes in Teachers for a Better World: The Experience of the United Kingdom Teacher Education Network for Education for Sustainable Development/Global Citizenship

Abstract

This article describes, analyses and evaluates the work of the United Kingdom Teacher Education Network for Education for Sustainable Development/Global Citizenship as a contribution to developing teachers who can promote a better world. The article outlines some of the rationales for educating new teachers in values and purposes in relation to education for sustainable development and global citizenship, particularly with respect to the global challenges we face now and in the future. The authors reflect on the role and effectiveness of the United Kingdom Teacher Education Network in developing and disseminating practice, policy and theory. They explore the challenges faced in developing and sustaining the network as a community of practice committed to developing a ‘radical’ practice underpinned by theory. In particular, the authors explore how the changing external climate nationally and internationally calls for strategic thinking on the part of educators committed to the values of education for sustainable development and global citizenship, and discuss how capacity may be built in the current era. Finally, the article discusses some of the findings of a United Kingdom-wide survey of education for sustainable development and global citizenship within initial teacher education undertaken on behalf of the network, and the implications of the findings for the best way to move forward. One of the tasks of the progressive educator … is to unveil opportunities for hope, no matter what the obstacles might be. (Freire, 1994, p. 9)