Abstract
this paper aims to demonstrate how geography as a school subject advances education for sustainable development by integrating knowledge about the natural and social environment, and looking into cause-and-effect relationships between its elements, analysing the current geo-ecological situation and pointing towards potential courses of further development. tasks which lead to achieving the set goal include: defining main notions related to education for sustainable development; giving an account of the history of the idea of sustainable development and an explanation of its meaning and implementation in education; analysis of Strategy for development of Education System in Serbia until 2020; presenting elements relevant to education for sustainable development and giving arguments which uphold its feasibility and potential subjects in achieving it; defining which competences develop in students while studying for sustainable development and presenting how teaching geography can contribute to that process from pre-university to higher education levels. Methods will be presented through practical examples not only from our country, but from some other European countries as well; these methods are: field research, making films about geography themes, geography social evenings, discussion meetings, excursions. Both high school and university students need to be instructed about sustainable development as well as about the fact that geography classes should set an example when it comes to raising the awareness of environmental issues and willingness to have a responsible relationship with it, as well to behave in a conscientious manner when they leave school.Keywords: geography classes; sustainable development; Serbia; competences; education; human recourses; environment.
Highlights
Education for sustainable development has a very important role in the formation of contemporary ecological culture
In order to achieve this, education for sustainable development must ensure that knowledge from all the relevant sectors is integrated, with a particular stress placed on the application of such knowledge for the purpose of affording a better quality of life for all citizens
The present system of education in Serbia is untenable. It is not efficient enough, nor does it include every child and youth; its outcomes are not satisfactory on any level. The consequences of such a situation are: the level of general education has been fairly low; the dropout rate is rather high at all levels of education; there has been a significant drain of qualified staff; a lack of standards for quality assurance; a rigid and outdated curriculum; a lack of complex and modern skills necessary in an education process both amongst teachers and pupils/ students
Summary
Methods will be presented through practical examples from our country, but from some other European countries as well; these methods are: field research, making films about geography themes, geography social evenings, discussion meetings, excursions. Both high school and university students need to be instructed about sustainable development as well as about the fact that geography classes should set an example when it comes to raising the awareness of environmental issues and willingness to have a responsible relationship with it, as well to behave in a conscientious manner when they leave school
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