Innovations in curriculum and pedagogy in education for sustainable development

Abstract

Following the enactment of the 1972 Clean Water Action of USA and the 1974 Environmental Quality Act of Malaysia, “sustainability” concepts and best practices in the 1970s to 1990s were vague and were primarily confined to the protection of the environments. Environmental education then was dominated by cognitive goals of acquiring knowledge, but largely ignored affective goals of cultivating desirable social attitudes and personal behaviours that are favourable to the preservation of nature and its ecosystems. The 1987 Brundtland Report initiated a transformational process for developing integrated sustainability concepts and practices to holistically embrace the three pillars of sustainability consisting of the environmental, societal and economic aspirations, for the goal of promoting equitable distribution of benefits and responsibility between the current and future generations. This ongoing transformation entails an educational paradigm shift that mandates the necessity of integrating socio-cultural and economic dimensions with ethical and aesthetical values in education for sustainable development (ESD). Contributing to the aspirations of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD 2005-2014), this chapter provides critical reflections and useful suggestions on innovations in curriculum and pedagogy that are essential to ESD in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030). Pedagogy through living examples and experiences at the local, regional and international levels will be presented to support these narratives of sustainably solving global issues such as climate change, acute water shortages, and rapid loss of biodiversity.