The Use of Media in the Field of Individual Responsibility for Sustainable Development in Schools: A Proposal for an Approach to Learning about Sustainable Development

Hedviga Tkáčová,Martina Pavlíková,Zita Jenisová,Miroslav Tvrdoň

doi:10.3390/su13084138

Abstract

Emphasis on the balance between human needs and the carrying capacity of these needs in the context of sustainable development (SD) is present in interdisciplinary study programs and the content of higher education in Slovakia. In the theoretical part of this paper, we present the media as a tool that expands the possibilities of schools in the field of education about SD. It is proven to help school activities draw attention to the situation and problems of SD and to spread the reported problems outside the school space. We examine the practical dimension of the issue of individual responsibility for the world and SD through our own research. The aim is to analyze the individual tasks of sustainable human behavior from the perspective of university students. The research findings provide the current view of young respondents on the roles and individual responsibilities that exist for SD. They also answered in which of the four dimensions defined by the “National strategy for SD of the Slovak republic” the researched students see the greatest need for individual responsibility.

Highlights

Environmental protection, economic prosperity, and social equity are closely linked.They are united by the need for human responsibility.The concept of sustainable development (SD) began to be used in the early 1970s, when it was associated with the recognition that uncontrollable growth in any area is unsustainable in an environment limited by finite resources
To support education in the school environment and awareness in the school and out-of-school environments, schools have several methods at their disposal through the media in which they can approach the topic of sustainable development
It agrees with the findings of many different researches that proved that suitable development issues can be spread through all kinds of media because, as we mentioned above, all kinds of media are known to widen the range of public topics, events, and issues of which their audience is aware

Summary

Introduction

Environmental protection, economic prosperity, and social equity are closely linked.They are united by the need for human responsibility.The concept of sustainable development (SD) began to be used in the early 1970s, when it was associated with the recognition that uncontrollable growth in any area (such as production, consumption, population, pollution, etc.) is unsustainable in an environment limited by finite resources. Environmental protection, economic prosperity, and social equity are closely linked. They are united by the need for human responsibility. The concept of sustainable development (SD) began to be used in the early 1970s, when it was associated with the recognition that uncontrollable growth in any area (such as production, consumption, population, pollution, etc.) is unsustainable in an environment limited by finite resources. There was a discussion at the time on raw materials and energy resources, which limit the development of society to unlimited largeness. Topics related to growing demographic development, richer lifestyles, and climate change, which are a threat to life on earth, were added to the concept of sustainable development (SD). In the context of the Slovak Republic, the concept of SD is regulated by Act no. 17/1992 Coll. on the environment, which in paragraph 6 defines SD as “development that preserves the ability of current and future generations to meet their basic living needs without reducing the diversity of nature” [1]

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