and measures for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda that focuses on 17 SDGs, where Quality Education (SDG 4) is understood as ensuring “inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
In 1987, the UN's World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED) published the report “Our Common Future,” also known as the “Brundtland Report” in honor of the chair of the Commission, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The publication of the report was a milestone in raising international awareness, calling for action, and creating discourse on the importance of sustainable development and global partnerships. This makes the Brundtland Commission an indispensable forerunner in sustainability discourse. Therefore, this book adopts the Brundtland Commission's definition that sustainable development “meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland Report 1987, p. 8). The Commission concludes that two concepts are embedded in this overarching concept of sustainability. The first is the concept of needs, that is the essential needs of the poverty‐stricken populations that demand the priority of intervention networks; the second is the idea of limitations imposed on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs due to the state of technology and social organization (Brundtland Report 1987).
Very often, sustainability is understood as having three dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Kagawa (2007), Dvořáková and Zborková (2014), and Venkataraman (2009) are prominent scholars who contributed to the sustainability discourse by envisioning sustainability as a three‐dimensional endeavor. Efforts to achieve sustainability of these three dimensions collectively is understood as sustainability. For instance, environmental sustainability is achieved through efforts to conserve and enhance the natural resource base through sustainable consumption patterns. Social sustainability includes efforts to promote equity, diversity, and social justice. At the same time as environmental and social sustainability, economic sustainability is achieved through efforts to reduce poverty and promote fair trade. Garcia et al. (2017) state that the term “sustainable development” originates from the three dimensions, namely the environmental, economic, and sociocultural. On that ground, they emphasize the importance of “extensive collaboration among diverse partners” to implement a holistic approach to sustainability goals. They maintain that all three pillars of sustainable development need to be served to attain the transition to a sustainable society. Sustainability education, too, must therefore address these three dimensions to equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to make informed decisions in shaping sustainable futures. Earlier policy statements on sustainable transformations through education include environmental education (EE) in 1977, the introduction of education for sustainable development (ESD) during the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the announcement of the Decade for ESD in 2002 during the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the launch of the Global Action Programme (GAP) for ESD in 2014, and the Incheon Declaration (Education 2030: Toward Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Lifelong Learning for All). EE is the earliest form of ESD that is notable for its emphasis on public environmental concern and finding solutions for environmental issues. EE and ESD approaches to sustainability have certain overlaps as they are founded on the idea of conserving natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. These overlaps have made them intrinsically connected. Even though EE emerged before ESD, it is understood today as part of ESD. In 2009, a UNESCO analysis identified that EE–ESD relationships can be understood in three ways: EE and ESD as equals; EE as a part of ESD; and ESD and EE as distinct. However, both EE and ESD are identified as crucial approaches to sustainable development (UNESCO 2009; Pavlova 2012).
Sustainable development requires thinkers with the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that empower them to contribute to social, environmental, and economic sustainability. This becomes possible only through education. However, ESD does not mean education that focuses on economic growth alone. Economic growth‐oriented education also runs the risk of an increase in unsustainable consumption patterns that upset the ecological balance by depleting natural resources. On the contrary, the approach of ESD is believed to enable lifelong learning and empowers learners to make informed decisions and carry out responsible actions for environmental integrity, economic success, and a just society for present and future generations. Garcia et al. (2017) state that ESD requires participatory teaching and learning methods. They claim that such teaching and learning methods motivate and empower learners to move beyond acquiring knowledge, and change their behavior to take action for sustainable development.
The purpose of ESD is to empower every individual to be responsible and accountable for their actions for the benefit of the present and future generations. Reflecting on their actions and their social, cultural, economic, and environmental implications from a local and a global perspective helps individuals transform their own actions. Addressing learning content and outcomes, pedagogy, and the learning environment, ESD provides holistic and transformational education. UNESCO understands ESD as transformational education through four major pillars: (i) learning content; (ii) pedagogy and learning environment; (iii) learning outcomes; and (iv) social transformations. As transformational learning content, UNESCO understands the integration of pressing issues, such as climate change, poverty, biodiversity, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable consumption and production (SCP), into the curriculum. Apart from integrating such content into the curriculum, ESD focuses on interactive, learner‐centered teaching and settings. This enables a smooth shift from teaching to learning and demands an action‐oriented, transformative pedagogy that accommodates self‐directed learning, participation and collaboration, problem‐orientation, inter‐ and transdisciplinarity, and the linking of formal and informal learning (UNESCO 2017). Such transformational pedagogy and learning environments are conducive to exploratory, action‐oriented transformative learning in a learner and also demand the rethinking of both physical and virtual learning environment to inspire learners to take action for sustainability. The third pillar, learning outcomes, encapsulates stimulating learning and promoting core competencies such as “critical and systemic thinking, collaborative decision‐making and taking responsibility for future generations.” The final pillar that supports ESD is societal transformation that is expected to “empower learners to transform themselves and society they live in.” Enabling a transition to greener economies and societies, equipping learners with skills for greener jobs, and encouraging people to have sustainable lifestyles are some examples of societal transformation (UNESCO 2017).
The SDG on education recognizes ESD as part of Target 4.7 together with global citizenship education (GCED), which UNESCO promotes as a complementary approach. Moreover, realization of the SDG on education is crucial to the realization of the 16 other SDGs. ESD presents its learning objectives as specific cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral learning outcomes. In short, ESD aims at equipping all individuals with the knowledge and competencies required to bring about transformation and thereby contribute to achieving SDGs. It demands the embedding of non‐formal and informal education with key cross‐cutting competencies related to sustainability in curricula in all educational institutions ranging from preschool to tertiary education.
Despite the promise with which ESD has been seen, one can also view ESD with skepticism since empirical studies on its effectiveness is scant. McKeown (2002), Scott (2015), and Kioupi and Voulvoulis (2019) point out that few studies that review learning and pedagogical practices in ESD highlight inconsistencies, incongruences, and deficits in curricula. ESD has also drawn skepticism due to the definition education is assigned in different contexts (UNESCO 2014). Similarly, “sustainable society” (Seatter and Ceulemans 2017) and “sustainability in education” are arguably vague concepts that are open to contestation (UNESCO 2012). Nonetheless, this book focuses on exploring ways of embedding sustainability in higher education by tracing current practices, challenges, and novel trends and developments. Section 1.2 of this chapter reviews the existing literature on ESD by tracing its history and evolution. Section 1.3 then explores the need for promoting sustainability in higher education. The book then branches out to explore its subject under four main Parts, the theme of each Part being investigated in several chapters. Drawing insights from current practices and disciplinary