This essay explores a central question for all those involved in education and sustainability (ESD): What are you really most interested in: educational or social outcomes--what learners learn, or what they do? Although this is hardly a new question, the paper argues that it is one that needs to be emphasised at this time when we see a tightening…

In his speech at the inaugural session of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education, Ahmedabad, India, in November 2007, Charles Hopkins, one of the "founding fathers" of environmental education (EE) at the 1st International Conference on Environmental Education in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1977, reflected on how EE has progressed…

The United Nations University-Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) has launched an initiative to build academic alliances among leading universities in the Asia-Pacific area to promote the sustainability paradigm in postgraduate education and research. The initiative, still in its formative stages, is called ProSPER.Net, which stands for…

Professor Hans van Ginkel, Rector of the United Nations University, Tokyo, (1997-2007) and president of the International Association of Universities (2000-2004), pioneered the concept of Regional Centers of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development (RCEs) as a strategy for meeting the goals of the United Nations Decade of Education for…

This paper foregrounds education for sustainable development (ESD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) as emergent discourses that need conscious efforts to align their ideals. While it explores the capacity of ESD to make significant contribution towards educational thinking and practice, it does so recognising that current neoliberalists'…

In Japan, environmental education partnerships among citizens, businesses and local government increased since new legislation was introduced in 2003, but there was little evidence of cross-sector collaboration until recently. Nagoya Open University of the Environment is a highly innovative, multi-sectoral citizen learning system founded in 2005…

Concerns have been raised for some time about the preparation of Australian teachers in the area of environmental education. Few tertiary institutions that undertake teacher education in Australia have specific units or modules dedicated to environmental education. This article reports on an evaluation of such a dedicated unit recently introduced…

Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities Partnership (MESA) is a programme which grew out of the coming together, in 2004, of a number of African universities met with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNESCO and several African regional environment and education projects to assess the status of…

This article describes an educational experiment, a student-led course called "Learning in Sustainable Development" offered at the teacher training programme at Stockholm University, Sweden. Its purpose was to foster empowerment and action competence among teacher-students in the field of education for sustainable development (ESD). The course…

The author argues that education, as we see it today, is more a part of sustainable development's (SD) problem than a part of its solution because it reinforces the principles and values of an unsustainable lifestyle and economy. He argues for an economy that is not centred on free market and profit, and which circulates wealth with a logic of…

This article explores the impact of the sustainable development (SD) agenda on the occupational and professional needs of those who have undergone educational and training programmes in the environmental field either at the undergraduate or the postgraduate level or through relevant professional institutions' continuing professional development…

This paper provides the rationale for a new education for sustainable development (ESD) project being developed in Australia. Titled "Project otherWISE," it seeks to build the capacity of young Australians to be agents of change towards sustainable lifestyles in their communities. The rationale for the project is grounded in three themes that are…

The crisis of sustainability can be linked to the traditional forms of schooling driven by mechanistic and technocratic worldviews. Progressing to a more sustainable world requires a fundamental shift in the framework of formal education--its structure, content and process--to include principles of systems thinking and holistic learning. A case…

Concerns have been expressed about the United Nations University's (UNU) Regional Centres of Expertise on education for sustainable development (RCE) initiative. While many have discussed RCE's contribution to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), there has been no attempt to contextualise the RCE initiative in…

This declaration was developed at the 4th International Conference on Environmental Education (ICEE) in November 2007. The conference was sponsored by UNESCO, UNEP and the Government of India and hosted by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) at Ahmedabad, India. The drafting process involved nearly 1,600 participants from 97 countries.…