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Sustainability Education
The further and higher education sector has a vital role in contributing to an understanding of sustainability and the ability of society to meet the challenges posed by the transition to a sustainable society. The Further and Higher Education Working Group (FHEWG) of the National Environmental Education Council (NEEC) is working at the strategic level to assist universities and vocational education and training bodies to address the need for more integration of the principles of sustainable development into core curricula and for these institutions to set an example by the way in which they manage their facilities.
Given the highly independent nature of universities and the difficulty of achieving broad-scale change in the short term, the Working Group is attempting to provide strategic direction by supporting projects and initiatives that can act as a model and catalyst for change.
In 2001 the Council expanded its focus to include the area of Vocational Education and Training recognising the potential for integrating environmental principles into a nationally defined curriculum.
In 2001 the Council initiated summits at the Australian National University (31 May 2001), Macquarie University (27 November 2001) and Murdoch University (3 December 2001) where business leaders were brought together with senior academics to raise the profile of education about sustainability and its relevance to industry.
A major theme, identified by participants at the summits, is the need to ensure the effective development and assessment of generic skills in education for sustainability across all faculties. Participants agreed that sustainability should not just be the concern of environmental disciplines but for all students, including those undertaking professional courses such as engineering, architecture, economics, accountancy, law and business. Universities were called on to provide students with the critical, creative and futures thinking skills to develop innovative and alternative solutions as well as the action-orientated skills needed to motivate, manage and measure change towards sustainability.
The main outcome of the summits was a two year pilot project (Action research Towards Change for Sustainability) at Macquarie University to explore ways to integrate sustainability into postgraduate courses across all faculties.
The Action research Towards Change for Sustainability (ACTS) pilot project was undertaken between September 2002 and August 2004 and received $50,000 in funding from the Australian Government with matching funding provided by Macquarie University. The project engages postgraduate teachers across faculties in action research to explore ways of changing curriculum and graduate skills towards sustainability. The ACTS project has generated considerable interest from other universities and the methodology may serve as a useful case study to stimulate activity in this sector (ACTS project description). The findings of the report will be made available on its completion.
To contact the Working Group or for further information, please contact:
Further and Higher and Education Working Group
Secretariat
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6274 2872
Fax: 02 6274 2510