June 2014

  • NIACE takes a giant leap sideways – with its eyes wide shut

    NIACE – which sells itself as “The National Voice for Lifelong Learning” – has launched it’s manifesto for the elections in 2015: Skills for Prosperity – Building Sustainable Recovery for All This says: “This manifesto urges all of the political...

  • Absorbing values – British or otherwise

    There was much talk last week of British values, and the need for schools to teach them – and not just in Birmingham.  Not for the first time schools are asked to step up at times of moral crisis. In a piece I was...

  • Creating Greener Citizens: Political Liberalism and a Robust Environmental Education

    This is the title of a paper from David Stevens of the University of Nottingham in Studies in Philosophy and Education (February 2014).  It's available (to purchase) here. Here's the Abstract ... Proponents of environmentalist views often urge the teaching of such views and the inculcation of...

  • Systems Thinking, Education and the Circular Economy

    Here's a recent talk by Ken Webster at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.  There is much in it about the real world, and about sustainability and learning – though not about ESD.  A stimulating way to start the day.

  • To be, or not to be – is this the question?

    The origins of education for sustainable development, education for sustainability, etc lie in environmental education and development education.  Over time, these have brought together a wide variety of educational approaches which examine how living things relate to each other and depend on...

  • Reading the HEA's tea leaves

    The HEA's 2012/13 annual report, comments on the Academy's sustainability work under a number of headings.  For the record, here are the references to sustainability, sustainable development, and ESD.  There are quite a few: Change (p. 36) We offer a...

  • The UK is No. 2 in Europe it seems – for Education!

    The UK is No. 2 in Europe for Education.  Well, so says Pearson – and they should know as they seem increasingly to be running it.  The BBC reports their latest Economist Intelligence Unit world survey and says: These rankings are based...

  • Environmental Education in Japan

    I spent a stimulating few hours earlier this week with two visiting researchers from the Japanese National Institute for Environmental Studies.  They came to the UK to look at policies and practices around environmental education of all things.  How refreshing. Bath was their...

  • Indicators from the UNU

    The UN University has issued a report on resilience in socio-ecological production landscape indicators (SEPLs) that were developed between Bioversity International and the United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS). The report begins by defining the terminology of SEPLs, resilience, and the...

  • Good news for Educators in Wales – thanks to Pearson

    The news that the OECD’s PISA education league tables will include a measure on global competences in 2018 must come as a relief to those responsible for school education across Wales, as – of course – it will mean that...