{"id":6829,"date":"2016-11-23T07:57:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-23T07:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2016-12-08T08:35:45","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T08:35:45","slug":"the-sdgs-as-a-radical-curriculum-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2016\/11\/23\/the-sdgs-as-a-radical-curriculum-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"The SDGs as a radical curriculum alternative?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the presentation I made at\u00a0the CPRT<\/a> conference last week in a small group session about global leaning and sustainable development, chaired by Kevin Bailey:<\/p>\n

The SDGs as a radical curriculum alternative?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The sustainable development goals were agreed by the UN last December, and the world has signed up to them.\u00a0 They are about transforming people\u2019s lives. \u00a0They follow on from the reasonably successful MDGs but are both more extensive and less well defined. \u00a0It\u2019s widely agreed that they have the potential for focusing attention on ways to address, and perhaps even resolve some of the huge range of problems the world faces today. \u00a0In particular, the breadth of the issues covered by the Goals has the power to be bring teachers, students, leaders and external activists together. \u00a0That\u2019s because the SDGs seem to offer a currency and a means of exchange that all can understand and\u00a0get involved in. \u00a0For example, every UK university already has teaching and research that is focused on a range of the Goals, usually in partnership with others.<\/p>\n

But what about schools?\u00a0 A recent conference in Germany explored the idea of a school where learning based entirely around the Goals. \u00a0This was a so-called global goals curriculum. \u00a0But we have to ask, is this just another marginal approach that will distract people from the issues? \u00a0Or is it something quite radical that could really be an effective approach to transforming lives? \u00a0This transformation idea featured in the UN Secretary-General\u2019s recent synthesis report about sustainable development. \u00a0Here\u2019s the report\u2019s title, which shows the challenge:<\/p>\n

The road to dignity by 2030: ending poverty, transforming all lives and protecting the planet.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let me risk being provocative at the outset by saying that I think that these ideas are in the wrong order.\u00a0 I\u2019d have put it like this:<\/p>\n

The road to dignity by 2030: protecting the planet, transforming all lives and ending poverty<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s because, unless we protect the biosphere from the damage we are doing to it, there\u2019s no chance of ending poverty.\u00a0 Indeed, it will increase. \u00a0I also think that we\u2019re more likely to end poverty by transforming lives \u2013 rather than the other way round. \u00a0This is an extract from the Secretary-General\u2019s report:<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  • Transformation is our aim.<\/li>\n
  • We must transform our economies, our environment and our societies.<\/li>\n
  • We must change old mindsets, behaviours and destructive patterns.<\/li>\n
  • We must build cohesive societies, in pursuit of international peace and stability. ...<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    There is no mention of education, but how do you do all this without education? \u00a0The Secretary-General\u2019s report went on to say that all this is possible if we mobilize political will and the necessary resources, and if we work together. \u00a0But the gulf between this vision, and where we are now, seems to be getting wider week by week. \u00a0So, how are we to do, what seems like a hugely difficult task?<\/p>\n

    For many, this will seem like a call for nothing less that the development of new worldviews to address, what some call, the sustainability probl\u00e9matique.<\/p>\n

    How can we all live well, without compromising the planet\u2019s continuing ability to enable us all to live well<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    We might differ, however, perhaps widely, on what the outcomes of such transformation ought to be. \u00a0We also might differ on how it\u2019s to be achieved.\u00a0 And differ, as well, on the role of education within it. \u00a0The UN report does address education.\u00a0 It says this \u2026<\/p>\n

    It is important that young people receive relevant skills and high-quality education and life-long learning, from early childhood development to post-primary schooling, including life skills and vocational education and training.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Of course, this is just to restate the 4th Goal. \u00a0Clearly, many educators think that education is the key to transformation, and this idea was a strong theme of some of the meetings leading to the Paris Agreement on climate change, although not of the Agreement itself. \u00a0If so, then a focus on the Goals will be necessary. \u00a0The mix of policies and practices necessary to achieve these will involve all kinds of social groups and institutions working together. \u00a0\u00a0These will be public and private, governmental and NGO, local, national and international, and large and small.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s clear that many groups already see the goals as a conceptual frame around which to build their policies, strategies, and evaluation. \u00a0For example, the UN Global Compact has produced, with others, a \u2018SDG Compass\u2019 to help business maximize its contribution to the Goals. \u00a0And many universities are already beginning to use the goals to bring their activities together. \u00a0For example, teaching, research, student activitism, work with community groups, a focus on social accountability, and institutional business practices. \u00a0As one activist said to me:<\/p>\n

    \u201cthese internationally agreed goals give focus to the often sprawling scope of sustainable development.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The Compass idea could be very helpful here, and all the universities I know well already focus directly on issues represented by the goals. \u00a0It\u2019s less easy in schools, of course, but those interested in global learning might say that this is exactly what they have been doing for some time. \u00a0The advantage of a focus on the goals is that they make SD more concrete. \u00a0After all, unlike ESD, which is, at best, a mysterious process, they are real, and you don\u2019t have to go round persuading people of their merits. \u00a0So, what can schools do?<\/p>\n

    Well, if we\u2019re to think about what schools might do in relation to the goals, it\u2019s important, first, to think about outcomes, and at a basic level, perhaps we have 4 kinds of responsibility as citizens:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • understand that the Goals are important<\/li>\n
    • think about these in relation to people\u2019s lives and interests<\/li>\n
    • weigh arguments and discuss possibilities and practicalities<\/li>\n
    • get involved whilst reflecting on the appropriateness of actions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      So what can schools do as a preparation for such a citizenly role?\u00a0 And what are the practical ways forward? \u00a0Perhaps educators also have four kinds of responsibility:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • help learners understand why the goals ought to be of concern to them<\/li>\n
      • enable learners to gain plural perspectives from a range of viewpoints<\/li>\n
      • provide opportunities for an active and critical exploration of issues<\/li>\n
      • encourage learners to come to their own views and to get involved<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Doing less than this seems neglectful; doing much more runs the risk of indoctrination as we need to stimulate without prescribing. \u00a0And we need to see conceptual frameworks as scaffolding to build learning around, rather than as cages to restrain ideas and creativity. \u00a0This is, of course, a liberal educational view that puts student learning first. \u00a0This view says that educational institutions must always prioritise student learning over institutional, behaviour or social change. \u00a0It also says that we should make use of any change that\u2019s happening, to support and broaden that learning. \u00a0In this sense, it\u2019s fine for a school, college or university to encourage its students to become involved, and through that involvement, enhance social justice, save energy, create less waste, promote biodiversity, etc. \u00a0To do otherwise is to forget why educational institutions exist. \u00a0Being restorative of social or natural capital is laudable, but not if it neglects or negates the development of learning. \u00a0Thus, a successful liberal education today will be taking these goals seriously in everything it does. \u00a0At its heart will be students asking critical questions of society, of their institution, and of their learning \u2013 looking for the need for change, and getting involved. \u00a0In this sense, schools are important in nurturing thinking and learning about what might constitute appropriate futures, and in helping students develop skills and competences by doing so.<\/p>\n

        But there are limits.<\/p>\n

        Jensen and Schnack make the point with force that the crucial factor must always be what students learn from participating in such activities.<\/p>\n

        \u201c\u2026 it is not and cannot be the task of the school to solve the political problems of society.\u00a0 Its task is not to improve the world with the help of pupils\u2019 activities. \u2026\u00a0 The crucial factor must be what students learn from participating in such activities \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

        So, our young people can be helped to understand the issues, to understand how to make themselves heard, and how to make a difference. \u00a0And this can be in schools across the age range. \u00a0Paradoxically, it may well be through such small-scale, on-the-ground, open-minded, developments that the potential for transformation may well be enhanced.<\/p>\n

        ....................................................<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        This is the presentation I made at\u00a0the CPRT conference last week in a small group session about global leaning and sustainable development, chaired by Kevin Bailey: The SDGs as a radical curriculum alternative? The sustainable development goals were agreed by...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comment","category-new-publications"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/237"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}