Abstract
‘I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was the man to whom all things were known; this was the king who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went on a long journey, was weary, worn-out with labour, returning he rested, engraved on a stone the whole story.’ (Sanders, 1960)
‘And we regret the process of our age: progress, stagnation and decay’ (ILiKETRAiNS He who Saw the Deep, 2010)
The book’s 31 chapters are set out in three separate sections: Re-Orientating Science and Society; Re-Connecting People and Planet; and Re-Imagining Education and Learning. The overall aim of the book, set out on its cover, is to ‘explore the possibilities and dilemmas of designing, strengthening and facilitating learning-based change and transitions towards sustainability’. However, for which audience is this less clear. A long target list appears on the back cover and includes educators, change agents (it is not clear who they are), students, researchers, policy makers and entrepreneurs. For many in this list the material covered will mean relatively little; its presentation and language are predominantly that of a well-practiced and, in many instances, long-established researcher in ESD and hence lacks the essential ingredient of clarity and accessibility of language for a wider audience. However, for those in the (still) relatively small world of Education for Sustainability it will be essential reading.
Although the book offers a wide range of well-written and argued exemplars of theory and practice in ESD, there are other contributions, particularly in the first section of the book, that are more limited, often over-written and insufficiently focussed. I remain unconvinced that erecting an array of different learning categories, such as ‘pedagogies of possibilities’, ‘pedagogies for survival’, ‘eco-pedagogies’ and ‘queer ecologies’, is helpful in supporting the main streaming of sustainability within all educational practice.
Some of the real inspiration in this book can be found in the second and third sections. I would particularly highlight chapter 11, on hope in a world of environmental catastrophe; 12, on place-based education; 13, on practical outdoor education in Norway; and 14, on learning from indigenous cultures in America. All of these have a very clear message: the most effective forms of ESD depend on context and participation and are grounded in practice.
The chapter by Ray Ison and Christine Blackmore on designing and developing learning systems for managing systemic change is a must read. It is based on their work in designing one of the most successful open learning systems courses at the UK Open University over the past 30 years. This chapter is based on a new post-graduate module entitled ‘Managing Systemic Change: inquiry, action and interaction’. Much is written about the essential requirements for systems thinking to be taught as part of ESD, but relatively little is written on the actual pedagogy of systems thinking and practice. This chapter and much of what is taught on the OU programme stresses that ‘there can be few contexts more appropriate for developing skills in understanding systemic relations than the thinking and practice associated with sustainability’. (p. 349) As the authors go on to say in this chapter, ‘A normative position that underpins the module we explore as a case study is that currently our individual and collective skills and capacities to think and act systemically are under developed, yet urgently needed in the face of human induced climate change…over consumption, and human well being.’ (p. 353).
A similar argument is highlighted in a different and very engaging way in chapter 25 by Ken Webster and Paul Ware as they discuss the case for adopting the principles underpinning the ‘Circular Economy’ rather than applying other conceptual frameworks for ESD. Both chapters emphasize how much there is still to do in deepening our learning for and about sustainability and designing learning systems that combine the best of our existing linear systematic models with more systemic, self-organizing participative models.
As we approach the end of the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESD 2005–2014), this book is a timely reminder that although there is much to celebrate in how learning for sustainability has progressed in a wide range of contexts around the world, it has not yet become a central element of international educational policy and practice. And much of this progress has been achieved through relatively small initiatives and shifts in policy, none of which are too demanding in themselves, and which may ultimately lead to a more sustainable society. However, modest incrementalism may be too little too late, if we are to drive our economy towards a more fundamental reform and our society towards a sustainable and climate-resilient future.