Geography Teaching Today

Introducing 'sustainable development' to your pupils

The Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone's needs, but not for everyone's greed.
Mahatma Gandhi
The Earth belongs to everyone, not part of it to certain people but all of it to everyone, to be enjoyed and cared for.
Michael Foreman, Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish, 1999
The interconnectedness of life is both a blessing and a curse; possibilities are boundless and consequences endless. Every value judgement we make ripples into a life somewhere.
Paula Owens, Deputy Head, Eastchurch Primary School, Kent, 2001

Oxfam CPD Activity: Sustainable Development

The quotations above are taken from Oxfam's Handbook for Global Citizenship, and illustrate different views of sustainable development. There is no single overriding definition of the complex concept of sustainable development. Indeed, some people think the term is an oxymoron, as 'sustainable' and 'development' are words that cannot be easily reconciled.

• How would you define sustainable development?
• How can development be sustainable?

Try a Google or Yahoo search using the search phrase definition AND 'education for sustainable development' and browse some of the associated literature to gain an overview of the wide remit and definitions associated with sustainable development.

Now look at Teachernet Sustainable Schools, which gives some of the definitions and information given relating to sustainable development.

For a more detailed view look at ESD Toolkit.

• What do you think are the key issues and problems we face today?
• How many of these do you tackle confidently in the classroom?
• How familiar are your pupils with the term ‘sustainable development'?
• How can you introduce the term and begin to think about defining it with young children?

See the table Seven Concepts of ESD and Primary Phase for guidance on what children should be learning at different Key Stages using the seven concepts of sustainable development as proposed by the Government Sustainable Development Education Panel. Read the first report from this Panel which set the groundwork for educational developments and policies.

Since the term Sustainable Development has a current currency it is important to use it with even very young children but it can be explained in far simpler and more accessible ways. The document Defining ESD with Young Children provides an example of making this terminology more accessible to young children.

Now do Activity 2