The issue of educational sustainability

In recent years, there has been a great deal of attention paid to the discussion of sustainable development, as the climate crisis and environmental challenges have become one of the central issues affecting the survival and development of humankind. Sustainable development is a keyway to address these issues, and the promotion of sustainability education is particularly important. As a central means of fostering environmental awareness and responsibility in the next generation of inhabitants, sustainability education not only deepens people's understanding of the natural environment, but also empowers them with the knowledge and skills to deal with environmental issues.

However, the formal education system still suffers from a number of problems in relation to the subject of sustainable development.

Firstly, the curriculum in most UK primary and secondary schools is not designed to include systematic learning about the climate crisis and other sustainability issues. In fact, direct reference to climate change in most curricula is limited to secondary school science and geography lessons (Howard-Jones et al., 2021). In addition, according to a study by Brindle (2021) (a sample of 7,682 UK teachers), 70 per cent of UK teachers do not receive relevant sustainability training, so they are unable to teach their students about climate change, environmental protection, and other relevant knowledge and responses. Furthermore, according to the British Science Association (2023) report, the sustainability education students receive is focused on passing exams and does not equip them with the skills to deal with crises such as climate change. These phenomena not only lead to a lack of basic environmental knowledge and skills, but also to a lack of responsibility for transforming the future.

Second, education, as one of the key drivers of sustainable development, should ensure that every student has access to a comprehensive basic education. However, some students from low-income or marginalised communities often lack access to quality educational resources and opportunities and are particularly lacking in knowledge about climate education and sustainability (Spaaij, Farquharson and Marjoribanks, 2015). According to Hutchinson, Reader and Akhal (2020) some marginalised students in England lag behind their normal counterparts by an average of 18.1 months in completing their GCSEs due to differences in the quality of education. On the one hand, this educational inequality not only affects students' academic performance and personal growth, but also limits their learning and engagement in climate education and sustainable development. On the other hand, this gap not only makes them lack the basic literacy to cope with future climate change compared to resource-rich students but may also lead to their disadvantaged position in their future life and work.

In summary, the above data and references indicate that the current formal education system does not place sufficient emphasis on sustainability education. Therefore, it is an urgent task to develop a more systematic and practical sustainability education, to narrow the inequality of educational resources and to ensure that all students have access to equitable education for sustainable development.

Reference list

Brindle, J. (2021). New research shows nearly three quarters of teachers haven’t received enough training on climate change. [online] www.teachthefuture.uk. Available at: https://www.teachthefuture.uk/blog/new-research-shows-nearly-three-quarters-of-teachers-havent-received-enough-training-on-climate-change [Accessed 29 Oct. 2024].

British Science Association (2023). Future Forum Climate change in secondary schools: young people’s views of climate change and sustainability education 2 Content. [online] Available at: https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=0f014842-012d-4199-a5bf-fdfc539d4549 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2024].

Howard-Jones, P., Sands, D., Dillon, J. and Fenton-Jones, F. (2021). The views of teachers in England on an action-oriented climate change curriculum. Environmental Education Research, 27(11), pp.1–20. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1937576.

Hutchinson, J., Reader, M. and Akhal, A. (2020). Education in England: Annual Report 2020. Interlitteraria, 19(2), p.444. doi:https://doi.org/10.12697/il.2014.19.2.15.

Spaaij, R., Farquharson, K. and Marjoribanks, T. (2015). Sport and Social Inequalities. Sociology Compass, [online] 9(5), pp.400–411. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12254.