Transcript Education for Sustainable Development in Manitoba

Education for
Sustainable Development
in Manitoba Education
Gerald Farthing
Deputy Minister
Manitoba Education
Purpose of Presentation
To provide information that can form
the basis for a discussion about how
ESD can be incorporated into teacher
training and education programs.
Context
• UN Decade for ESD
• UNECE ESD Strategy and Steering Committee
• UNECE Experts Group on Teacher Competencies
• ESD at CMEC - Learn Canada 2020
• Provincial commitment to being green
• Working with many partners including schools, school divisions
and deans of education
• In a very difficult financial situation
• Teaching and learning with our students how to live sustainably
is non-negotiable
Community Expectations
Canadians have expressed their support for
the idea of including environmental education
in school curricula. According to data from the
2008 Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward
Learning (SCAL), Canadians believe it is either
“important” (46%) or “essential” (50%) to
include learning about the environment as
part of compulsory topics at school.
Aboriginal Perspective
• The concept of sustainable development is not new to First
Nations – it is demonstrated in the peoples’ traditional belief
that their life system is centered on a reciprocal relationship
with the natural environment. (MFNERC)
• Chief Seattle in the Washington territory in 1854 said: If all the
beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of
spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to
the man. All things are connected…whatever befalls the earth
befall the sons of the earth.
• The overall objective for the ESD partnership program is to
ensure that the First Nations education system has the
opportunity to build capacity and knowledge of ESD. (MFNERC)
Student Achievement
• Research conducted in the past several decades
suggests that participation in environmental education
helps students develop knowledge about the
environment, positive environmental attitudes and
environmentally friendly behaviours.
• In addition to these outcomes, some forms of
environmental education have also been shown to be
associated with learning advantages such as:
improvements in achievement, critical thinking,
attitudes toward learning, and motivation to learn and
achieve in school.
Embedding ESD in Manitoba Education
• Mission: to ensure that all Manitoba’s children and youth have
access to an array of educational opportunities such that every
learner experiences success through relevant, engaging and high
quality education that prepares them for lifelong learning and
citizenship in a democratic, socially just and sustainable society
• Vision: that every learner will complete a high school education
with a profound sense of accomplishment, hope and optimism
• First Overarching Goal: to ensure that education in Manitoba
supports students learning and experiencing what it means to live
in a sustainable manner
• Staffing: two staff with direct responsibility for ESD
Some Important Initiatives
in Manitoba Education
• Continuing to integrate ESD in curriculum
• Developing ESD Units (with Manitoba Hydro)
• Providing Professional Learning Opportunities
• Implementing an ECO-Globe School Recognition Program
• Providing funding to schools in support of ESD
• Developing a senior years Global Citizenship and Sustainability
course
• Encouraging the incorporating of ESD in teacher education
ESD and Teacher Education
• First focus has been on in-servicing
• Need to put an equivalent focus on pre-service
• Sustainable Development and Living through
Changing Teacher Education and Teaching in Manitoba
– U of M Faculty of Education and the Canadian
Council on Learning
• UNECE Expert Group on Competences in Education for
Sustainable Development
UNECE Expert Group on Teacher Competencies
in Education for Sustainable Development
• Dr. Len Rivard is representing Canada
• First meeting in Sept – work to take 18 months
• Three issues:
 defining competences for students or learners
 defining competences for teachers or educators
 determining the target audience for the report
• It has been suggested that the target group for the
report be policymakers, while providing guidelines for
educators
ESD in Teacher Education in Manitoba
• Teacher education is already long and demanding in
Manitoba
• ESD competencies need to be incorporated in existing
programs as much as possible
• Need to learn as much as possible from the work of the
UNECE Experts Group on Teacher Competencies in ESD
• Perhaps an optional course that focuses on what it means
to teach from an ESD perspective could be developed and
offered
Many Partners including . . .
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Schools and School Divisions
Deans of Education
Council of Ministers of Education, Canada
Manitoba Hydro
Ducks Unlimited
International Institute for Sustainable Development
Manitoba Forestry Association
Green Manitoba
Learning for a Sustainable Future
Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre
Concluding Thought
Teaching and learning with our kids
what it means to live in a sustainable
manner is the most urgent and
important objective in education
today – we have no time waste.
Merci, Miigwetch, Thank you
Questions?