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Beyond boundaries: implementing education for
sustainable development in language arts
Lorna Down, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Education, University of the West Indies
T
o transform a world requires at the very least a different
way of thinking about and relating to self, others and the
space we all occupy on this earth. A vision of the quality
education needed to enable such new thinking and relationships
has been promoted in the United Nations Decade of Education
for Sustainable Development (DESD). The goal of the DESD is
to “integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable
development into all aspects of education and learning [in order
to] create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental
integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and
future generations.”
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Teaching language arts with that vision and that goal in mind
– in other words, having an education for sustainable develop-
ment (ESD) approach to teaching – means integrating sustainable
development concerns, issues and principles in courses in order to
develop citizens with awareness and particular values: citizens who
are attentive to social justice, equity, peace and the conservation
of the earth, and who act in ways that create a sustainable society.
The ideals of ESD in language arts can be introduced effectively to
both pre-service and in-service teachers but the approach can also
be adjusted to suit students at any level.
One of the main themes identified in the DESD International
Implementation Scheme is that of ‘peace and human security’.
A focus on that theme is appropriate, given the level of violence
in some communities. Beginning by introducing the concept of
sustainable development to students in a number of ways,
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it became
a major part of the context for the study of literature texts. The
discussion of these issues was then moved from the safe space of the
text and deliberately shifted to that of ‘real-world’ local experiences.
This allowed for a space in which the student teachers could explore
freely their responses to violence in the society. Emerging from this,
the difficulty of handling conflicts was recognized and this led to
the organization of a conflict resolution workshop. Additionally,
students planned ‘peace projects’ which offered an alternative
response to the situation.
The basic principles emerging from this experience remain
useful. Beginning with limited knowledge of sustainability – a
general science background seemed inadequate for the task of
understanding the ‘science’ of sustainability; moreover, specializa-
tion was in the arts, in literature, which initially appeared marginal
to the task of educating for sustainable development. In actuality,
it was discovered that literature, like every other discipline, has a
unique contribution to make towards creating a sustainable society.
Literature’s special contribution of emotional and spiritual develop-
ment, allowing for insights into self and others through ‘walking
in another’s shoes’, for clarifying values and attitudes,
among other things, is essential in building the founda-
tion for a sustainable world.
Furthermore, the actual involvement and teaching
with earth in mind
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encouraged the research needed to
extend one’s knowledge base.
Another basic principle is that the context for
the study of the texts has to include the concept of
sustainability. This involves examining the concept of
sustainable development through relating it to local and
regional issues, philosophies, beliefs and ideologies as
well as to its global context. It means, for example,
taking into account and addressing those local ‘end-
times’ religious beliefs which posit that the earth will
be destroyed and which appear, therefore, to nullify the
idea of a sustainable future.
It also became clear that although the exploration of
general sustainability issues is valid, a clear focus on a
specific theme, related to students’ ‘real-world’ experi-
ence and responded to by a specific action plan, is more
useful. In the latter instance, student teachers’ engage-
ment with sustainability became more meaningful as we
worked with the concrete.
The wider context
Attempts were later made to deepen the approach. At
first, the theme of peace/violence was situated within
the sustainability frame simply by using that frame as
a context. But understanding more clearly the concept
of sustainability to mean the interconnectedness of
the social, the cultural, the economic and the physical
environment as an ecosystem, we had to reflect on how
the issue of violence also related to the environment.
Tropical hurricane Gustav’s destruction of sections of
Jamaica, suggests how.
The social and economic situation of poverty, the
lack of knowledge and the dismissal of traditional prac-
tices have contributed to violence to the earth and the
violence ‘returned’. ‘Wrong’ thinking, specifically wrong
choices of building in or near to river beds, led to the
destruction of many lives during Hurricane Gustav.
Relating the theme to the wider context, to uncover
its connections – environment, social and economic –
and situating it within the world beyond the classroom
can also set the context for a community action project
(for example, advocacy), working with communities