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A Competency Framework to Assess and Activate Education for Sustainable Development: Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4.7 Challenge

Author

Listed:
  • Naresh Giangrande

    (Gaia Education, Edinburgh EH9 1PL, UK)

  • Rehema M. White

    (School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews KY16 9AJ, UK)

  • May East

    (Town and Regional Planning, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK)

  • Ross Jackson

    (Gaia Education, Edinburgh EH9 1PL, UK)

  • Tim Clarke

    (European Network for Community-Led Initiatives on Climate Change and Sustainability (ECOLIS), 1050 Brussels, Belgium)

  • Michel Saloff Coste

    (Institut International de Prospective sur les Ecosystèmes Innovants, Université Catholique de Lille, 59800 Lille, France)

  • Gil Penha-Lopes

    (Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-004 Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

The UN Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (herein, Agenda 30) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer both a set of aspirations for the kind of future we would like to see for the world and a suite of targets and indicators to support goal implementation. Goal 4 promotes quality education and Target 4.7 specifically addresses Education for Sustainability. However, creating a monitoring and evaluation framework for Target 4.7 has been challenging. The aim of this research was to develop a meaningful assessment process. We used a dialogical intervention across complementary expertises and piloted concepts in a trainer workshop. We then developed a modified competency framework, drawing on previous competency models but innovating through the addition of intrapersonal competencies, a self-reflective validation scheme, a focus on non-formal learning, and specific alignment with SDG 4.7 requirements. Through exploration of how such learning could be activated, we proposed the use of multiple intelligences. Education plays a synergistic role in achieving the aspirations embedded within Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. We concluded that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) will require individuals to acquire ‘key competencies’, aligning with notions of transformational learning, in addition to other generic and context specific competencies.

Suggested Citation

  • Naresh Giangrande & Rehema M. White & May East & Ross Jackson & Tim Clarke & Michel Saloff Coste & Gil Penha-Lopes, 2019. "A Competency Framework to Assess and Activate Education for Sustainable Development: Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4.7 Challenge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2832-:d:232238
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent, 2015. "Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Sandra Wilhelm & Ruth Förster & Anne B. Zimmermann, 2019. "Implementing Competence Orientation: Towards Constructively Aligned Education for Sustainable Development in University-Level Teaching-And-Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, March.
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