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Exploring Changes in Perceptions and Practices of Sustainability in ESD Communities in Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

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  • Kim Beasy

    (Kim Beasy, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, School of Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia.)

  • Laura Ripoll Gonzalez

    (Laura Ripoll Gonzalez, Department of Public Administration and Sociology, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University; College of the Arts, Law and Education, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania; Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Australia. E-mail: ripollgonzalez@essb.eur.nl)

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims to empower future generations to address current global environmental threats, though it faces challenges to implementation, often linked to narrow perceptions of sustainability. To observe such changes in practice and draw their implications for ESD, we explore the effects of COVID-19 in perspectives and practices of sustainability across an education community. We reflect on how disruptions or threats can trigger a (re)imagination of individual and collective action. Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on individuals and societies have altered perceptions and practices of sustainability through envisaging previously unimaginable global environmental restoration, and experiencing personal, professional and collective changes. Our study shows that the perceived restorative effects on the environment of the pandemic lifted the education community spirits and enhanced a willingness to change by leveraging the social network around the education community to promote collective action.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim Beasy & Laura Ripoll Gonzalez, 2021. "Exploring Changes in Perceptions and Practices of Sustainability in ESD Communities in Australia during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 15(1), pages 5-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jousus:v:15:y:2021:i:1:p:5-24
    DOI: 10.1177/09734082211012081
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hiroko Oe & Yasuyuki Yamaoka & Hiroko Ochiai, 2022. "A Qualitative Assessment of Community Learning Initiatives for Environmental Awareness and Behaviour Change: Applying UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Joseph Crawford & Javier Cifuentes-Faura, 2022. "Sustainability in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Vanda Ningrum & Chotib & Athor Subroto, 2022. "Urban Community Resilience Amidst the Spreading of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): A Rapid Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-12, September.

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