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Revisiting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): Examining Anthropocentric Bias Through the Transition of Environmental Education to ESD

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  • Helen Kopnina

Abstract

ABSTRACT Environmental education scholars have hailed the emergence of the discourse of education for sustainable development (ESD) as a progressive transition in the field. The author argues that there are some salient aspects present in sustainability discourse that present ethical paradoxes as well as empirical dilemmas. Discourse on sustainable development singles out economic development, which might have created the current ecological problems in the first place, as part of the solution. It is empirically questionable whether the industrial production necessary to expand the ‘economic pie’ to include the most dispossessed, is possible without further degrading the environment. In an educational context, ESD replaces a problem orientation associated with environmental education and shifts the focus to the inclusion of social issues and economic development. ESD masks its anthropocentric agenda and may in fact be counterproductive to the efficacy of environmental education in fostering a citizenry that is prepared to address the anthropogenic causes of environmental problems. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • Helen Kopnina, 2014. "Revisiting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): Examining Anthropocentric Bias Through the Transition of Environmental Education to ESD," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 73-83, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:22:y:2014:i:2:p:73-83
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    1. Michaela Maurer & Franz Xaver Bogner, 2019. "How freshmen perceive Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.
    2. Atif Saleem & Philip Saagyum Dare, 2023. "Unmasking the Action-Oriented ESD Approach to Acting Environmentally Friendly," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Tammie Ronen & Dorit Kerret, 2020. "Promoting Sustainable Wellbeing: Integrating Positive Psychology and Environmental Sustainability in Education," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Claudia Melis & Per-Arvid Wold & Anna Maria Billing & Kathrine Bjørgen & Børge Moe, 2020. "Kindergarten Children’s Perception about the Ecological Roles of Living Organisms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Shannon Audley & Julia L. Ginsburg & Cami Furlong, 2024. "“We Don’t Always Have to Be Talking about It”: Moral Reasoning in US Early Childhood Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-22, September.
    6. Derek Van Rheenen & Ricardo Melo, 2021. "Nature Sports: Prospects for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    7. Shaikha R. Al-Nuaimi & Sami G. Al-Ghamdi, 2022. "Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Sustainability Aspects among Higher Education Students in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    8. Qianyi Li & Md Qamruzzaman, 2023. "Innovation-Led Environmental Sustainability in Vietnam—Towards a Green Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-34, August.
    9. Mariusz Dacko & Pawel Mickiewicz & Aleksandra Plonka, 2021. "The Role of Education in Shaping Attitudes of Academic Youth Towards Sustainable Development," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 1), pages 187-197.
    10. Helen Kopnina, 2014. "Metaphors of Nature and Economic Development: Critical Education for Sustainable Business," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-18, October.
    11. Guadalupe Martínez-Borreguero & Jesús Maestre-Jiménez & Francisco Luis Naranjo-Correa & Milagros Mateos-Núñez, 2019. "Analysis of the Concept of Energy in the Spanish Curriculum of Secondary Education and Baccalaureate: A Sustainable Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-14, May.
    12. Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz & Jan Fazlagić & Windham Loopesko, 2021. "A Conceptual Model for Developing Climate Education in Sustainability Management Education System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-26, January.
    13. Gavin Melles, 2019. "Survey Study on Attitudes to Multi-Dimensional Sustainable Development with U.K. MSc Students," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-12, February.
    14. Michiel van Harskamp & Marie-Christine P. J. Knippels & Wouter R. van Joolingen, 2021. "Secondary Science Teachers’ Views on Environmental Citizenship in The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    15. Philip Hallinger & Vien-Thong Nguyen, 2020. "Mapping the Landscape and Structure of Research on Education for Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, March.
    16. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    17. Nosipho T. Ndzimbomvu & Isaac T. Rampedi & Marthie E. Kemp, 2021. "Learning Environmental Issues from a Secondary School Curriculum: The Case of Learners in Mamelodi Township, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    18. Yuan Li & Tianhong Liao & Jia Li, 2023. "Optimizing Higher Education for Sustainable Development through the Design and Implementation of the Global Engagement Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.

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