Educating for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Schools and Universities

Develop the skills to examine sustainable development with all learners

As part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, schools and universities have a responsibility to educate all learners on sustainability.

On this three-week course, you’ll gain an overview of the key issues relating to sustainability and how to deliver this knowledge, whether you teach in schools or higher education.

Explore global sustainability issues with specialist guidance from the Institute of Education at UCL

Learning from the experts at the Development Education Research Centre (DERC), within IOE, you’ll discover the fundamentals of ESD and its related themes. You’ll also explore issues and debates relating to ESD research and policy.

With this understanding, you’ll have the confidence to pitch this knowledge at the correct level for your learners.

Learn how to incorporate sustainable development education into your teaching practice

You’ll assess teaching approaches to ESD and discuss the merits of each in practice. You’ll also investigate the challenges educators face when teaching ESD.

By doing so, you’ll discover best practice from around the world and gain the skills to plan your own ESD introduction.

Enhance your ESD teaching resources with worldwide peer collaboration

With a global network of educators learning alongside you, you’ll encounter diverse perspectives and unique practices of ESD. You’ll also explore a range of learning resources, guides, and activities to help develop your own ESD plan.

With these skills and materials, you’ll be able to create an engaging and enlightening program of ESD teaching for your own learners.

By the end of this course, you’ll understand the key global issues of ESD and how they are being addressed worldwide. You’ll also have learned key techniques to embed this learning into your own curriculum.

This course is designed for educators working in schools or higher education institutions around the world who want to improve their knowledge of education and sustainable development. It will also be useful if you would like to share best practice with others in a global context.

• Introduction to Educating for Sustainable Development in schools and universities
• Welcome and introductions
• What is ESD?
• Why is ESD important?
• What ESD means for educators and teaching
• Key themes and approaches in ESD
• What does the term mean?
• Elements of ESD
• Approaches to teaching and learning
• Bringing it all together
• Applying your learning to practice
• Applying your learning to practice
• Considering ESD in Practice at Different Levels
• Mapping your ESD journey
• Thinking about practice
• Taking ESD forward