Teacher Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship

Critical Perspectives on Values, Curriculum and Assessment

Philip Bamber

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781138385511
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429762826
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This book examines how educators internationally can better understand the role of education as a public good designed to nurture peace, tolerance, sustainable livelihoods and human fulfilment.

Bringing together empirical and theoretical perspectives, this insightful text develops new understandings of education for sustainable development and global citizenship (ESD/GC) and illustrates how these might impact on educational research, policy and practice. The text recognizes the ESD/GC as pivotal to the universal ambitions of UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals, and focuses on the role of teachers and teacher educators in delivering the appropriate educational response to promote equity and sustainability. Chapters explore factors including curriculum design, values and assessment in teacher education, and consider how each and every learner can be guaranteed an understanding of their role in promoting a just and sustainable global society.

This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, school leaders, practitioners, policy makers and students in the fields of education, teacher education and sustainability.

Part 1
Values

1In Search of Core Values

Stephen Scoffham

DOI: 10.4324/9780429427053-3

Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that effective Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) needs to be underpinned by personal values and conviction. A concern for social justice and equity is an integral component of sustainability thinking and a sense that we are doing the ‘right thing’ contributes to the notion that engaging with sustainability really matters. ESD is much more than simply learning specific knowledge and skills. To use a much quoted mantra, it involves the ‘head, hands and heart’.

Such perspectives play out in different ways in educational contexts. Hicks (2014) acknowledges his personal commitment to exploring just and sustainable futures, Booth and Ainscow (2010) focus on inclusion and our responsibility to future generations, while Parkin (2010) points out that a sustainability literate world view involves equity in international relations as well as in the use of resources. These various approaches all imply a moral dimension and are referenced to values.

This chapter explores how tutors in a Faculty of Education at one UK University are attempting to foreground values and deeply held principles in their everyday work. As part of a staff development day, colleagues working in the primary phase met together to try to articulate the ethos which permeates their work. Five main themes emerged—community, respect, knowledge, evidence and innovation. These values have the potential to underpin many different types of work and to support ESD at a deep and lasting level. They also provide a moral compass against which to make judgements and strategic decisions.

The debate around sustainability and the environment raises fundamental questions about what we value, what we think is important and the way that we live our lives. It calls into question the purpose of schooling and the nature of the society we want to create both now and in the future. These are overarching issues which are not just confined to ESD. They are legitimate concerns for all academic disciplines, and they impact directly on economics, politics, religion, literature, the arts, architecture, engineering and many other areas. Building the capacity of educators is vital if we are to develop an informed response to current ecological challenges.

Why Do Values Matter?

Put simply, values provide us with a sense of direction and help us to make choices and decisions in both our professional and personal lives. Booth and Ainscow (2011) see values as “fundamental guides and prompts to action” which spur us forward (p. 21). How we derive our values and whether they are absolute or subjective are questions which have exercised moral philosophers and spiritual leaders from at least the time of the Ancient Greeks. Some people opt for theological interpretations—values are God-given and are part of a set of religious beliefs. Others favour social and cultural explanations which highlight the needs and welfare of groups. But values also operate on an individual and personal level. Altruism and self-sacrifice, for example, describe the way a single person behaves rather than the response of a whole group or nation.

Without trespassing further into this debate, it is interesting to note that modern neurological research is beginning to suggest that some socio-moral norms may be ‘hard wired’ and thus culturally universal (Goswami, 2015). Even very young babies, for example, appear to have a sense of fairness and preference for helping rather than hindering others. Although further evidence is needed, such findings begin to suggest that the beliefs and principles which are central to ESD could be based on innate human propensities.

There is a sense in which values need to be contextualised and applied in practice. It is easy to say that we believe in certain things, but it is much harder to live by our ideals as conflicts often arise. For example, our loyalty to our friends and family may be at odds with our respect for authority. Or the people that we love may not always turn out to be the people that we trust. Furthermore, what we believe matters most in our private life may not always align with the ethos of our working or professional environment. Children too are liable to experience differences between the values that they experience at home and how they are expected to behave at school. It is important to recognise these tensions. Talking about what is most meaningful and important in our lives builds our understanding of ourselves and enhances our sense of identity, even if it doesn’t result in agreement. It also helps to stop us feeling unhappy, misunderstood or compromised.

Such dilemmas open up a debate about whether there is a hierarchy of values. Is love or loyalty, for example, more important than honesty or trust? Rather than seeking to establish an order or sequence, Booth and Ainscow (2011) provide an alternative model which illustrates how values interconnect with each other. Using the metaphor of a flower, they portray inclusion as the ‘stalk’ which, together with courage, compassion, trust and rights, provides the support for other values. The ‘petals’ are formed of a number of mutually reinforcing values such as community, equality, non-violence and sustainability. Wisdom, love, joy, honesty and other positive qualities appear at the centre of the flower (Figure 1.1). For Booth and Ainscow, the role of inclusion as a core principle is fundamental. If it is replaced by its opposite value, exclusion, all the other values change too. For example, courage is replaced by compliance, trust is replaced by competition and sustainability is replaced by exploitation. There would, of course, also be fundamental implications in terms of our behaviour and sense of priorities.

Figure 1.1 Values are overlapping and interrelated

Source: Booth and Ainscow, 2011, reproduced with permission.

Opening Up a Debate

How then can educators, both individually and collectively, build their understanding of the values which underpin their work and develop common understandings? The cycle of strategic planning which schools and universities undertake provides a key opportunity to open up such discussions as a wide range of stakeholders are usually involved. At Canterbury Christ Church University, for example, managers, staff, students and governors have all contributed to a debate which has seen a steady shift towards sustainability perspectives. Ten years ago environmental issues hardly gained a mention. Now the latest strategic framework acknowledges the importance of building a sustainable future in both the mission and values statements. Furthermore, sustainability is explicitly identified as one of “six cross-cutting themes” and it is implied in several of the others, especially internationalisation and employability (Canterbury Christ Church University, 2015). In due course, the university’s achievements and progress will be evaluated against these criteria.

The restructuring of the Faculty of Education which was undertaken in 2014 provided a further chance for a fundamental review at a more specific level. This process involved a fundamental evaluation of roles and responsibilities and led staff to reflect on their practice in both private and public conversations. As they considered their fundamental beliefs, many colleagues referred to the distinctive ethos which they believed was widely shared across the faculty. Features which stood out as particularly significant included a deep commitment to understanding learning and a concern for children and their various needs, coupled with a strong sense of collegiality. Such values, although implicit, are vulnerable unless publicly affirmed and are liable to become eroded by external pressures. It is for this reason that staff working in the primary phase met together for an in-service development event to try to further articulate their shared values and beliefs.

Building a Consensus

Colleagues from the School of Teacher Education and Development began by exploring the terrain and entering into an open discussion about their values, visions and dreams. They then divided into groups where they could share and develop ideas in greater detail and begin to collaborate on building a consensus. Although there were no official convenors, one member of each group agreed to take notes to share with others and to compile a summary. There was tacit agreement that discussions should be positive and forward looking—this was not the forum for making complaints or sharing grievances.

After a lengthy and animated dialogue, each group reported back to the others to share ideas. The main points were written down as bullet points on a flip chart by the group spokesperson, together with any immediate observations or comments from other staff. Colleagues were also invited to provide individual feedback using sticky notes to capture wider, and possibly divergent, views. The format of the day and the spirit in which it was conducted was both affirmative and collegial. Amin and Roberts (2008) build on Wenger’s notion of a ‘community of practice’ (Wenger, 1998) to recognise how impromptu networks can develop in situations where professionals come together to experiment and create new ideas. The way that colleagues engaged with the values discussion showed many of the features which Amin and Roberts identify—including the untidiness that surrounds creative endeavour and the difficulties surrounding dissemination.

In order to identify an agreed statement of values, three colleagues with research experience agreed to undertake a more detailed analysis of the day’s discussions. The flip-charts, sticky notes and other notes were carefully scrutinised and categorised into emerging themes using a grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Each statement was examined in turn, and all three researchers had to agree that it had been correctly categorised and was genuinely rooted in what staff had written, both in spirit and in detail. After much discussion, a set of statements emerged as succinct summaries which encapsulated the original notes and which articulated the ethos of the school in a meaningful way (Figure 1.2). There were five themes, each imbued with values:

• Community: We learn from each other, through co-operation, collaboration and the building of quality relationships.
• Respect: All learners need to be in environments where they are trusted, nurtured, loved and supported in becoming autonomous.
• Knowledge: We believe in the importance of developing the expertise of all learners in all disciplines.
• Evidence: We recognise that the education profession must be underpinned by research, debate and the opportunity for critical reflection.
• Innovation: We support each other to move beyond compliance by taking risks, being creative and thinking globally.

The next step was to report back to the school on what had been achieved and to discuss how the summary statements might best be used. In the ensuing discussions, questions were raised about how the values could be disseminated to students, whether they should be published and if they might be used for judgment or assessment. The values statements were also seen as important for informing all aspects of practice, including school partnerships, and as a base for programme and course development. Some colleagues challenged the extent to which the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• Series Editor Foreword
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction: Reconnecting Research, Policy and Practice in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
• Part 1 Values
• Part 2 Curriculum
• Part 3 Assessment
• Conclusion: Empathy, Adaptability, Moderation and Sharing
• Index