Education for Sustainable Development in Manitoba Education Gerald Farthing Deputy Minister Manitoba Education

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Education for Sustainable Development in
Manitoba EducationGerald FarthingDeputy
MinisterManitoba Education
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Purpose of Presentation

• To provide information that can form the basis
  for a discussion about how ESD can be
  incorporated into teacher training and education
  programs.

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Context

• UN Decade for ESD
• UNECE ESD Strategy and Steering Committee
• UNECE Experts Group on Teacher Competencies
• ESD at CMEC - Learn Canada 2020
• Provincial commitment to being green
• Working with many partners including schools,
  school divisions and deans of education
• In a very difficult financial situation
• Teaching and learning with our students how to
  live sustainably is non-negotiable

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Community Expectations

• Canadians have expressed their support for the
  idea of including environmental education in
  school curricula. According to data from the 2008
  Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning
  (SCAL), Canadians believe it is either
  important (46) or essential (50) to include
  learning about the environment as part of
  compulsory topics at school.

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Aboriginal Perspective

• The concept of sustainable development is not
  new to First Nations it is demonstrated in the
  peoples traditional belief that their life
  system is centered on a reciprocal relationship
  with the natural environment. (MFNERC)
• Chief Seattle in the Washington territory in 1854
  said If all the beasts were gone, men would die
  from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever
  happens to the beasts, soon happens to the man.
  All things are connectedwhatever befalls the
  earth befall the sons of the earth.
• The overall objective for the ESD partnership
  program is to ensure that the First Nations
  education system has the opportunity to build
  capacity and knowledge of ESD. (MFNERC)

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Student Achievement

• Research conducted in the past several decades
  suggests that participation in environmental
  education helps students develop knowledge about
  the environment, positive environmental attitudes
  and environmentally friendly behaviours.
• In addition to these outcomes, some forms of
  environmental education have also been shown to
  be associated with learning advantages such as
  improvements in achievement, critical thinking,
  attitudes toward learning, and motivation to
  learn and achieve in school.

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Embedding ESD in Manitoba Education

• Mission to ensure that all Manitobas children
  and youth have access to an array of educational
  opportunities such that every learner experiences
  success through relevant, engaging and high
  quality education that prepares them for lifelong
  learning and citizenship in a democratic,
  socially just and sustainable society
• Vision that every learner will complete a high
  school education with a profound sense of
  accomplishment, hope and optimism
• First Overarching Goal to ensure that education
  in Manitoba supports students learning and
  experiencing what it means to live in a
  sustainable manner
• Staffing two staff with direct responsibility
  for ESD

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Some Important Initiatives in Manitoba Education

• Continuing to integrate ESD in curriculum
• Developing ESD Units (with Manitoba Hydro)
• Providing Professional Learning Opportunities
• Implementing an ECO-Globe School Recognition
  Program
• Providing funding to schools in support of ESD
• Developing a senior years Global Citizenship and
  Sustainability course
• Encouraging the incorporating of ESD in teacher
  education

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ESD and Teacher Education

• First focus has been on in-servicing
• Need to put an equivalent focus on pre-service
• Sustainable Development and Living through
  Changing Teacher Education and Teaching in
  Manitoba U of M Faculty of Education and the
  Canadian Council on Learning
• UNECE Expert Group on Competences in Education
  for Sustainable Development

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UNECE Expert Group on Teacher Competencies in
Education for Sustainable Development

• Dr. Len Rivard is representing Canada
• First meeting in Sept work to take 18 months
• Three issues
• defining competences for students or learners
• defining competences for teachers or educators
• determining the target audience for the report
• It has been suggested that the target group for
  the report be policymakers, while providing
  guidelines for educators

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ESD in Teacher Education in Manitoba

• Teacher education is already long and demanding
  in Manitoba
• ESD competencies need to be incorporated in
  existing programs as much as possible
• Need to learn as much as possible from the work
  of the UNECE Experts Group on Teacher
  Competencies in ESD
• Perhaps an optional course that focuses on what
  it means to teach from an ESD perspective could
  be developed and offered

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Many Partners including . . .

• Schools and School Divisions
• Deans of Education
• Council of Ministers of Education, Canada
• Manitoba Hydro
• Ducks Unlimited
• International Institute for Sustainable
  Development
• Manitoba Forestry Association
• Green Manitoba
• Learning for a Sustainable Future
• Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre

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Concluding Thought

• Teaching and learning with our kids what it
  means to live in a sustainable manner is the most
  urgent and important objective in education today
  we have no time waste.

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• Merci, Miigwetch, Thank you
• Questions?