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LIFELONG LEARNING AND LIFE-WIDE LEARNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
O. Bombardelli
This paper attempts to investigate the contribution of Lifelong learning (LL) and of Life Wide (LW) learning to Citizenship Education for Sustainable Development, which takes place in formal, non-formal and informal learning aereas. Civic and citizenship education takes place not only in the dedicated special lessons in the school timetable, civics aspects are included in all subjects, in the whole school life, and in the social environment. Civic and cultural competencies are part of the Key competencies of LL1 2 3, vital for the personal development, the world of work and the participation in the society; it should improve civic conscience, and sustainable development in the natural, cultural and socio -economic environment. The present text is organized in three parts: it starts dealing with civic and Citizenship education, than focuses on Sustainable Development, and of teaching practices able to enhance civic learning and Sustainable Development.
Civic and Citizenship education. There is still a compliance gap between policy and implementation in civic education, as we can understand from recent surveys: the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2010)2, a project of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), the International Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Surveys in the OECD Area (2009), and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies3 as well. The term ‘citizenship’ mainly denotes a legal status and the juridical relationship between the citizen and the state. Citizenship can be perceived also as related to the knowledge and exercise of rights and responsibilities, as well as to civil values, attitudes and dispositions. Citizenship ranges from sociocultural to political and economic dimension, all closed connected among each other.
Many countries promote citizenship education in the formal school curriculum in their educational legislation, and referring to official docu-
1 Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December
2006
on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC), December 2006,
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelona-learnina-policv/doc42 en.htm .
2 International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, 2009,
http://www. iea. nl/icces. html
3 Programme for the Inter national Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) www.oecd.ora/els/employment/piaac
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ments, produced by the National and International Institutions: National Ministries, the Council of Europe (2005, 2010)1 2 3, the European Union etc. Civic education involves a variety of cognitive and attitudinal strands, it concerns students’ knowledge and conceptual understandings, interests, skills and competences. Civic competence is the complex mix of the sum of the different learning outcomes which are necessary for an individual to become an active citizen2. Education for citizenship and for responsible civic behaviour identifies Sustainable Development and corporate citizenship as priorities for the next years and decades in order to make healthy choices.
Sustainable Development. UNESCO underlines the promotion of Sustainable Development as general aim for all teaching and learning work. The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014)3 seeks to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems we face in the 21st century. Sustainable Development seems to be no longer a wishful thinking for the future of Europe and of our world.
The concept of sustainability was introduced in 1987 by the Brund-tland Report. “Sustainable development means development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”4. It means the transformation of socially responsible principles into commercial value5 through day-to-day activities, by using corporate powers and resources in ways that benefit rather than damage the social, economic and environmental conditions in which we live. Sustainable Development is necessary in many fields, starting from the respect for the environment and for the human beings (human rights, peace, justice, poverty reduction and hunger eradication, sustainable relationship with technology and against mercification of the human being, health care, attention to diversity), involving ethic economy (adherence to
1 Council of Europe, Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member states □on the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 11 May 2010Dat the 120th Session).
2 Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning (2006/962/EC)
3 United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/
4 Brundtland G. H. (1987) World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future, WCED, p.43.
5 Schwab K. (2008) Global Corporate Citizenship. Working with Governments and Civil Society, Foreign Affairs. Vol. 87 No. 1, p. 107.
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labour standards, employee relations, implementation of workplace safety standards, etc.), guaranteeing regular fair trade purchases, transparent financial and lobbying, up to social investing and solidarity. Sustainable Development plays a role in building customer loyalty based on information and distinctive ethical values, fostering awareness in choosing sustainable products and services, by preferring companies that guarantees reliability and responsibility.
Andand S. and Sen A. (1996) point out that concerns for the traditional dimensions of economic development, an approach to the wealth maximization, are in contrast to the human Sustainable Development. New indicators of well being are welcome. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is still the most used index of development; complementary to it is the Human Development Index (HDI)1 which was launched by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP). If citizens, as customers, investors, shareholder, as purchaser of goods and services, as employers, as members of governmental and non governmental Institutions and organizations all over the world should become aware of the relevance of their roles in order to further promote Sustainable Development through civic and citizenship education.
Education for Sustainable Development. The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) underlines the readiness, the competence and the engagement to behave in responsible way; it implies also being aware of the advantages of civic habits of persons, workers, customers and enter-preuners in the society and, on the contrary, of the disadvantages of neglecting sustainable values.
The role of school is consistent in preparing young people for their tasks of citizens; school ethos, classroom climate, school participation, citizenship norms have a high correlation with civic and social engagement. European students have about 7000 school hours between 7 and 14 years (s. OECD2, Eurydice3) and that means a big amount of time and a real chance to guide their development according to the democratic rules and
1 McGillivray M., White H. (2006) Measuring development? The UNDP's human development index, Journal of International Development, Vol. 5, No. 2.
Sudhir A., Sen A.K. (1996) Human Development: Concepts and Priorities. United Nations Development Programme, Office of Development Studies.
2 OECD Education at Glance
http://www.oecd.org/document/52/0,3343,en 2649 39263238 45897844 1 1 1 1.00.html Indicator D1. (consulted in February 2011).
3 Key data on education in Europe 2009, http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurvdice/documents/kev data series/107EN.pdf (consulted in February 2011).
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contribute to shaping a society capable of Sustainable Development. Most countries include citizenship education in the formal school curriculum1. Nowadays the official regulations by the National Ministries2 of the European countries and by the Local authorities are inspired both by international studies on the topic and by the Recommendations of the International bodies like UNESCO, OECD, the European Union and the Council of Europe3.
There is considerable discussion as to what constitutes ‘effective’ education and training for active citizenship4. Responsible civic behaviour of pupils can be promoted in daily school life through teaching and promoting a democratic atmosphere in school, open partnership and cooperation, age specific working processes and the way to interact with civil society. Effective teaching learning strategies are interactive methods as workshops, cooperative learning, peer tutoring, inquiries by the pupils, role play, case study, experiential learning, fostering the dialogue and open climate for documented discussion, reflective learning, and the cooperation process. Useful are updated curriculum materials and resources, media inputs (films, TV, videos, radio, Internet, newspaper, schoolbooks, games, ICT), together with the traditional teaching sources; the training of sustainable skills is very helpful.
Important are the extracurricular activities like participation in the community, school exchanges, exhibitions, the family and the home situation. The general environment (neighbourhood, peers, sport and cultural opportunities) in which the school exists, the engagement with external communities, within social networks play a role, as well as peer views/experiences, the quality of political, social and cultural literacy, the level of active citizenship in the social environment. The media have a big influencing potential in civic field.
Civic education should not be neglected in educational policies for the teacher initial and in-service training because it is very important how teachers perceive citizenship and sustainable development. The Eurydice
1 According to the survey ‘International Civic and Citizenship Education Study’ (ICCS, 2010), twenty-one of the 38 countries provide a specific subject or course in civic and citizenship education that is compulsory in general education (or both general education and vocational education) in Grade 8.
2 In Italy, D.L. 17 august 2008, Circular Letter 100, December 2008. Cittadinanza e Costituzione.
3 The Council of Europe launched the European Year of Citizenship Through Education - (EYCE 2005).
4 Bombardelli O. (2010) Education for responsible citizenship and sustainable development, in Lifelong Learning and Active Citizenship, London: CiCe, 2010 London: CiCe, p. 364-371.
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report 2005 documented that the training of teachers in many countries does not include civics1.
Conclusive remarks. In this paper I argued that information, advanced education and training in Education for Sustainable Development help citizens to become more aware of the political and social economic implications of their day-to-day decisions and of their daily behaviour related to the environmental and ethical concerns, in order to develop a community which becomes able to long term planning for the future, for intergenerational solidarity.
1 Eurydice, Citizenship education at school in Europe, 2005, p. 2.
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