Could Education for Sustainable Development Benefit from a Systems Thinking Approach?

Abstract

Sustainable development is not a novel concept. However, we continue with our unsustainable way of living. It is as though we cannot see our own part in the unsustainable system. Values, ethics and morals are connected to education and therefor education is in a key position to change the way we think and act for a sustainable future. Both education for sustainable development (ESD) and systems thinking are concepts connected to changes toward a sustainable future. However, they have proven to be conceptually problematic and are characterized by their complexity, making implementation more difficult. The purpose of this study is to discover whether it could be possible to interlace ESD and systems education to a strong and solid entirety in order to overcome the obstacles preventing the implementation of sustainability in education. This is done through a literature review in the fields of systems thinking and ESD. The literature review identifies two joint approaches that could be worth exploring more in order to develop an excellent instrument in the educational work toward sustainability.

The Interdependences between Sustainability and Their Lifestyle That Pre-Service Teachers Establish When Addressing Socio-Ecological Problems

“…This work has analysed some of the main difficulties of pre-service teachers in the construction of relationships between sustainability and their lifestyle during an educational intervention, focused on the problem-based learning approach and, more specifically, on the resolution of socio-ecological problems in their surroundings. This approach could promote a systemic vision to interpret the causes and consequences in the different environmental, social and economic dimensions [6, 11,44], basic for EDS [12,77].…”

“…Nonetheless, the public's understanding of the importance of BD conservation seems to have declined significantly during the past decades [3,9]. In this sense, Hofman-Bergholm [12] (p. 7) suggested that a 'kind of ecological illiteracy has developed' among the population and, even, among university graduates. This implies that knowledge of some key cognitive skills for the analysis of environmental problems and skills in the use of environmental action strategies may yet be limited [15,23].…”

“…In order to prevent this form of inaction when teaching about the causes and consequences of our actions, ref. [12] underlined the importance of teachers' knowledge and behaviour. In this regard, she argued that, to involve pre-service teachers, they need to have the opportunity to reflect on their own attitudes and actions regarding socio-ecological problems.…”

Changes in Thoughts and Actions as Requirements for a Sustainable Future: A Review of Recent Research on the Finnish Educational System and Sustainable Development

“…Recent research about Nordic student teachersí views on the relationship between species identication, biodiversity and sustainable development Palmberg, Berg, Jeronen, K‰rkk‰inen, Norrgård-Sillanp‰‰, Persson, Vilkonis, & Yli-Panula, 2015;Palmberg, Jonsson, Jeronen, & Yli-Panula, 2016) implies that Nordic student teachers possess low levels of ecological knowledge and species identification. The importance of integrating systems thinking into education has been emphasized in order to promote an understanding of the complex nature of sustainability (Hofman-Bergholm, 2018;Palmberg et al, 2017;WWF, 2016;Lewis et al, 2014;Sterling, 2003). However, according to Palmberg et al (2017), Nordic student teachers do not seem to develop any form of systems thinking during their teacher education.…”

“…The problem in Finland, however, is that the universities are autonomous and can decide for themselves where to focus within the education. This means that the leaders of universities will play a major role if education for sustainable development is to be implemented within teacher education in Finland (Wolff et al, 2017;Hofman-Bergholm, 2018).…”