Abstract
The educational challenge of sustainability remains unexplored in the development of children in the K-12 curriculum in the United States and potentially in the educational curriculum of many of the member states of the United Nations. Using a case study method, this chapter shows how sustainability can be an educational value and a public good, transmitted to students through everyday instruction. By conducting a regional analysis in specific cultural groupings, using fieldwork and applied research methodology, students can demonstrate competence for sustainable education on a whole host of issues relevant for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2030). With younger age groups consisting of students in middle and elementary school, the chapter examines an activity-based approach for socializing young children to issues of sustainability and preparing them for what is known as “the fourth industrial revolution.” Finally, it is imperative that corporations adopt a socially responsible approach towards investing that is environmentally conscious of long-term governance impact.
TopIntroduction
When the UN (United Nations) announced the SDGs in 2015, mostly economists and diplomats or country representatives and ambassadors immediately grasped the importance of the goals for future generations. Most educators still struggle with how to make the direct connection between STEM educational goals and the concepts entailed in the multilayered construct of sustainability. STEM focuses explicitly on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math to introduce innovation in the educational system in mostly the Western countries that are facing post-industrial or post-manufacturing decline; while sustainability suggests that there is more to STEM than just tinkering with recent technology tools, social media, robots, and gadgets. STEM outlines the educational principles for a scientifically literate and technologically advanced society in the 21st century. Sustainability on the other hand suggests the scientific models of the previous centuries, fueling the growth of the industrial age and the spread of globalization -- with unlimited horizons for labor and markets -- have been falling short for most of the populations around the world. Can these two visions, one of STEAM education and the other of sustainability, meet on a common ground or do they inherently clash? In this paper, we argue that the recent upsurge in the STEM and STEAM educational curriculum -- the added emphasis on Arts and Humanities is critical -- and the global emphasis on sustainability are the two faces of the same coin related to the post-industrial decline in the West and the failures of the neo-liberal vision of society, culture, and environment. For science education to fully embrace the challenges of the 21st century, STEAM would have to be integrated with sustainability. Likewise, the business and investor class would have to join with government and non-government sectors to transform our society.
The educational pathways to STEAM curriculum can also be confusing to children and parents if it is not fully clear what STEAM truly stands for. Like other science education programs, STEAM can stop short of its best manifestation without a full implementation. STEAM should be an integrated approach to learning; there must be intentional connections between standards, assessments, and lesson design. Multiple standards of assessment and experience can be used to foster learning in subjects focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and the Arts. Techniques and assessment can be conducted in and through different modes of inquiry, with an emphasis on process-based learning where students are allowed to work across disciplines. Process learning and “making” is at the heart of the STEAM approach. Thus, utilizing and leveraging the integrity of the arts, history, humanities, and culture is essential to an authentic STEAM initiative.
On the other hand, sustainable development has been defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development calls for concerted efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient future for the people and the planet. For sustainable development to be fully achieved, it is crucial to harmonize four core elements or the 4E’s: Economic growth that is fair; Equality or social inclusion; Education or universal literacy; and Environmental protections against climate change. These elements are interconnected and all four are crucial for the well-being of individuals, societies, and our planet. As outlined by the UN goals, the 4E’s are crucial for any society to advance into the 21st century: Economy, Equality, Education, and the Environment.
Eradicating poverty is related to economic development; this is another significant goal of the UN mission, originally part of the MDG (Millennium Development Goals) universal goals, in all its forms and dimensions is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development and significantly correlated with the 4E’s mentioned above. To this end, there must be promotion of sustainable, inclusive, and equitable economic growth, creating greater opportunities for all, reducing inequalities, raising basic standards of living, fostering equitable social development, and promoting integrated and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems. How we handle these challenges will reshape our past and determine our future.
Key Terms in this Chapter
United Nations (UN): The United Nations is a global organization that was established in 1945. The United Nations, which now has 193 member states, is driven by the values and objectives outlined in its founding Charter. The United Nations has changed over time to keep up with a continuously changing planet.
Non-Government Organisation (NGO): Nonprofit organisations that are not affiliated with governments or similar bodies, usually formed to address issues of sociopolitical nature.
Maker Education/Movement: Maker education and the maker movement is based on project-based and problem-based learning affordances. To demonstrate learning, the maker’s movement relies on hands-on, collaborative experiences where projects focus on solving real-world problems.
Problem-Based Learning: According to this teaching methodology, in order to promote critical thinking and facilitate the development of meta-cognitive abilities, the students engage in -shorter than project-based learning- real world projects.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The United Nations approved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, safeguard the environment, and ensure that by 2030, everyone lives in peace and prosperity.
STEM/STEAM: A note about terminology is increasingly relevant. STEM education may be appropriately termed STEAM for the added emphasis on the Arts and Humanities. Most liberal Western democracies enjoy the arts education in the public schools to varying degrees, an emphasis that is somewhat variable or lacking in most developing societies; as the arts, humanities and broadly social sciences are seen as softer disciplines they invariably attract much less public and private investments. In hopes to reclaim the pinnacle in science and technology leadership, which the US and EU have enjoyed for decades if not for the past two-three centuries, the application of STEAM curriculum in some adaptive form has become a mainstay in American and European schools. As Asian countries in the Pacific have begun to liberalize their economies and dominate in the fields of science, technology and computing in the past two-three decades, there has been a parallel decline in science and math scores in the US and EU and an increase in high school drop-out rates in public schools. There are many reasons for this decline: breakdown of the family, urban blight, relative lack of investment in education, shifts in jobs and industries, the rise of information technology, and many others. The emphasis on arts and humanities may serve as the bridge to the discussions on sustainability within the STEAM fields. As a common complaint heard from many educators, STEAM does not fully incorporate the arts and humanities at the heart of the liberal arts educational program. Since STEAM education is focused on literate societies that are already economically developed and advanced, the calls for arts and humanities are of different kinds from many educators around the world. Mostly, in the EU and US where the educational standards have been somewhat challenged, the arts and humanities educators don’t want to jettison the liberal spirit of their local cultures. Among other factors this is in reaction to the rise of Asia, where the Asian tigers have been ramping up the training in sciences and technology, and fighting to gain and protect intellectual property (IP) values. Conversely, in most of the underdeveloped world, where we still struggle to fight for literacy – reading, writing and numeracy – STEAM needs to incorporate the STREAM curriculum with the added emphasis on the “R” for reading and writing.
Project-Based Learning: In project-based learning students learn by actively engaging in real world problems. Students work on a project that engages them in fixing a real-world problem or answering a challenging question over a long period of time – from a week to a semester. They demonstrate their knowledge and abilities by producing a public product or giving presentations. Project-based learning instills a contagious sense of creativity in both students and teachers.