Education for Sustainable Development: From Environmental Education to Broader Views

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an important educational agenda at the international level, with significant implications for both formal and nonformal education. Though a relatively new topic in modern education, ESD frameworks have evolved and grown in number over the last few decades, from an early concern with education for development and environmental education, to more critical orientations that focus on the relationship between individual and social factors and between environmental and political factors contributing to challenges today for ecological sustainability and global development and flourishing. In this dynamic field, priorities may vary with social context, as a critical interrogation of the importance of place in education is considered fundamental to modern ESD frameworks. This chapter explores and assesses the development of ESD over the past few decades as a formal and nonformal educational policy and practice across world regions, before considering future directions for research and practice.