Creating Social Change: The Ultimate Goal of Education for Sustainability

Abstract

Education is the vital link that brings about social change and generates synergies to address the interconnectedness between sustainability, society and the environment. Education empowers society to assume responsibility for sustainable living. This implies that educational processes and systems can transform perspectives and behaviour patterns, which in turn inculcates sustainable practices in all aspects of human life. Education is a precursor of change therefore educators are responsible for transforming communities and initiating social change. Developing and encouraging an awareness of sustainability in local communities further establishes patterns globally in communities' worldwide. Consequently ‘glocal' synergies are created that ensure future graduates become citizens of the world with an ingrained consciousness of guardianship of the finite world. Contemporary education ought to embed core principles of sustainability which incorporates environmental, economic as well as social literacy into the curriculum. Through education, learners are creatively and critically stimulated into exploring the role of sustainable practice in all areas of human activity in society. This paper expounds the current sustainability strategy developed within a course at an institute of technology based in New Zealand. The course is designed to introduce the concepts and application of sustainability at entry level for a Bachelor's degree. In this paper an attempt is made to showcase the effectiveness of education in re-orienting student thinking to engage and instigate social change for our globalized world.