Educating all the actors

As is well known, sustainable development stresses the need for a holistic approach conducive to a better quality of life within a long-term timeframe rather than one aimed at short-term gains. Sustainable development strategies are multi-faceted, taking into consideration economic, social, cultural, environmental, participatory and political factors that affect human welfare.

Environmental, economic and social aspects of sustainable development basically relate to the preservation of the integrity of nature, eradication of poverty and removal of social injustices, developments which are essential for the promotion of welfare of current and future generations.

Sustainability also has a strong ethical dimension and can be considered as a value to be upheld. In this regard, the issue of responsibility towards future generations takes centre stage - and this aspect of sustainable development was an important component of the most widely used definition of sustainable development, namely that proposed by Bruntland (WCED, 1988).

All these dimensions can only be fruitfully and effectively realised if the actors are suitably educated to understand the values underpinning sustainable development and to participate in relevant and appropriate action conducive to sustainable development.

We are here making a case for mainstreaming education for sustainable development (ESD) in school and university curricula in Malta. We identify gaps in ESD and propose a plan of action to put ESD on a strong footing.

In Malta, education for sustainable development in the formal, informal and non-formal sectors is mainly addressed by the Education Division (the government's agency responsible for formal education), the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa), the University of Malta and various environmental NGOs.

Although traditionally each organisation used to function independently of the others, these last few years have been characterised by several successful attempts to coordinate such educational activities.

School syllabi used to be determined by a foreign examination board and the relation to the local Maltese environment was practically non-existent.

This changed with the setting up of the local Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate (MATSEC) Examinations Board in June 1992. Consequently, various new subject syllabi were drawn and over this last decade, the incidence of environmental topics and the range of environmental issues has been given increasing importance in formal education, particularly within the social studies and science syllabi.

Moreover, two new subjects, environmental studies, combining elements of geography, social studies and history at secondary level, and environmental science, targeting post-secondary students, have been introduced in 1992 and 1994 respectively (Pace, 1997).

The new national minimum curriculum process, which occurred during the 1990s, heralded a new era of curriculum development in Malta in which various stakeholders in education were formally involved in a thorough nationwide consultation exercise to determine the content of the curriculum.

Although the proposed curriculum does not contain provisions for ESD, nevertheless it proposes several measures (such as inter-disciplinary learner-oriented pedagogy, the development of critical thinking and participatory skills, interaction with the community and autonomy for schools) that, if adopted, would facilitate ESD's infusion in the educational system (Ministry of Education, 1999).

A successful infusion of ESD in the formal educational system would mean a full assimilation of the principles of sustainable development within the management policies of educational institutions. The Eco-Schools programme was introduced to Malta with this specific aim in mind - that of systematically weaving ESD principles within a school's management policy progressively incorporating an environmental ethic within the school ethos.

The programme adopts a whole school approach to ESD by empowering students to adopt an active role in environmental decision-making and action in their school and in their community.

With regard to tertiary education, the sustainable development dimension is increasingly being featured in the various professional courses offered by several faculties at the University of Malta, notably the Environmental Education Unit (EEU) of the Faculty of Education, the Faculty of Science and the Islands and Small States Institute.

Personal development components are integral features of the environmental education course offered by the EEU for student teachers, with a focus on the promotion of sustainable lifestyles. The EEU also initiated a research programme through which several environmental education curriculum resources were produced.

Furthermore, in collaboration with Mepa and the Education Division, the EEU held several in-service courses aimed at helping teachers to apply environmental education principles in their teaching.

Informal and non-formal environmental education has become more varied and has characteristically involved an input from a host of governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Consequently, a large proportion of community resources (e.g., nature reserves, industry and historical sites) are increasingly being mobilised and used as sites of ESD. Opportunities for public participation in environmental decision-making relating to the approval of development projects have become a regular feature.

However, the vast majority of the public lacks the necessary skills to interpret the technical data presented in environmental impact assessment reports and to organise themselves into effective pressure groups.

In conclusion, although there are attempts to foster ESD in Malta, in all sectors, a properly-integrated ESD policy is lacking in the country, and, as a result, ESD initiatives tend to be sporadic and disjoint.

The approach remains mostly one of providing environmental information and the fostering of sustainable development values is not given due importance in educational programmes.

In 1995, there was an attempt to remedy this situation through the development of a National Environmental Education Strategy (NEES). This was launched during a National Training Workshop on Environmental Education held on May 26-27, 1995.

The workshop set out to bring together all local environmental education organisations to (a) become aware of the state of environmental education in Malta, (b) identify the problems, needs and support required for the successful implementation of environmental education initiatives and (c) discuss the possibility of coordinating these initiatives so as to improve their effectiveness (Pace, 1996).

The workshop participants proposed a National Environmental Education Strategy (NEES), in line with Agenda 2's guidelines, that would "focus its action on the formal and informal sectors of education with the goal of directing educational processes towards the development of a new environmental ethic - education for sustainability." (University of Malta, 1995).

Acknowledging that every citizen has a valid contribution to make towards the achievement of a sustainable society, a consultative process was initiated with different target groups, including government/policy-making organisations; environmental, social and business organisations; the mass media and the arts; national associations of educators and religious organisations.

Since its inception, NEES was constrained by limited resources. In addition, for some of the target groups ESD was not a priority and their participation in the consultation process was inadequate.

In response to the Environment Protection Act (Act No. XX, 2001), the Maltese government set up the National Commission for Sustainable Development.

A major task of the commission is to prepare a national strategy aimed at promoting sustainable development and to build consensus on action needed to achieve set goals.

At the outset, the commission acknowledged the importance of education in any strategy that advocates sustainable development and, consequently, set up a task force whose major concern was that promoting ESD.

In order to assist and accelerate this process, the University of Malta, together with the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, are currently engaged in the setting up of a centre (called Centrum) that would coordinate ESD initiatives in Malta, increase the opportunity for ESD research, make scientific and technological research results more accessible to the public and facilitate resource transfer and capacity building in Malta and beyond.

Centrum would primarily be structured around the three main sectors of ESD: the formal, non-formal and informal sectors, hence ensuring diverse research interests that would allow the centre to respond a wider cohort of research needs and address emerging needs in the community.

Centrum will function on a national, regional and international level and seeks to attain its targets by (a) offering opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate study and research in ESD, (b) initiating and coordinating community-based environmental awareness programmes to encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles, (c) offering support to institutions and organisations on the development of ESD programmes and (d) adopting the role of a news desk gathering and disseminating environmental information.

Tomorrow: A proposed action plan for ESD.