Introduction to Sustainable Development within Education

Global perspectives of ESD and Sustainable Development Goals

Social Justice, Inclusion and Sustainability in Education

ESD within the UK

Pedagogies for Sustainable Development

Limitations and Barriers to ESD

ESD: Looking to the Future

A written workplace based evaluation.

Drawing on relevant practice evidence, produce a critically informed evaluation on how you and relevant stakeholders implement an aspect of sustainable education development in your workplace. From this evaluation, justify a potential intervention to further support sustainable education development in your workplace, outlining the knowledge and skills you and other stakeholders may need to develop.

To support this there will be a range of formative assessment approaches, such as:

Small group based informal presentation of key findings
Solution focused discussion of professional development ideas

This module uses a range of interactive, online learning strategies to develop your critical understanding and professional practice in relation to education for sustainable development. You will engage in interactive webinars and seminars that encourage discussion and debate around key themes such as sustainability, social justice and behaviour change. Problem-based learning and case studies will allow you to explore real-world challenges and apply theory to educational contexts. Collaborative activities, including informal peer to peer presentations and group tasks, support shared development of practical development ideas specifically relevant to your professional practice. Reflective practice is embedded throughout, with activities focused on identifying and understanding barriers to change in order to consider how these might be overcome within your professional context. helping you connect module content to your workplace.

1. Analyse a chosen aspect of sustainable education development (social, economic or environmental) in terms of drivers such as key legislation, policy, theories, concepts and principles.

Application and Problem Solving

2. Critically evaluate how a chosen element of sustainable education development is implemented by you and other stakeholders in your workplace.

Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

3. Justify a potential intervention to support sustainable education development in your workplace, outlining the knowledge and skills you and other stakeholders may need to develop.

Personal Development and Entrepreneurship

THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development

https://forestschoolassociation.org/

https://climateambassadors.org.uk/

https://www.educationnaturepark.org.uk/

https://www.sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.uk/about

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/about-us/what-we-do/helping-everyone-take-action/learning-nature

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/support-us/act/your-school/resources/

Cottrell, S. (2024) The study skills handbook. Sixth edition. London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

DfE (2026): Sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education

Grindheim, L.T., Sørensen, H.V. and Rekers, A. (2021) Outdoor Learning and Play : Pedagogical Practices and Children’s Cultural Formation. 1st ed. 2021. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72595-2.

John, M. (2025) The Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Education and Thinking for the 21st Century. 1st ed. Edited by M. John. Oxford: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003171577. (Sections 5 and 6 Education and Pedagogy focus)

Jucker, R., Au, J. and von Au, J. (2022) High-Quality outdoor learning: evidence-based education outside the classroom for children, teachers and society. Cham: Springer.

Speldewinde, C. (2023) Researching early childhood education for sustainability: challenging assumptions and orthodoxies - Edited by: Sue Elliott, Eva Ärlemalm-Hagsér, and Julie Davis. Routledge, 2020, London and New York,” Australian journal of environmental education. East Lismore: Cambridge University Press, pp. 127–129. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/aee.2022.32.

Tidd, R. (2023) Wild Learning: Practical Ideas to Bring Teaching Outdoors. 1st ed. Newark: Wiley.

UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development: https://www.unesco.org/en/sustainable-development/education

How can education help create a fairer, greener, and more sustainable future?

In this module, you’ll explore how education responds to social, economic and environmental challenges. You’ll examine themes such as the role of education in developing understanding of the environment, inclusion and social justice. To support this, you will critically evaluate pedagogies that support evidence informed behaviour change. You’ll develop your ability to apply sustainability principles in your professional context, supporting your progression as a reflective practitioner within your work-based BA Education top-up and career progression in education.