Congratulations to Martín Montoya Durà of the University of Valencia, Spain on completing a PhD on the topic, ‘A Sustainable Development Environmental Education Plan for Lasallian Schools’.
Following international research, including looking at the Eco-Congregation programme in Ireland and the UK, Martín drew up an environmental education plan incorporating the following educational approach:
• Schools should consider environmental education as an urgent educational priority which underpins peace and justice in the world.
• Schools should root environmental education in terms of human environmental development and social sustainability.
• Schools should introduce environmental education through eco-spirituality, which the institution could reinforce through adjutant curricular design.
• Schools should have the opportunity to promote intercultural and multi-religious environmental education in their schools.
Martín sent us this summary of his thesis:
The environmental interests which one defends – sometimes confused with the “who and what” of development – often disengages us from the natural environment. This action results in a source of conflict between justice and peace. As examples, one can cite the struggle for protection of natural resources in the Amazon, water use issues, deforestation, climatic change, population emigration, non-democratic governments, exploitation of minerals (such as Congolese Coltan), and health issues arising from contamination sources.
Given these conflicts, the concept of environmental protectionism should no longer solely focus on the natural environment, but rather, consider factors related to socio-cultural aspects and industrialisation. Accordingly, environmental education should be viewed through the lens of sustainable development. It should promote a change of development without harming others or diminishing the needs of future generations.
The current research focuses on understanding, analysing and guiding environmental education at Lasallian schools. This research pertains to two sectors: the formal education sector (initial grades through high school) and the geographical sector (international, continental and local levels of the educational institution.)
As a result of this research, the following conclusions can be noted:
• Environmental education has progressed from merely knowledge of natural science to being connected with the ethics of human development. This progression has occurred because our current development model inadequately addresses major social problems such as poverty, inequality, injustice, and war.
• There is a need for environmental education strategies to penetrate the field of social networking. This has been made explicit in the “United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development” (2005-2014), the 5th World Environmental Education Congress held in Canada (2009), and the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development held in Germany (2009).
• Lasallian schools can boost environmental education significantly by involving its social network of approximately one million students, more than seventy thousand educators, and diverse educational offerings in over eighty countries around the world.
• The Lasallian schools have expressed the need to establish common guidelines that promote environmental education for sustainable development.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PLAN
In response to research presented in the last chapter of this thesis, an environmental education plan has been developed for Lasallian schools incorporating the following educational approach:
• Schools should consider environmental education as an urgent educational priority which underpins peace and justice in the world.
• Schools should root environmental education in terms of human environmental development and social sustainability.
• Schools should introduce environmental education through eco-spirituality, which the institution could reinforce through adjutant curricular design.
• Schools should have the opportunity to promote intercultural and multi-religious environmental education in their schools.
Prior to the design of this environmental education plan, a study was conducted on the implementation of environmental education plans within the apostolate: “Eco-connect” involving the Sisters of St. Martha of Antigonish (Canada), “Regional Sustainable Development: An Action Plan” involving the Jesuit Province of Oregon (USA), and “Eco-Congregation” involving the churches in both the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The proposed Environmental Education Plan has four component features: (1) a diagnosis and prognosis, (2) four foci (internal organisation and financing; internal and external participation; transparency and good practices; training), (3) nineteen strategic goals, and (4) forty-five specific actions with evaluative criteria.
The proposed Environmental Education Plan would support Lasallian schools which have difficulties in consolidating “other pedagogies” for sustainable development such as health education, teaching of values, intercultural education, and education for peace. It furthers the work of UNESCO beyond the United Nations’ Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
