An investigation of education for sustainable development : interpretation and implementation at a teacher education institution in South Africa

Abstract

It has been noted that any hope for transformation in education lies in the hands of the teacher and/or teacher educator who inevitably must take on the role as implementer of policy innovation. It is, however, not only an issue of whether or not institutional policy has been interpreted and implemented appropriately within teacher education institutions, it is also a question of how institutional policy encompasses global and national initiatives. This study focuses on the Education for Sustainable Development initiative that has been formally adopted at a national and global level. It is pertinent that policy guiding teacher education institutions reflect this global and national responsibility. Having said this, it is not enough to formulate policy that is strongly ESD aligned. This research reveals that deep learning for sustainability at any Higher Education Institution (HEI) is only sustainable in of itself if first the institutional culture is understood and second if it is embraced in the model for ‘change’.