The Role of English Literature or Subject in Education for Sustainability

Abstract

Societies universal are facing various challenges which are shaping prospects for quality of life in the future. As David Orr reminds us, our educational systems have contributed to these untenable scenarios. Education for sustainability (EfS) seeks to address this through educational change and Higher Education has a particular responsibility and role to play, by equipping learners with the capabilities they need to take on these challenges. Education for Sustainability (EfS) spans all levels of formal, informal, professional and community education, using learning and change processes to help people critique and shape the decisions and social practices that influence our future as a global community. There are numerous HE agencies and institutions have signed up to this international movement and committed to advancement its aims. It is ambitious in scope, as it is not simply about including new information or issues within the content of what is taught, in order that people study ‘about sustainability’. It focuses instead on how we ‘do’ education: how we respond to sustainability imperatives by rethinking our techniques, revising our courses, recasting our priorities and reorienting our communities of practice. Prominent sustainability rankings and awards, for example Universities that Count and the People and Planet Green League, ever more reward innovation underpinned by these strategic aims.