Education for Sustainable Development

A Rounder Sense of Purpose

This Erasmus+ project has developed an educators’ competence framework for Education for Sustainable Development. Now in its second three-year phase, the project is linking this framework with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A book and several papers are in the pipeline while the project’s international success has led to it featuring as an Impact Case Study submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Project leads Dr Paul Vare with Richard Millican.

Visit ‘A Rounder Sense of Purpose‘ for more information.

iCap

Student teams from high schools in five countries participated in this vast practical experiment developing projects to create change in their communities. In this way students developed their innovation capacity (‘iCAP’). The website of this Erasmus+ project comprises a Resource Centre to inspire others in running innovation projects.

Project leads Dr Paul Vare, Alex Masardo and Eve Tandoi.

Visit iCap for more information.

Mission-based Learning

Similar to iCAP, this Erasmus+ project supports secondary school students in developing and implementing their own ‘missions’ to improve their communities. This is designed to enhance their action competence, giving them the skills, confidence and motivation to take action for a more sustainable world.

Project leads Dr Paul Vare and Cathy Burch.

Young Europeans

This is the sister project to Mission-based Learning only this time the focus is on young people’s engagement in democracy. Both funded by Erasmus+ these projects are the focus of a research programme that is using Cultural-historical Activity Theory to better understand the processes and challenges involved in facilitating such community-based learning in formal education contexts.

Project leads Dr Paul Vare, Lynda Kay and Chris Jones.

MeWeWhole

This project examined four very different environments in Turkey, Italy, Slovenia and the UK, exploring their potential as a focus for Education for Sustainable Development. A principal output of this Erasmus+ project was a book which included Arran Stibbe’s work, Living in the Weatherworld, the focus of an Impact Case Study submitted to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Project leads Dr Paul Vare and Arran Stibbe.

Visit MeWeWhole for more information.

This research forms part of the Society and Learning research priority area.