Education for Sustainable Development in Eastern Cape secondary schools

Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) is one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Today’s world presents an environment with immense degrees of inequality, social exclusion, poverty and environmental destruction. SD refers to the social processes of decision-making and action that ensure the principle of sustainability. These aspirations for a fair and just society can only be realised if every human plays their part. However, the desired change cannot happen without relevant knowledge and competencies; therefore, education is needed as a crucial enabler of transformation. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 4.7 was thus formulated with the aim of ensuring that all learners acquire the competencies needed to live sustainably by 2030. Education for sustainable development (ESD) is increasingly seen as an integral part of the quality inclusive education that is crucial for creating a sustainable future. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has again highlighted the inequalities and challenges in the South African education system. ESD could play an integral role in addressing these inequalities and challenges, if implemented effectively. Prior research, however, has highlighted that the complexity and uncertainty about the application of sustainability within social and academic institutions may limit any practical accomplishments. It has become clear that although ESD has been around for more than 30 years, many educators, especially at secondary school level, are still uninformed about and ill-equipped for ESD. As a result, secondary schools are sending learners out into the world without the competencies that could create a sustainable and fair world. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of ESD in Eastern Cape secondary schools, with the aim of identifying best practices as well as challenges in the implementation thereof. Document analysis, following the principles of grounded theory, was employed. The findings revealed that there is a lack of knowledge about ESD in many secondary schools, especially in the public sphere. It has led to the conclusion that the focus should first be on training and professional development of school leadership, as these are the people who should guide the implementation of ESD in their schools.