GEES Subject Centre Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) – Focus Group
Tuesday 26 April, CREATE Environment Centre, Bristol. 10.30am – 4pm
How to get to the CREATE Environment Centre
The HEFCE have just published ‘Sustainable development in higher education: consultation on a support strategy and action plan,’ with an emphasis on curriculum and pedagogy. It could be argued that the description of sustainable development is very close to the heart of the GEES disciplines: “an understanding of how complex economic, social and environmental processes interact with each other (including the contribution individuals make to these processes); and a familiarity with perspectives on these issues from other societies and cultures” (para.26).
The GEES Subject Centre is holding a Focus Group to explore the issues raised in the HEFCE consultation paper, and the state of play of ESD within the GEES disciplines. We would like to invite expressions of interest in attending and contributions from those who already incorporate ESD in their teaching and learning support practice, or from those who are interested in doing so.
Twenty five places are available. Places are limited and will be allocated to ensure a representative mix from the three disciplines. If we are unable to offer you a place, we will still very much welcome your participation in further work on this area.
The purpose of this meeting is
- To investigate the current state of play of ESD within the GEES subject areas and the key themes and issues that are considered to be of importance by practitioners
- To initiate the collation of good practice and resources for the GEES HE community
- To explore synergies with other current and up-and-coming HE Academy and GEES-linked projects in the areas of Employability and Corporate and Social Responsibility
- To initiate the development of a community of practice for ESD from within the GEES HE community
- To encourage dialogue with regards to how HEFCE, the HE Academy, the ESD CETLs and the GEES Subject Centre can move the ESD agenda forward within the GEES subject areas
Key questions to be addressed include:
(a) What are the main opportunities and obstacles for those who teach and support learning in GEES disciplines.
(b) Is ESD linked to the skills or content agenda?
(c) Do students see real-life applications of ESD?
(d) What are other ‘big’ questions for those who are interested in embedding ESD but haven’t yet?
(e) How can the GEES Subject Centre usefully contribute to developing the ESD community of practice for GEES practitioners in HEIs e.g. conferences / training events / workshops, or a physical repository for examples of good practice?
Outcomes from this event will include:
(a) Learning how ESD is taken forward in other institutions and departments throughout the UK
(b) The formation of a group of ESD practitioners
(c) Recommendations for GEES Subject Centre strategy in the future, as a basis for wider consultation
(d) Briefing paper with links to examples of good practice
Please email your interest by Thursday 24 March indicating whether you would like to
(a) attend the event
(b) offer a brief (10-minute) presentation or poster on your work in this area, giving the topic
NB. The GEES Subject Centre can reimburse travel expenses from within the UK for this event, and arrange overnight accommodation if required.