Blog Post #3 Education for sustainability linking to both Geography and Civics and Citizenship

Dear Parents and Carers,

Our third CCE unit focusses on Sustainability Education through Geography.
Education for Sustainability is a vital element of CCE as it provides information for students to become active citizens and make sustainable choices for the future.

The concept of sustainability involves: the connections between people, the economy and the environment and issues of poverty, economic inequality and environmental degradation (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

The Melbourne Declaration highlights student involvement in sustainability through the aim of working to sustain natural and social environments (2008).

Curriculum links

Geography

(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2019).

CCE

(ACARA, 2019)

Sustainability

(ACARA, 2019)

Why is it important?

Knowing about where you live is important to CCE. Recognising opportunities for improvement can encourage “informed citizen action” (Brett, 2017).

It is important that students are educated about sustainable practices so that they can incorporate, advocate or promote them.

Through this sequence students will be widening their geographical understanding and knowledge. This involves developing knowledge outside what they know and applying it to familiar places.

Learning sequence

https://youtu.be/tnq_b_Bt1eg 

The unit begins with watching a video about planned Adani Coal Mine in Queensland. This is relevant to the recent protests for climate change that students were involved in.

We will then explore the importance of the Great Barrier Reef (TGBR) to Australians through the picture book, One Less Fish.

This  leads into identifying the environmental issues of Adani and looking at sustainable action (Cranby & Matthew, 2017).

This highlights the different perspectives that people have of places and the question:

“What connection does Adani have with TGBR?”
Students will be looking at the actions people are making for sustaining TGBR to inspire ideas for change.

We will also be exploring differing perspectives about Adani to create informed opinions, using the headline:

Adani Carmichael mine will boost regional jobs, fund services and open up new mining region.

Individual project

The next task involves students using what they have learnt to identify a geographical characteristic in Tasmania that they are connected to.  

(ACARA, 2019).

The inquiry question that will be posed is:

“What local characteristic do you want to be sustained for your future?”

This  independent project provides students with the opportunity to focus on their individual connections. This task extends on ideas from the Democracy unit, going beyond the school grounds.

Their research will lead them into creating a sustainability action plan. 

This plan engages learners in authentic issues where they are empowered to create real change (Brett, 2017). This is incredibly valuable for the students as it allows them to have an authentic experience through possible contributions for change.

Your Support

Throughout this sequence, I encourage you to share any thoughts you have with your child about sustainability. Please share any environmental issues that you have felt passionate about or environmental changes that you worked towards. This can inspire students to look at real issues of things they are connected to and take real action (Chaffer, 2014).  

Regards,

Miss Harrison 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). HASS. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). Glossary. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/humanities-and-social-sciences/hass/glossary/?letter=C

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2019). Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/sustainability/

Behind the News. (2017, November 7). Adani Coal Mine: Behind the News. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/tnq_b_Bt1eg

Brett, P. (2017). “Making Connections Between Civics and Citizenship and Education for Sustainability”. In Peterson, A. & Tudball, L. (eds.). Civics and Citizenship in Australia: Challenges, Practices and International Perspectives. Bloomsbury Press, London. (pp. 165-185). 

Chaffer, L. (2014). Education for Sustainability: A brief look at policy and practice. Geography Bulletin. 46(4).

Constable, T. (2018). Adani Carmichael mine will boost regional jobs, fund services and open up new mining region. Retrieved from https://minerals.org.au/news/adani-carmichael-mine-will-boost-regional-jobs-fund-services-and-open-new-mining-region

Cranby, S. & Matthews. (2017). Chapter 11: Geography in the Australian Curriculum. In Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences: History, Geography, Economics and Citizenship (6th edn.). Southbank, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

Toft, K. & Sheather, A. (1997). One Less Fish. Australia: University of Queensland Press

World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). As cited in Gilbert, R., & Hoepper, B. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching Humanities and Social Sciences: History, Geography, Economics and Citizenship (6th edn.). Southbank, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Image retrieved from
Pexels.com