SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A

WORLD VIEW: IMPLICATIONS FOR

EDUCATION
MARGARITA PAVLOVA & TATIANA LOMAKINA
•A case study that provides an account of SD
conceptualization that can be useful in Asian
countries as it formulates basic premises about
humanity and the world , as a result, the
dispositions that education should foster.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
•"is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.“
•Emerged in the mid 1980s.
 Asian economic development

Western Ideas

Belief in progress Belief in control

Biosphere has a limited capacity.

 Two Opposite Perspectives on the nature
of SD (Cartea, 2015)
1. ‘Legitimate the idea that it
is possible to maintain, within
some tolerable ecological
limits, a rhythm and model of
economic growth’
‘MARKET ECONOMY’
2. ‘A model to identify, explore,
promote alternatives
(ideological, political,
economic, cultural, etc.) to the
existing environmental and
social crises.’
‘EQUITY’, ‘EMANCIPATION’, SOCIAL
CHANGE’
 DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
2 approaches towards solving problems
caused by human-nature relationships
(Robinson, 2004)

Technical Fix Value Change

TECHNICAL FIX

Technology is able to find solutions to

environmental challenges humanity is currently
facing.
TECHNICAL FIX

•Analyses of technology demonstrate that

technology cannot fix the problems of the modern
world.
•Technical fix might treat only the symptoms, not
the disease and root causes.
 VALUE CHANGE ANTHROPOCENTRIC ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS
ECOCENTRIC ENVIRONMENTAL
ETHICS
• Attribute instrumental value to
nature and suggest that
•Attribute intrinsic value humans should use and
to nature and suggest manage nature wisely.
that human should live
according to nature.
Should we put more emphasis on nature or
humanity?
Or, is there an appropriate balance?
WEAK ANTHROPOCENTRISM
• Promotes the mutual flourishing of human and non-
human nature
• Refers to the ‘intrinsic valuing of persons’ and harmony
with nature.
ETHICAL BASE FOR THE PRINCIPLES FOR
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
“Respect and care for the community of life,
meaning duty of care for other people and
other forms of life now and in the future.”
Therefore, the use of technology for the
purpose of sustainable development should
be shaped by values based on the ethics of
weak anthropocentrism ‘to avoid throwing up
new problems while the older ones are still
being apprehended’ (Leiss 1992, p. 64).
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• Re-establishment of norms for education is related to
critique of hidden curriculum in many westernized
societies– “Capitalist consumer culture”
• The need to move towards ‘a planetary transition toward
humane, just and ecological future.
 Teachers’ responsibility, (Sterling, 2007)
• to help seed a change in consciousness
• to facilitate learning that combines critique and creativity with
foresight and wisdom
• To develop anticipative education
• To nurture and mentor resilient learners
• To develop critical learning environments where transformative,
experiential and experimental learning can take place, at personal,
institutional and social levels.
• To do it a spirit of hope and collaborative inquiry
EDUCATION FOR SD IN RUSSIA
VERNADSKY’S NOÖSPHERE AS WORLD-VIEW

“SPHERE OF WISDOM”
conscio Cognitive
usness power
Harmonize the coexistence
of humanity and nature.

wisdom
 CONCLUSION
• Education that is transformative in nature , that is underpinned
by SD values and that should make ‘a planetary transition
toward a humane, just and ecological future’ possible.
• Weak anthropocentrism should be used for educational aims
and approaches.
• Countries in Asia should ensure there is a coordination
between development policies framed by ideas of SD and
educational policies.
REFERENCES
Pavlova, M., & Lomakina, T. (2015). sustainable development as a world-view:
implications for education. In Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives
on Education in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 37-50). DOI:10.1007/978-981-
287-940-0_4

Sustainable Business Council (n.d). Sustainable Development Goals. Retrieved

November 12, 2019 from
https://www.sbc.org.nz/our-work/sustainabledevelopment-goals

________. sustainable development. Retrieved November 12, 2019 from

https://www.iisd.org/topic/sustainable-development