Professor Julia P Myatt
Professor in Collaborative Education
Professor Myatt's work bridges biosciences and interdisciplinary education, focusing on climate and ecology.
Sustainability education: Teaching the world a greener way
Nearly all countries now incorporate climate change education in some form — whether through formal education systems or public engagement. However, many still emphasise ‘environmental education’ rather than addressing all three pillars of sustainability — environmental, social and economic — or adopting a cross-disciplinary approach.
Teaching the world a greener way
In the lead-up to COP30, Izzi Davies-Friend speaks with Professor Julia Myatt about the power of education in creating a sustainable future. Their discussion explores how embedding sustainability across all levels of learning can prepare students to lead in a changing world.
UNESCO’s ‘Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030)’ programme focuses on five priority areas including: policy; learning environments; educators; youth; and local communities. In recent years, more frameworks and toolkits have been developed to support the integration of sustainability education into formal settings, but monitoring progress is challenging. One of the greatest challenges is changing the culture to view sustainability as integral to education at all levels and across all subject areas. Mandatory requirements are needed to drive sustainability education forward, creating a clear pipeline from school through to Higher Education (HE) and into employment, to ensure future generations are climate-literate citizens. Sustainability education is essential for equipping young people to engage with the complex, interconnected challenges our planet faces. The University of Birmingham’s policy recommendations provide a comprehensive framework to help achieve this goal.
Policy Recommendations
UK national
- Support the alignment of curriculum development with the three pillars of sustainability, and consider beyond UN SDGs and 2030 to encompass all major academic discipline areas in primary, secondary, and HE. Progress should be reported on an annual basis and needs to be monitored through a requirement for an annual report or plan and part of the Ofsted school inspection process for schools.
- Require a consistent and connected approach from school, through to HE and employers in the sustainability and ‘Green Skills’ space. A single standardised language, methodology and competencies framework that broadens understanding of sustainability, underpinned by a common assessment framework.
- Invest in mandatory professional development, training programmes and resources for all educators on cross disciplinary sustainability education and competencies.
- Embed sustainability education directly into the recently reformed standardised initial teacher education curricula developed by the Department for Education in England.
- Facilitate collaboration and co-creation between key stakeholders—including special interest groups, national forums, learned societies, students, academics and teachers to deliver the above recommendations and support schools to develop their Climate Action Plans.
International
- Work together as an international community to support a cohesive approach and learn from one another to bridge the gaps and ensure a common language is used from early years through to HE.
- Support education at a global scale by developing resources appropriate for a local context and present country-specific case studies in local languages.
- Provide frameworks that incorporate cultural and language needs that are informed and developed by Indigenous Peoples, to ensure a collaborative approach is taken.
- Encourage global cooperation between HE institutes to ensure students can operate in an international context, using mechanisms such as Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and virtual initiatives across the world.
- Align education activities with UNESCO’s comprehensive agenda to address the urgent call for investment in women’s and girls’ education specifically in Africa.
These recommendations are based on research led by experts at the University of Birmingham, including the following academics and Max Williams from the Guild of Students:
Dr Justyna Bandola-Gill
Assistant Professor in Sociology and Social Policy
Dr Bandola-Gill studies how knowledge is governed and mobilised in public policy, with a focus on research evaluation and global inequality.
Daniel Cottle
Associate Professor of Physics Education
Daniel Cottle is working to enhance physics education and broaden access for learners from diverse backgrounds.
Dr Samantha Dobbie
BIFoR Learning and Engagement Lead
Dr Dobbie is the learning and engagement lead for the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research.
Rebecca Keogh
Deputy Director Foundation Programmes
Rebecca Keogh studies how language in media and public discourse shapes views on nature, climate change, and biodiversity.
Professor Jeremy Pritchard
Professor of Life Sciences Education
Professor Pritchard's work focuses on plant science, climate change, and sustainability.