ABSTRACT
The aim of education for sustainability is to develop the civic or action competencies that can enable all students and institutions to play a role in the transition to sustainability. As such, it encompasses a vision for society that is not only ecologically sustainable but also one which is socially, economically and politically sustainable as well. Thus, education for sustainability encourages those involved in education to activate the socially critical or reconstructionist tradition in education and to promote pedagogical approaches that help integrate the teaching of conservation, social justice, appropriate development and democracy into a clear vision for the future. This chapter seeks to provide an anlaytic framework based upon questions such as: what conceptions of sustainable development are privileged in education for sustainability? What assumptions about knowledge and ways of knowing are privileged? It is important that education for sustainability be conducted in a professionally ethical manner. The chapter concludes with a case for a committed but impartial approach to handling values issues.
