ABSTRACT
Recent work on Education for Sustainability in monsoon Asia is presented. The focus is on postsecondary education institutions, including research from schools of education. This introductory chapter provides definitions of Education for Sustainability (EfS) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and the background and context for these terms, alternative terms and their differences are considered. Some of the major EfS and ESD projects in the region are reviewed. This introduction emphasizes the environmental, social and economic contexts for each of the countries and regions discussed in the chapters that follow: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (SAR, China), India, Indonesia, Macau (SAR, China), Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Metrics and indicators are compared. Indices which are helpful to understand the context of EfS in the different countries, such as the Human Development Index, the CIRI Index of Human Rights, and the Happy Planet Index are explained. The book sections on paradigms in sustainability education, national policies regarding ESD, Asian university policies and programs, schools of education, and specific course pedagogies and practices are introduced.
