ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the second part of the book dedicated to education, and it opens with a vision for change. The author points to the paradox of envisaging societal change through an education that is itself in need of rethinking. So change, evolution and transformation are the central keywords. The chapter proceeds through questions and the presentation of points of view that are different from conventional ones, casting light on the paradoxes and contradictions of particular positions (including those espoused by prestigious institutions) about what constitues a “sustainable education,” which is seen as more than just ‘education for sustainability’. The author introduces the notion of levels of learning, suggesting that educational actors need to engage in at least second order learning, a kind of thinking which is able to refl ect on itself and so provide the basis for a shift of perspective and for change in educational practices. Within the discussion of second and third order learning we can see a link with the role played by the ideative function of language, as discussed in Chapter 4, in freeing the mind from the taken for grantedness of everyday actions.