ABSTRACT
There has recently been significant emphasis placed on environmental education through the United Nations' Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). One of the aims of the DESD is to ‘prepare young people for a lifetime of sustainable living’, and yet, despite this, there is a lack of evidence to suggest whether or not the aims of ESD have been achieved within schools. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study investigating one class of 14- and 15-year-old Geography students in England's understandings of sustainability and their attitudes towards sustainable development. The research used dialogic diaries and semi-structured interviews to explore the students' understandings of sustainability, within a case study framework. The study found that the students' understandings of sustainability became more nuanced across the year, with a focus on the environmental perspective of sustainable development. Many students also appeared to feel a growing sense of responsibility towards sustainable development which is significant given the DESD's aim of developing young people's pro-sustainable behaviour. However, despite this, it is argued that more work needs to be done with young people to develop their understanding of sustainability, and to encourage them to fully engage with issues of sustainable development in today's society.
