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Historical Memory and Eco-centric Education: Looking at the Past to Move Forward with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

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Handbook of Sustainability Science in the Future

Abstract

An education for sustainable development is a 30-year old effort that has been challenging schools and universities to prepare students in society to resolve the multiple crises created by human activities. Its intrinsic complexity demands collaborations across disciplines and urges contributions from Indigenous knowledge, while recognizing the limitations of the western learning paradigm as the dominant education model. There is a need to develop a culture of awareness about peoples’ role and place in nature before tackling the more pragmatic issues surrounding the quest for achieving sustainability. We present with this work a critical analysis of sustainability education since the 1990s, highlighting achievements and the barriers rooted in specific academic cultures that impede (and may continue to hamper) the establishment of sustainability at institutions of higher education. The competencies that qualify instructors in the teaching profession in sustainability, as well as those needed by students, are discussed with an emphasis on the formative role of education at a time of fast technological advances. The connection to the 17 goals for sustainable development (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 served as the theoretical framework of our study. Finally, we present a holistic model for Sustainability Education in the twenty-first Century.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Winona State University, Winona, MN, USA

    Bruno Borsari

  2. Department of History and Ethnology, School of Resource Wisdom, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Jan Kunnas

Authors
  1. Bruno Borsari
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  2. Jan Kunnas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruno Borsari .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Department of Business and Law, University of Milano-Bicocca, MILANO, Milano, Italy

    Federica Doni

  4. University of Passo Fundo, Sao Jose, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Amanda Lange Salvia

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Borsari, B., Kunnas, J. (2022). Historical Memory and Eco-centric Education: Looking at the Past to Move Forward with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A.M., Doni, F., Salvia, A.L. (eds) Handbook of Sustainability Science in the Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68074-9_40-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68074-9_40-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-68074-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-68074-9

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