Schooling for Sustainable Development in South Asian Countries

Abstract

By conjoining development and sustainability, development has acquired a new paradigm — with a philosophical base for balancing and integrating environmental aspects, economic concerns and societal advancement. The paradigm of development has influenced the paradigm of education and needs further change due to the renewed understanding that environment and development are two sides of the same coin. In the South Asia region, developmental challenges like population growth, poverty, livelihoods, climate change, fragile ecosystems which are interrelated and work through negative feedback mechanisms have widened the narrow mandate of education from preparing people for economic prosperity to address the multiple developmental challenges. Though the larger benefits of education are strongly recognized there is a tremendous heterogeneity of educational achievements. This has implications for EE and ESD, as it is the existing educational systems and structures that have to integrate EE and ESD qualitatively and quantitatively.Interestingly, formal, non-formal and informal approaches of education are the means for EE and ESD in the region and serve to provide awareness, knowledge, skill, attitudes and opportunities to act. We introduce country-specific chapters that have helped us develop this keen understanding that context is critical in the reorientation process of education and learning for sustainability.