The role and use of scientific and cultural ways of thinking in education for sustainability (EFS) to promote sustainable use of resources

 

Arkangelo Mtipe Yambeni

 

Review Article | Published February 2014

Journal of Educational Research and Reviews, Vol. 2(2), pp. 18-27

 

 

University of Malawi through Domasi College of Education, Malawi.

Email: ayambeni@gmail.com.  

 

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The concept of Education for Sustainability (EFS) is interdisciplinary and crosscutting because it integrates content and issues across disciplines and curricula. The interdisciplinary approach from EFS is vital because it necessitates breaking down of frontiers between disciplines and makes education focus on a single real world issue of sustainability addressed from various perspectives hence promoting systems and integrative thinking in dealing with issues concerning sustainability. It advocates change of behaviour towards sustainable development and environmental resource management through a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to develop knowledge and skills, change in attitudes and creation of new values and skills towards sustainability. This helps people to better understand the world in which they live, address the complexity and interconnectedness of problems in the world such as environmental degradation, gender inequity and poverty, and a need for collective approach to solve them; consequently, creating a cadre of people with integrative ways of thinking in order to have collective participatory approach towards sustainable use of resources. It is, therefore, against this background of interdisciplinarity in EFS that this article critically analyses the role and use of both scientific and cultural ways of thinking in EFS. It first proposes the working definition of EFS and justifies the integration of scientific and cultural ways of thinking in EFS. It then critically analyses the role and use of scientific and cultural ways of thinking in EFS. It finally concludes by putting together issues captured in the paper and my reflection on the paper.