Emphasising vision and action for the future through: 

• developing a long-term vision for a thriving ecosystem 
• implementing school-wide policy that ensures sustainable operations and supports the movement towards regenerative practices 
• empowering young people to determine a sustainable future through active participation for change 
• encouraging intergenerational learning through community engagement in local curriculum contexts 
• critically analysing the values and practices that have brought us to this point in time, so that a thriving future can be created. 

Fostering kaitiakitanga, citizenship, and personal and collective responsibility through: 

• exercising care for our place and our people through teaching and learning experiences that emphasise connectedness and interdependence  
• examining dominant values and raising critical consciousness around individualism, consumerism, and what ‘enough’ looks like 
• implementing locally relevant, place-based curriculum that develops the knowledge, attitudes, and skills required to think and act sustainably 
• developing teaching and learning experiences that highlight our reliance on, and responsibilities for, regenerating biodiversity, land, freshwater, marine environment, air, atmosphere, and climate 
• enabling teaching and learning experiences that result in visible change towards a more sustainable world 
• acknowledging and respecting multiple value positions and diverse knowledges. 

Providing real-life contexts for learning about sustainability through: 

• honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi through authentic engagement with our collective histories, including addressing the impact of colonisation on our contemporary realities 
• using EfS as a vehicle to address social and environmental justice issues using Treaty partnership processes 
• exploring the ways in which local action can positively contribute to local or national environmental issues or help to mitigate the impacts of climate change on our island nation. 

Developing social, cultural, economic, and environmental understanding through: 

• exploring the ways in which mātauranga Māori, in relationship with mana whenua, can provide direction into a sustainable future 
• actively building EfS knowledge, skills, and understanding within and across curriculum learning areas 
• developing capabilities in EfS through critical inquiry, perspective-taking, and taking action in response to the root causes of issues 
• focusing on the causes of issues to identify meaningful action 
• understanding systems thinking through making connections between social, cultural, economic, and environmental systems in Aotearoa New Zealand 
• engaging with how human activity can positively or negatively impact our planetary life support systems, particularly through building climate change awareness. 

Enabling increased collaboration, valuing tangata whenua as kaitiaki, and exercising stewardship through: 

• encouraging community engagement and a sense of belonging through active participation for change within local contexts 
• creating partnerships and collaborations for collective impact in response to sustainability and climate change issues 
• encouraging responsible use of limited resources through school-wide policies that promote circularity and reduce consumption 
• celebrating and empowering youth and community in political activism and social change. 

Key concepts within Education for Sustainability  

Key concepts are the big ideas and understandings that will remain long after learning has taken place. The following big ideas – sustainability, interdependence, connection, equity, and participation for change – are key concepts that underpin a holistic approach to EfS. 

Sustainability is the underpinning concept of EfS. Sustainability challenges us to find ways to meet our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This requires us to reimagine the ways in which we are living today in relation to each other and the natural world. 

“For our very own survival, we must learn to live together sustainably on this planet. We must change the way we think and act as individuals and societies … education must change to create a peaceful and sustainable world for the survival and prosperity of current and future generations. 

   -  Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap, UNESCO, 2020. 

Within te ao Māori, there is no specific kupu (word) that means ‘sustainability'. This signifies an important philosophical difference. Many people may view humans as separate from nature and sustainability as predominantly a resource management issue. However, within mātauranga Māori a flourishing taiao (environment) is integral to our mauri (life force), and vice versa.  

Regeneration is a useful term when considering what is required at this moment in time. It focuses on the need to actively improve on the status quo, rather than sustaining what are currently broken systems. Regeneration encourages us to take part in actively restoring vitality and abundance so that future generations can prosper.   

Developing truly sustainable ways of living in Aotearoa New Zealand requires us to change our dominant societal values to ensure a thriving, resilient future. These values-based explorations are a crucial part of EfS. Exploring what we value and how we act in response to those values, informs learners’ understanding of, and aspirations for, their world. 

Interdependence is a big idea visible in EfS. Interdependence is evident within our planetary life support systems. The circular systems of the natural world (for example, the water cycle, life cycle, seasonality, soil health), and how human life is entirely dependent upon them, provide a rich place from which awe, wonder, and respect for our planet can be developed. Interdependence is also developed through our understanding of sustainability. Our social and cultural wellbeing is related to the wellbeing of the economy and that of the natural world. This interdependence is often presented as the four pillars, or aspects, of sustainability. 

The four aspects of sustainability 

Environmental is the need to ensure that biophysical systems can sustain all life on Earth. It includes the structure and function of natural ecosystems and the interactions between them and people, as well as calling for us to actively regenerate our environment. 

Social is the need for equity within and between generations, and within and between groups. It includes individual and community wellbeing based on a fair distribution of resources. 

Cultural is the need to nourish attitudes and values that represent diverse worldviews, and the political need for all people to express their views freely and to participate in decision making. 

Economic is the interactions of people with the natural environment in using resources to create goods and services that add value to their lives. It acknowledges that resource use and waste must occur within the capacity of our planet. It encourages fair trade and circularity that equitably distributes benefits and costs.  

Interdependence exists in the present moment, as well as across time and space. We are directly linked to our past through our elders and connected forwards, by those that are born today. EfS recognises the impact that our shared histories have had on our lived realities today and that we are actively creating our shared future every day. 

Systems thinking helps ākonga to examine interdependence within EfS, providing ways in which they can analyse issues and map appropriate actions in response. 

Within mātauranga Māori, a number of deeply resonant ideas grow our understanding of interdependence as a key concept of EfS. Kaitiakitanga is often understood as guardianship, but it is also about reciprocity. Our natural resources will sustain us if we take care of them. This is an interdependent relationship where we are actively a part of nature and not separate from it. This in turn reminds us of whanaungatanga – that we are all family, all related. All aspects of Earth, people, and nature are connected to each other, all the way back to Papatūānuku and Ranginui. 

In EfS, ākonga explore the relationship between people and the environment within their own context. These place-based connections ensure that active, engaged learning takes place and allow ākonga to develop a strong connection to their local environment and the natural world.   

“If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.”    - David Sobel 

Authentic place-based connections honour Māori as mana whenua. Place-based connections respect the specificity of local mātauranga, whakapapa, and whanaungatanga and cultivate the connections between us, Earth, and each other. This creates spaces for critical consciousness-raising in response to pūrākau (myths), local stories, and our living landscapes. In this way, EfS links with approaches in the Local Curriculum Design Toolkit, as well as Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories in the New Zealand Curriculum, which both emphasise localised curriculum in response to place.  

Through inquiry into their own context, community, and place, ākonga develop a connection to nature, a sense of belonging to a common humanity, and respect for difference and diversity. 

Equity in EfS means considering social and environmental justice issues and the ways they intersect. Sustainability issues, such as climate change, do not exist in isolation from wider societal issues or the values and systems that created those issues. EfS strives for greater equity through challenging and transforming these structures and practices. 

Justice for the planet and justice for all people are entwined within EfS. Effective EfS teaching and learning focuses on these issues of equity, considering the ways in which sustainability issues intersect with environmental and social justice issues. 

Environmental justice seeks to ensure that all people have the same rights and access to healthy environments within which to live, work, and play. The concept of environmental justice began in the 1980s when it was recognised that many polluting industries and waste disposal areas were located near low-income and/or minority communities. Today, environmental justice movements primarily focus on the disproportionate impacts of climate change, as not all populations can mitigate or address the effects of climate change. This is especially relevant to any exploration of the impact of climate change on our Pacific neighbours. Environmental justice requires that we respect and care for our planet and everything on it. 

Social justice issues are an important part of equity within EfS. Examining social justice means that EfS learners consider the structures or actions that result in people being treated unfairly. Addressing social justice issues involves working against discrimination, challenging policies that contribute to ongoing oppression, and ensuring all people can flourish. Within Aotearoa, social justice is particularly connected to recognising the impact of colonisation on tangata whenua and the natural world. Crucially, social justice also considers issues of intergenerational fairness – ensuring that we leave a world within which future generations can flourish. 

Seeking to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi is central to equity in Aotearoa; it addresses many environmental and social justice issues simultaneously. 

The doughnut model (Ranworth, 2017) helps to guide learners’ understanding of equity. 
The doughnut layers of our social foundation and ecological ceiling help to define the space within which we can enjoy a safe, just world. 

EfS is experiential, requiring ākonga to connect with sustainability issues and then actively participate in an appropriate response, taking concrete steps to address, mitigate, or solve issues. 

Learners feel validated when their learning conditions make a difference to their world. Focusing on participation for change helps ākonga to develop knowledge, values, and skills in response to EfS and The New Zealand Curriculum. There is evidence that eco-anxiety is emerging in relation to climate change. Creating conditions where ākonga feel agency can mitigate this. 

EfS centres teaching and learning experiences in our local environment and community. This emphasis creates the conditions for ākonga to respond to the complex challenges of sustainability, such as climate change, through actively participating in their own world, often developing local and community-oriented responses to wider sustainability issues. 

A local, community-oriented approach does not preclude learning and actions that are directed towards regional, national, and global goals and impacts. Learner participation in climate strikes and protest movements is an entirely appropriate action as part of a knowledge-rich action inquiry in EfS. The importance of creating opportunities for learners to contribute meaningfully to their changing world through environmental activism and social change movements is included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

EfS and local curriculum  

EfS is a lens through which to design your local curriculum. Through local curriculum decision making, consider the relevant issues for your context, learners, and community. For many schools, these issues can connect to sustainability and ākonga can develop the dispositions required for a sustainable future. 

Once the broad scope of a local curriculum is developed in collaboration with your community, you can consider the ways that EfS principles can underpin the implementation of that curriculum. EfS involves environmental, social, cultural, and economic aspects and is therefore applicable across the curriculum. 

You can use the context te tūrangawaewae me te taiao | place and environment to explore EfS and consider the interrelationships between human activity and the natural world and the consequences of competing ideas about the control, use, protection, and regeneration of natural resources. 

There are endless directions in which knowledge, skills, and values can be explored and developed across the phases of learning and through the key competencies. The learning area statements in the curriculum describe the essence of each learning area, how it contributes to a young person’s education, and how it is structured. These statements are a useful starting point for discussing how the principles and key concepts of EfS can intersect with learning areas in your local curriculum. 

Education for Sustainability at NCEA  

Education for Sustainability Teaching and Learning Guide will help you develop teaching and learning programmes for senior secondary learners. 

Credits in EfS are available for NCEA levels 2 and 3. Credits are aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum. They may be used within dedicated year-long sustainability courses or incorporated into other senior subjects such as geography, social studies, the sciences, technology, economics, and horticulture. EfS credits provide ākonga with knowledge, values, and competencies for existing and emerging career pathways and lifelong skills, which will contribute to a sustainable, low-emissions future in Aotearoa. 

Resources  

Mātauranga Whakauka Taiao | Environmental Education for Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan 2017–2021This strategy and action plan provides a useful framework for EfS approaches that have a strong environmental focus. Designed by the Ministry for Environment, Department of Conservation, and the Ministry of Education, the broad principles within Mātauranga Whakauka Taiao have been used as the foundation for the EfS principles that have been further developed above. 

Education for Sustainable Development: A Roadmap 
This 2020 publication by UNESCO has informed the development of the EfS principles and the key concepts. It emphasises the importance of policy for education and sustainable development, whole-school approaches, building educator capacity, empowering and mobilising youth, and focusing on local level action. 

Opportunities for Education in a Changing Climate: Themes from Key Informant Interviews 
Part of NZCER’s wider education and climate change project, this report outlines findings from 17 interviews with a range of viewpoints about climate change and the role of education. 

He Whakaaro: How Environmentally Aware are New Zealand Students? 
This 2019 paper from the Ministry of Education examines the awareness of English-medium secondary learners of environmental issues and how this has changed in the last decade. Awareness of environmental issues is positively related to learners’ scientific literacy, socioeconomic status, and engagement in science-related topics and activities, as well as with science teaching practices. 

Environmental education in New Zealand schools: Research update 2015 
This NZCER report updates the findings from a large multi-method study of environmental education in New Zealand schools from 2002–04. The update drew on New Zealand environmental education literature published since the previous study and involved workshops with key individuals about environmental education practice and developments over the past decade. 

Video: Place-Based Education and Māori History
In this video, Professor Wally Penetito speaks powerfully about the importance of understanding where you stand, beginning with the indigenous history of where you are, connecting with mana whenua.  

Through a whole-school approach, ākonga see that sustainability is part of your school’s kaupapa, and the principles of EfS are valued and supported by your entire learning community. Leadership, operations, and the wider school community are visibly engaged in sustainable practices and support effective teaching and learning within EfS.  

If you have not yet embarked on a whole-school approach to sustainability, consider the following four areas for effective teaching and learning within EfS: 

• place 
• people 
• practices 
• programmes

(These descriptors have been adapted from A framework for whole-school approaches to education for sustainability, Chris Eames, 2010.)  

The land we stand on was here long before us and will remain long after we have gone. Acknowledging the impact our lives have on the landscape, and the landscape on us, is an important part of a whole-school approach to EfS. Addressing our collective histories and creating the future we want to live into is a key opportunity when we interact with place within a whole-school approach.   

Akōnga at schools with a thriving relationship to place are: 

• aware of the history of the land on which the school and its community sits, acknowledging and referring meaningfully to this history within their learning 
• engaged in formal and informal learning experiences in a range of natural environments 
• taking care of a variety of natural and social environments to sustain people, ecosystems, and biodiversity 
• enjoying a built environment that aligns with natural systems, the environment, community, and learning in EfS 
• participating in planning for the regeneration of natural ecosystems and increasing biodiversity where appropriate and possible. 

A whole-school approach focuses on people, ensuring that we work collaboratively and that ākonga are involved in decision making to become confident, connected, and actively involved lifelong learners. 

Ākonga know their school supports people to thrive through EfS because they: 

• engage in active, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial relationships with mana whenua 
• acknowledge New Zealand’s foundations within Te Tiriti o Waitangi 
• have learning experiences that reflect the cultural diversity of the school and its community 
• have relationships for learning with the wider community 
• work collaboratively across all groups involved in the school 
• are active participants in decision-making processes 
• are involved in action for sustainability 
• see school leaders articulate and model the importance of EfS at the school. 

A whole-school approach to EfS ensures that programmes focus on the design and implementation of curricula that develop attitudes and behaviours for a more sustainable future. Through taking action, learners discover how to make sustainability a reality in their school and wider community. 

Ākonga at schools with effective EfS programmes: 

• know their whole-school plan for EfS 
• learn about sustainability in multiple learning areas, because kaiako design a strong and coherent local curriculum  
• investigate complex issues, integrate knowledge, act for a sustainable future, and reflect on their success 
• learn about sustainability within and outside the classroom in a variety of settings 
• have opportunities to engage in EfS through co-curricular activities 
• are assessed in ways that recognise their development of action competence in EfS. 

Within a whole-school approach to EfS, sustainable practices are part of your school’s culture, which enables a more resilient community for the future. 

Ākonga know their school has sustainable practices because they: 

• are aware that the school’s budget and purchases are based on a sustainability policy, which they might have helped to design 
• are supported to participate in sustainable practices at different levels of the school’s organisation 
• manage their resources sustainably, understanding the waste management system used by the school 
• see learning about sustainability reflected in their whole school’s practices 
• are introduced to sustainability practices in the school when they are new to the school 
• take part in monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting on the ways EfS practices at their school can evolve and improve. 

Enviroschools help ākonga connect with and explore the environment, then plan, design, and take action in collaboration with their communities. To join the programme and access a range of resources, contact your local Regional Coordinator.  

Investigating the relationship between whole-school approaches to education for sustainability and student learning is a useful framework for understanding and developing a whole-school approach to sustainability. It may be a useful foundation for schools seeking to develop their own whole-school approaches to sustainability. It was produced by a New Zealand research team, including teachers, through a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative project.  

Building climate ready schools: Towards identifying good practice in climate change education is a 2018 UNESCO report that schools may find helpful in developing their whole-school approaches to sustainability. It identifies climate action practices taking place in Canadian schools.  

Para Kore empowers and supports marae and organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand to work towards zero waste through the frameworks of kaupapa and tikanga Māori. Ākonga and kaiako can use this to consider how they can change their school’s practices and the challenges they need to overcome on their journey. 

Leadership and school-wide climate responses: Research briefing 2 is an NZCER report that shows how school leadership and school-wide approaches can play a key role in effective climate change responses. Teachers and ākonga may find the range of examples useful when deciding where to start their whole-school approach.   

Topics include: 

• Climate change: What can schools do? 
• Learning and career pathways for a low-carbon future 
• Connecting climate change with place and culture 

Through EfS, ākonga can learn how to draw skills and knowledge from more than one learning area to fully investigate their world. 

You can use an integrated curriculum to develop learners’ action competence through inquiry. Resources such as Pūtātara provide examples of how inquiry and curriculum integration can be incorporated to investigate issues of sustainability. 

Further guidance on designing local curriculum and effective integrated curriculum approaches to EfS can be accessed via centrally funded professional learning and development channels or programmes such as Enviroschools. 

Through EfS, you can create opportunities for learning through discovery where ākonga: 

• use mātauranga Māori as the launchpad from which to understand their relationship to Papatūānuku, and to each other, within Aotearoa 
• engage in a range of experiences to develop understanding of and commitment to sustainability issues 
• develop skills of empathy, solidarity, and respect for diversity 
• create safe spaces for sharing opinions, debating respectfully, and resolving conflict 
• learn in the natural environment so that enduring connections with place develop 
• engage their "head, heart, and hands", so that they can think, feel, and act for a sustainable world 
• develop understandings of the inextricable connections between ourselves, each other, and the natural world. 

Through EfS, ākonga can integrate knowledge and develop conceptual and practical understanding of sustainability and climate change issues. Ākonga can: 

• develop knowledge and understanding of everyday sustainability issues, and their impact on all living things 
• find and analyse scientific information alongside social, cultural, and historical views 
• consider multiple ways of knowing and explore diverse perspectives or value positions 
• acquire knowledge of local and global issues and the connections between them in Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific 
• examine and critique current societal norms and practices, developing their own values that will guide them as citizens going forwards 
• consider the complex challenges of sustainability, and how they can address them.  

Through EfS, you can create opportunities for ākonga to meaningfully act on the issues of sustainability they have been investigating. Ākonga can: 

• develop a vision for a sustainable future, and identify actions that can be taken now to help achieve this 
• design local responses to global sustainability issues, with a focus on positive, regenerative change 
• collaborate with peers, teachers, school leaders, whānau, and the community to make a difference 
• are involved in addressing real issues in real-time 
• are visible as change agents in relation to local environmental issues 
• are enabled and empowered, knowing they can make a difference. 

Through EfS, ākonga can reflect on their experiences throughout the inquiry. Ākonga can: 

• make connections between thinking, feeling, and acting 
• articulate how they have learned through taking action on sustainability and climate change issues 
• consider the impacts and success of their actions, and how this could evolve, change, or grow 
• celebrate the changes that result from their work in the local environment, school, or community. 

Assessment for learning  

Assessment, teaching, and learning all inform each other. Effective assessment ensures that EfS learning experiences develop the understandings, knowledge, and skills of The New Zealand Curriculum, and prepare young people to actively contribute to a more sustainable world. 

When planning for EfS, consider the ways that EfS learning aligns with the ‘Understand, Know, Do’ framing and progress outcomes of The New Zealand Curriculum. Examine the progress outcomes in relation to your planning and ask: 

• How can I ensure teaching and learning opportunities help learners work towards these outcomes? 
• How will it be evident that learning has taken place? 

It is often appropriate for ākonga to work with you to define what success will look like, how they too will know what learning has taken place, and what they can do to evidence their journey.  

Evidence of learning may build up over time and be shown in several ways, such as written work, observation, a conversation between you and the learner, or demonstrated in practice. Evidence of learning may come from external sources that show the impact of EfS activities, such as from community voice or a survey. 

Building close links between the learning process and formative assessment allows you to consider next steps and areas for growth and development. Within EfS it is important that assessment records the broad intentions and real-world impact of EfS teaching and learning. Gather and use evidence of learning in a way that supports progress within EfS learning over time. 

Resources 

Pūtātara: A call to action 
Incorporating sustainability and global citizenship across the curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand, this resource supports schools and teachers to develop learning opportunities that are place-based, inquiry-led, and focused on participation for change.   

Science Learning Hub 
Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao The Science Learning Hub links New Zealand scientists with ākonga, teachers, and community audiences to showcase examples of New Zealand science, technology, and engineering. There are a range of resources on sustainability and climate change. 

Enviroschools 
Through Enviroschools, ākonga connect with and explore the environment, then plan, design and take action in collaboration with their communities. To join the programme and access a range of resources, contact your local Regional Coordinator.  

UNESCO Project Planner: Top Tips for Youth Action 

This is an interactive tool for planning and implementing youth-led action for change. 

Generation Zero 

Generation Zero is a youth-led climate action organisation, mobilising New Zealanders to engage with decision making and campaign for intergenerational climate justice. 

Te Ara Whatu 

Rangatahi-led and driven, Te Ara Whatu is for indigenous youth from the Pacific and Aotearoa working for climate action and indigenous sovereignty. 

350 Pacific 

An indigenous and youth-led movement to fight climate change working with organisers across 17 Pacific Island nations and diaspora communities in Australia, New Zealand, and the US. They highlight the vulnerabilities of island countries to climate change, while showcasing the strength and resilience of Pacific peoples.