67
Whilst developing locations lack tangible resources, evidence from ESD
Networks in Indonesia and Nigeria indicate there is availability of human resources
with a strong interest in volunteering and becoming active participants in research
and education initiatives on sustainability, yet lack of resources, at times, prevents
them from further engaging in existing initiatives.
5.5 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks
Education for Sustainable Development in general presents a history where equal
access, just implementation and high level of investment have proven difficult. This
section highlights some final remarks and recommendations on collaborative governance and collaboration for ESD. Education itself is complex, and ESD exacerbates
the definitional, political, financial and environmental caveats for action. This chapter
argued that partnerships and greater collaboration are imperative for realizing ESD
initiatives that aim to achieve the SDG 4 targets. Through a literature review, this
chapter analysed the key theoretical and pedagogical debates surrounding ESD and
provided an overview of current strategies at all levels of governance, namely, global,
regional and institutional levels. The chapter also identified stakeholders’ perceptions
on collaboration processes for sustainable development. This provided a deeper
understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that stakeholders face when
developing strategies agile enough to growing demands of a changing society. Thus,
one can see that Education for Sustainable Development requires not only a strong
dialogue to overcome definitional limitations but also necessitates greater collaboration and stakeholder investment in order to overcome key barriers such as political
change, rapid economic growth, lack of infrastructure and a changing workforce.
Two key recommendations have emerged from this chapter. The first recommendation calls for greater dialogue with local actors when developing and engaging in
ESD. More specifically, the transition from the global agreement to national policy
to stakeholder networks impact necessitates greater attention to merging normative
and holistic approaches to ESD practice and understanding at the local level. It is
advisable to take into account the limiting and fostering factors that compromise
collaboration for ESD: as per limiting factors, context, governance issues, lack of
resources (both tangible and intangible) and academic constrains, and fostering factors such as knowledge and expertise, skills across stakeholder networks and
research approaches and resources.
The second recommendation focuses on political affiliations and a better understanding of ESD arrangements at all levels of governance and how they impact the culture of
ESD partnerships and collaborations for implementation. A key challenge highlighted
in this chapter is the inconsistency of understanding across a wide variety of sectors.
However, deeper knowledge about how culture impacts how different stakeholder networks view ESD, in general, would aid in a deeper understanding of the broader policy
environment for each network. This, in turn, can facilitate further dialogue with regard
to ESD implementation within different cultural contexts at different levels.
5 SDG 4 Quality Education
Whilst developing locations lack tangible resources, evidence from ESD
Networks in Indonesia and Nigeria indicate there is availability of human resources
with a strong interest in volunteering and becoming active participants in research
and education initiatives on sustainability, yet lack of resources, at times, prevents
them from further engaging in existing initiatives.
5.5 Impact Sustainability: Final Remarks
Education for Sustainable Development in general presents a history where equal
access, just implementation and high level of investment have proven difficult. This
section highlights some final remarks and recommendations on collaborative governance and collaboration for ESD. Education itself is complex, and ESD exacerbates
the definitional, political, financial and environmental caveats for action. This chapter
argued that partnerships and greater collaboration are imperative for realizing ESD
initiatives that aim to achieve the SDG 4 targets. Through a literature review, this
chapter analysed the key theoretical and pedagogical debates surrounding ESD and
provided an overview of current strategies at all levels of governance, namely, global,
regional and institutional levels. The chapter also identified stakeholders’ perceptions
on collaboration processes for sustainable development. This provided a deeper
understanding of the key challenges and opportunities that stakeholders face when
developing strategies agile enough to growing demands of a changing society. Thus,
one can see that Education for Sustainable Development requires not only a strong
dialogue to overcome definitional limitations but also necessitates greater collaboration and stakeholder investment in order to overcome key barriers such as political
change, rapid economic growth, lack of infrastructure and a changing workforce.
Two key recommendations have emerged from this chapter. The first recommendation calls for greater dialogue with local actors when developing and engaging in
ESD. More specifically, the transition from the global agreement to national policy
to stakeholder networks impact necessitates greater attention to merging normative
and holistic approaches to ESD practice and understanding at the local level. It is
advisable to take into account the limiting and fostering factors that compromise
collaboration for ESD: as per limiting factors, context, governance issues, lack of
resources (both tangible and intangible) and academic constrains, and fostering factors such as knowledge and expertise, skills across stakeholder networks and
research approaches and resources.
The second recommendation focuses on political affiliations and a better understanding of ESD arrangements at all levels of governance and how they impact the culture of
ESD partnerships and collaborations for implementation. A key challenge highlighted
in this chapter is the inconsistency of understanding across a wide variety of sectors.
However, deeper knowledge about how culture impacts how different stakeholder networks view ESD, in general, would aid in a deeper understanding of the broader policy
environment for each network. This, in turn, can facilitate further dialogue with regard
to ESD implementation within different cultural contexts at different levels.
5 SDG 4 Quality Education