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Educational ethics and the DESD: Considering trade-offs

New York University, USA, schlottmann{at}post.harvard.edu

The United Nation's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) aims to prepare students for pressing economic and environmental problems. In this article, I argue that an exclusive emphasis on an ambiguous goal, sustainable development, raises important questions for educational ethics. Specifically, I argue that DESD mission statements and curricula often fail to account for trade-offs that are inevitable in environmental decision-making. Further, I argue that DESD aims don't adequately focus on the development of agency, decision-making skills, and ethical empowerment. I conclude by suggesting that ESD curricula should critically and constructively recognize the inevitability of trade-offs.

Key Words: education for sustainable development • educational ethics • sustainability • trade-offs

Theory and Research in Education, Vol. 6, No. 2, 207-219 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1477878508091113


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