Meeting Challenges to Sustainable Development through Science and Technology Education

Overview & Synopsis

This paper is intended to stimulate discussion and recommendations related to science and technology education and its role in sustainable development. It puts forward points of view and addresses concerns in science education. The paper recognizes that all in not well within science and technology education and that there are concerns related to its vision, its philosophy, its research, its approach, its way of meeting needs, its expected outcomes and most definitely in the manner in which it is taught. This paper recognises that science and technology education must do more than simply pay "lip service" to sustainable development and must focus learning on issues of relevance facing society. It is simply not enough to apply scientific ideas to technological application. The education context must provide the frame for learning. As this is heavily interdisciplinary and related to values, so must be science education. This in turn suggests there is a need to re-examine the goals of education and with this the goals of science education. It is suggested that education for sustainable development has little to do with accumulating a body of scientific knowledge and is far more aligned with the development of personal and social aptitudes leading to responsible citizenship.