Launching Scotland’s new Framework for Learning for Sustainability in Initial Teacher Education
Empowering learning which builds a socially-just, sustainable and equitable world is at the heart of a new nationwide approach to better equip teachers to weave Learning for Sustainability across their practice from the very beginning of their professional lives.
Launched today, Tuesday 29 April, by the Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE), this new Framework supports teacher educators, in school and university settings, in encouraging student teachers to embed Learning for Sustainability into their practice and ultimately, the wider life of the settings they will work in once they enter the teaching profession.
What is ‘Learning for Sustainability’?
Learning for Sustainability (LfS) – an approach to life and learning – is an entitlement for all children and young people across Scotland and is embedded in the General Teaching Council for Scotland Professional Standards for teachers. It supports educators and learners alike to develop the values, skills, knowledge and attributes needed to thrive in a socially, economically and ecologically uncertain world – and is considered critical to enabling Scotland to play its part in realising the global vision to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity worldwide.
Until now, there has not been a single national approach to embedding LfS in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the Scottish Government’s Learning for Sustainability Action Plan 2023-2030 highlighted this as a key area for development. On behalf of the SCDE, and working in partnership with the ITE teaching community across Scotland, a team, including staff from Learning for Sustainability Scotland, University of Edinburgh and University of Glasgow, and led by Professor Lizzie Rushton from the University of Stirling, has worked with all 11 initial teacher education institutions to address this gap with the development of Scotland’s National Framework for Learning for Sustainability in Initial Teacher Education.
Dr Zoè Robertson, Chair of the SCDE and Head of the Institute for Education, Teaching and Leadership at the University of Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted that the SCDE is able to share this important development in response to the Learning for Sustainability Action Plan 2023-2030. This new national Framework is both collaboratively developed and research-informed; and articulates a shared vision for Learning for Sustainability in Initial Teacher Education across Scotland.”
Professor Rushton, LfS Lead for the SCDE and Head of the Education Division at the University of Stirling, said: “Scottish education has a long and rich history of environmental and sustainability education, and this Framework is an important development in ensuring that all teachers are able to realise Learning for Sustainability throughout their professional lives.”
About ‘Target 2030’: Scotland’s national Learning for Sustainability Action Plan
The ITE Framework is structured around the Scottish Government’s Action Plan’s ‘Target 2030’ concept, which aims for every place of education for three- to 18-year-olds to become a Sustainable Learning Setting by 2030: integrating LfS across the four key areas of curriculum, culture, community and campus. Through a series of reflective questions, the Framework supports teacher educators in diverse settings to develop and strengthen this same approach to LfS.
Leann Fox is in her fourth year at the University of Stirling studying a BSc (Hons) Environmental Geography and Professional Education (Secondary). She believes the new Framework will deliver significant benefits to student teachers across the country.
She said: “Climate change and sustainable development are arguably the most pressing matters of the 21st century. I feel it is important that all teachers – including those at the beginning of their careers – know how to create learning experiences which respond to these concerns, in ways which are meaningful to the lives of our young people.
“The new Framework presents a unique and exciting opportunity to grow the confidence of student teachers like me, by exploring concepts, responding to pedagogical thinking more deeply and inspiring new possibilities. This creates a positive and supportive tool for new teachers to develop their own skills within Learning for Sustainability while informing practice for placement and beyond.”
Co-created and co-owned by all Initial Teacher Education institutions in Scotland
The SCDE and University of Stirling worked in collaboration with a core team from the General Teaching Council for Scotland, Learning for Sustainability Scotland: Scotland’s UN University-recognised Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development, the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, and Education Scotland, to design the Framework.
We are indebted to the contributions of colleagues from the University of Aberdeen, University of Dundee, Edinburgh Napier University, University of Strathclyde, University of the West of Scotland, Queen Margaret University, University of the Highlands and Islands, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in the development of this Framework.
Next steps
Click here to access the new framework on the SCDE website.
A range of events and activities are planned where teacher educators can collaboratively explore the framework and next steps for implementation.
This includes our next ‘LfS Connect’ session on Thursday 29th May; where we will hear from the authors of the Framework and discuss its possibilities. Click here to book your FREE place.