Do you know that the year 2005-2014 was the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD)? Within this period, governments were expected to promote education across sectors on sustainable development using formal and non-formal approaches. UNESCO spearheaded the global interventions. In Kenya, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in collaboration with other key stakeholders.
In 2008, Kenya developed an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) implementation strategy meant to guide all ESD interventions and provide an enabling environment and capacity for all sectors and stakeholders.
The goal of ESD is “To provide an education that enhances sustainable development in Kenya”.
The strategy was guided by the following objectives
1. To enhance the role of education and learning for equitable, efficient and sustainable utilization of the country’s resources.
2. Promoting quality education through diverse learning and public awareness for improved quality of life and productive livelihoods.
3. To promote teaching and learning that inculcates appropriate values, behavior and lifestyles for good governance and sustainability.
4. To strengthen the legal and institutional framework for effective coordination and management of ESD in Kenya.
5. Ensuring sustainable management of the environment and natural resources for national economic growth and also improving people’s livelihood and well-being
The ESD Implementation Strategy identified the following strategies for its implementation
1. Advocacy and vision building
2. Partnerships and networks
3. Use of ICT
4. Consultation and ownership
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Research and innovation
7. Regional Centers of expertise
8. Capacity building and training
The guiding principles for ESD are as follows
1. Sharing of values and principles underpinning sustainable development.
2. Promote critical thinking and problem solving.
3. Providing a learner-centered environment.
4. Interdisciplinary and holistic learning embedded in the whole curriculum.
5. Addressing local as well as global issues.
6. Ensuring that citizens understand and participates actively in promoting interdependence, citizenship, stewardship, needs and rights of current and future generations, diversity, quality of life, values and perceptions, conflict resolution.
In my other article, I will discuss in detail how the ESD strategy was upgraded into an ESD Policy and passed by Kenya National Assembly. You can read this article here.