Role Of Education in Sustainable Development Essay Example for Free

Role Of Education in Sustainable Development Essay Sustainable development is that development which will meet the present needs of the community without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Environmental education involves among other things the provision of information, recognizing values, clarifying concepts etc in order to develop skills and attitudes that enable the community to understand and appreciate the relationship between their cultures and their physical surroundings. At international fora, attempts have been made to promote environmental education. In the year 1975 in Belgrade, the program for international environmental education was started followed by the conference in Tsibilisi in 1977, Nevada 1979, Moscow 1987, †¦. . Since then the council of European countries has twice called on member countries to advance on environmental education in all sectors of education. There is required a dominant policy to ensure that the findings of research on environmental science are properly applied to ensure that the world is safe for further development with no further destruction of the natural resources. It is therefore necessary to involve the players in political, economic and cultural sectors in designing environmental programs. By doing this, we will notice that all these players have turned environmentalists and we can expect a conflict of interest of style in the approach of environmental matters. This is because sustainable development is a contested territory with its ownership disputed by forces with very diverse interests. Its thus difficult to foresee any slackening of the effort on those who will continue to impose development to suit their ends invoking â€Å"modernity, national integration, economic growth and other slogans† (Adams 1990, p199). With challenges as these, education is a must in order to bring these interests groups together and come up with sound policy on sustainable  development, infact one that is conscious of future needs. OBSTACLES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT There are various obstacles to sustainable development which include:- 1. Lack of awareness on issues involved, 2. Political unacceptability of obvious steps forward, 3. Opposition by groups with vested interests, 4. Inadequacy of institutional mechanism for integrating environment and development. SOLUTIONS To overcome these obstacles, there is a feeling among many groups that there is a need to replace the ideas and values that underlie the complex and visible obstacles with a new approach and reshaping of ideas and values. To do this we need not just a modification, but a total revolution of our thinking. This can well be achieved through a well-designed education approach. ROLE OF EDUCATION Education plays a major role in enhancing people’s awareness about bio-diversity conservation as well as sustainable development. It leads to actualization of conservation knowledge and skills which in turn help in broadening people’s knowledge about conservation, thus making them functional members of the society. Education will enlighten stakeholders on various issues relating to sustainable development and bio-diversity conservation. Also education will sensitize them to participate fully in campaigns against any act or development that threaten future sustainability. Consequently, education empowers stakeholders to take increasing charge of their own developments as key ingredients combined with a clear knowledge of environmental constraints and of requirements to meet basic needs. This enables people to understand their need for and importance of biodiversity for now and in the future. It is this education which will enable us realise  that sustainable development confronts not just society, but each of us at the heart of his or her purpose. It invites us to give practical support to the values of social equity, human worth and ecological health. Education questions our readiness to involve ourselves in the struggle for change, it challenges our willingness to contribute in greater measure to the activities of NGO’s and dedicated individuals who campaign on our behalf. Moreover, education asks us to accept that the small beginnings from which so many successful campaigns have started resides within ourselves. As Laszlo (1989) puts it, â€Å"we contemplate changing almost anything on this earth except ourselves,† and this is due to the inner constraints in our visions and values that can only be removed through education. This is because education will explain the need for and importance of attitude and behaviour change in our pursuit for development, as a result we will realise that we owe the future generations what we have today. It is education that will enable us reach a conclusion as Max-reef (1991,P113) explains: -â€Å"I have reached the conclusion that I lack the power to change the world or any significant part of it, I only have the power to change myself. And the fascinating thing is that if I decide to change myself, there is no police force in the world that can prevent me doing so. It is my decision and if I want to do it, I can do it. Now the point is that if I change myself, something may happen as a consequence that may lead to a change in the world†. As such awareness becomes more general, sustainable development will be regarded seriously by the people who really count not just elites but people generally. Education whether formal or informal has been proved to be a powerful tool in promoting changes in the attitudes and perceptions of people about a resource. A series of conferences under the auspices of UNDP have been held to address issues pertaining to the link between sound natural resource management and sustainable development, environmental conservation and improved human welfare. Education for sustainable development will not only create awareness of the  global crisis but must place it at the heart of the curriculum. It must be â€Å"ecological† rather than â€Å"environmental† encouraging broad holistic thinking, teaching the need for structural change and promoting the correct application of reductionist thinking to specific technical problems. It will embrace all the means of the change discussed in this paper and alert stakeholders to the feasibility of alternative practices. Further, education will not only inform stakeholders, but also allow them to participate in decision making process about biodiversity conservation and thus promoting change. Through education, stakeholders will not only become acquinted with one another’s vision about healthy ecosystems but also stimulates them to formulate their own visions relating to biodiversity. It will not only teach them about holism but will require them to think holistically. Holistic thinking is a particularly important means of change for sustainable development because it attempts to figure out the consequences. Holistic approach tries to anticipate the problem â€Å"simple† solutions, create and to identify more satisfactory structural solutions. Holistic thinking led one farmer in Kenya, sickened at having to shoot the elephants ruining his crops, to adopt an alternative form of land use, accommodating not only his own interest but also those of elephants, of tourists who wanted to see elephants and of local people who could supplement their subsistence economy with income from tourism. Education will also help us to see the need of putting people first in all our endeavours in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Putting people first means quite simply valuing people for themselves, for what they are rather than for what they can do, or how they can perform in the service of some interest whose ends may be quite radically opposed to the meeting of human need. Putting people first also means empowerment- a process by which those who are or feel excluded from decision making are enabled to participate in it. It involves the transfer of power from those in authority to smaller groups. In some countries this has to begin with establishing or re-establishing political rights and other basic freedoms. (A recent example is the return to free elections in Malawi and Kenya). Only  then can a start be made to provide education and training to raise awareness and allow stakeholders to play an effective role in political process. Empowerment also refers to what Paul Freire, the Brazilian educationist calls â€Å"Conscientization† or education for consciousness, by which communities and individuals become aware of the reasons for their poverty and oppression and begin to discuss what they themselves can do about it without enabling action by the authorities. Ecological education will not only teach about empowerment but will enable stakeholders to fulfil their aspiration by helping them to develop their full range of abilities. By paying equal attention to emotional and intellectual development, education will teach the basic life skills people need to establish identities and grow as individuals. By encouraging creativity, commitment and initiative, it will equip stakeholders to take responsibility for themselves and their future, and to avoid dependency on biodiversity without ensuring its sustainability through sound management practices. It will also focus on relationships and teach what Harrison (1990,p203) calls the â€Å"work of human communication of caring and nurturance, of tending the personal bonds of the community†. It is envisaged that well organised education will also enhance our ability to relate with each other, not just on the level of day to day communication skill, but more importantly by acknowledging others identities and rights to a resource. This education will initiate a process of lifelong growth in awareness and aspiration. An individuals readiness to participate in that process, at however lowly or rudimentary a level, will be more important than acquiring impressive qualifications, for as Paul Freire (1972) points out, we are all â€Å"unfinished† human beings with a commitment to improve â€Å"unfinished† reality. Without the opportunity to develop their potential, individuals can not develop fully in discussions and initiatives on which progress to more sustainable development depends. Therefore, properly resourced and directed education will ensure that all stakeholders become the beneficiaries of the care, concern and skills of others. CONCLUSION In a world where the challenge of sustainable development is an imperative, rather than an option, we can not afford to debar people from participating by making them feel failures, whether academic failures as a result of the rigid application of elitist standards, or social or personal failures as a result of inadequate evolutions of both their needs and their potential. Therefore, I envisage that properly resourced and directed education aimed at encouraging the development of sensitivity, awareness, critical thinking, problem solving and active participation in biodiversity conservation campaigns, will enable stakeholders not only to become aware of the issues and be able to act on that awareness, but will be equipped with the skills required to contribute effectively to the debate. They will learn to plan, organise, communicate with others, develop strategies and create alliances with an aim of promoting sustainable development and ensuring biodiversity conservation.

Pros And Cons Of Standardized Testing Essays -- Standardized Testing E

The United States recognizes that standardized testing is a central part of the educational system in our country. What many people do not know though is the history of where it came from. Beginning in the mid-1800’s prestigious universities decided they wanted to give more students across the country a better chance at going into higher education, but at the time there was not a way to measure the capabilities of students in both high class and low class families. This is how standardized testing came into play. If a student could do well on these tests regardless of their financial position than their scores would hopefully speak for themselves. Now standardized testing performs many more roles compared to its simple origins. In today’s society standardized tests not only indicates the capabilities of the students, but they also show how much they have learned, and the results can even decide how much funding a school will receive. Due to these factors, a tremendous amount of pressure is put upon both students and teachers. For students the pressure is mainly to do well, and for teachers the pressure is primarily to teach your students well enough to perform their best. These requirements have become an integral part of what shapes the classroom mold. The goal of schooling is no longer to just teach, but is now also to prepare students for taking exams. One argument that has become prevalent is the debate of whether or not standardized testing should be used at all. Ultimately this is a personal decision; there is no right or wrong answer considering that an argument could be made for either side. One thing that is for certain though is that there has to be some standard for determining a student’s abilities in school. Th... ...Tests." ProCon.org Headlines. N.p., 1 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. Tennant, Victoria. "School of Education at Johns Hopkins University-The Powerful Impact of Stress." School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. John Hopkinds School of Education, Sept. 2005. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. "The Human Brain - Stress." The Human Brain - Stress. The Franklin Institute, 2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. Tung, Stephen. "News." Stanford University. Stanford, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. "Where Did The Test Come From?" PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2014.

Case Study: The Privatization of Water Essay

World leaders at the Evian Summit have resolved to decrease the number of people who are without access to safe drinking water by half by the year 2015. Critics fear that this may lead to privatization, arguing that private companies are not motivated to provide water to the poor. Those who favor privatization on the other hand argue that only the private sector can make the investment in place of the state, saying that because of the state’s failure, the poor are in fact already paying more. What then is the effective solution for solving this access to water problem? Should the private companies do it or should the responsibility remain with the state? What is the best way to do this? How can the water shortage problem be managed and what are the pros and cons to the issue of privatization? Privatization as an Effective Solution According to Michael Klein, Vice-President for Private Sector Development at the World Bank in Washington, the issue is not whether it is the private sector or the government that should serve as the entity to increase accessibility to water. The realization is that somebody has to pay for water and the real issue lies in who pays? Governments face the fiscal and political difficulty of raising consumer tariffs and providing subsidies. And if nobody pays at the end of the day, even the private sector will not want to invest. The solution then lies in solving the problem of user fees, on who bears the responsibility of paying for water, the government through subsidies or the consumers through service provided by the private companies. The challenges to this standpoint and the corresponding responses by Mr. Klein are the following: Are there any specific Third World countries that have benefited from privatization without corresponding large charges? Examples are Ivory Coast, Guinea, several cities in Colombia, Argentina, two cities in Bolivia and the Philippines (Manila). In the 90’s, the average increase was about 30% of the cost of water systems and in countries where the government provided subsidies like Manila and Buenos Aires, the price levels remained low. But whether public or private, the prices really rise over time. How can it be assured that the cost of water especially in Third World countries will be affordable? Focus should not on those who have access already but to providing access to those who do not have good modern water systems because they are the ones who pay more (by drilling wells, paying private water vendors, among others). Providing access to these people using better services will lower prices and make water more affordable to them. And both for those who have access already and those who really cannot afford to pay, focus should be given to the subsidies to be given by government. The issues here are how much subsidy is available and what kind of subsidy system should be used, and further assuring that these subsidies really go to the poor. How about cases like Tanzania where government has privatized water but entered it into an agreement with the World Bank? In most cases, privatizations are not full privatizations, it is still the state that bears the investment and the private sector just enters into a management contract with the state. It will only work if the private sector has the technical and management capability. Since experience shows the lack of interest of international private firms to invest in the least developed countries, should not the focus be on World Bank supporting public utilities to improve their services instead? That is why the real issue is not public versus private but who pays at the end of the day. In many concession agreements and privatization arrangements where subsidies are given and incentives given to private companies, services expanded. Examples are Bolivia (La Paz), Philippines (Manila), Buenos Aires. The involvement of domestic water companies may also help in expanding water access in remote areas. How can corruption in privatization be avoided? It is commonly known that there is corruption in the public sector that in private companies especially in equipment supply. Privatization does not mean corruption will disappear, it only means that there will be better services. The Case Against Privatization From the Anti-Privatization Forum in Johannesburg, Trevor Ngwane asserts that water is a basic need and as such it is the government that is mandated to ensure it provides all basic needs and services which is in the public interest. If it is the private sector that will do this, profit will become the objective. The clash is between need and profit and in the case of water, the priority is the need which every government should provide the means for. The challenges to this standpoint and the corresponding responses by Mr. Ngwane are the following: Are there any specific Third World countries that have benefited from privatization without corresponding large charges? As to the examples of success cases, they are not really successes and the example that can be given is Cochacamba in Bolivia where privatization caused the loss of access to water, which led to a civil war. In South Africa, even the moves to privatize already brings social conflict, dissatisfied trade unions, more people losing access to water, the outbreak of a waterborne disease cholera, which eventually meant loss of peoples’ lives. People need to realize that water cannot be provided for free. What then is the concrete plan to help government do this? Is the solution in the form of taxation, from payments of consumers, fro m subsidies from other consumers, etc.? In South Africa, the proposal is based on the premise that water is every citizen’s right. The recommendation is cross-subsidization, where high volume users like companies and industries subsidize low volume users like end users and the poor. The pricing system recommended is the block tariff system where the more water you use the higher charges you pay. This will prevent wastage of water. How can corruption in privatization be avoided? How long will the poor wait to have water? Corruption is brought more by privatization with businesses needing to bribe politicians, etc. Instead of expanding or rolling out to remote areas as they should, private companies choose the most profitable areas to operate and these are not the poor areas. Reference http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/2004/01waterpriv.htm http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=317924 http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/11/01/water.shortage.reut/ http://eau.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/12/2/63

Movie Analysis The Acting Of Saving Private Ryan

The acting in Saving Private Ryan is phenomenal and it baffles me that none of the actors received any real recognition for their performance. The film’s casting is a brilliant array of actors ranging from personality actors, character and wild card, and one of Hollywood’s megastars. These actors bring their character to life almost to the point that you believe, they are actually playing themselves on the screen. One of the film’s best scenes is when the squad maneuvers on and takes out a German manned machinegun nest. While conducting the attack they lose yet another member of their team, the Medic. His death scene is absolutely heart breaking, especially the moment right before he passes as he calls out for his mother. What entails next is absolute chaos. You can actually see the despair and madness on the actors faces as they seek revenge on the only surviving German soldier. The actors deliver their performance so well you can feel what is happening. There i s not much dialogue in this scene bur rather this scene relies on the actors ability to play there part well enough for audiences to understand the inner conflicts of what is happening. The actors truly master this on the grandest scale. At the end of the scene when Edward Burns’ character, Private Reiben, tries to start a mutiny over the German captive you cannot decided whose side you want to be on. Luckily, the mutiny stops short of extreme escalation when CPT Miller finally discloses long kept secretShow MoreRelatedFilm Analysis3103 Words   |  13 PagesFilm Analysis Holly Cox Adam Deutsch English 225: Introduction to Film August 30, 2010 Film Analysis There is so much more to analyzing films than watching a movie. Film analysis is a very complex procedure. â€Å"Analysis generally, means breaking up the whole to discover the nature, function, and interrelationships of the parts† (Boggs, J. Petrie, D., 2008, p. 7). In analyzing a film, you must not only analyze the film as a whole, but you must also analyze each element that makes up the filmRead MoreAnalysis of Tom Hanks Vassar Speech in 20051375 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis Tom Hanks Vassar Speech in 2005 Introduction Famous actors, musicians, politicians, artists and authors are often called upon to deliver commencement addresses at prestigious places of higher learning. It doesnt take Nobel-Prize-winning social scientists or psychologists, or speech professors to predict what these elite guest speakers will say on such occasions such as these. The speaker will tell the graduating class to aim high, never give up, make the most of opportunitiesRead MoreBattle of Britain Essay4211 Words   |  17 PagesBattle of Britain This film is about the Battle of Britain during World War II. It happened in 1940. This movie was made 29 years later in 1969. The Nazis tried to invade Britain. The Royal Air Force of Britain fought a grave battle against the Nazis to prevent the invasion. Most of the fighting was in the air. There were lots of fighting scenes between the German planes and the RAF and their allies. This film is pretty realistic. I thought that the air battles were pretty realisticRead MorePrinciples of Microeconomics Fifth Canadian Edition20085 Words   |  81 PagesThe Role of Assumptions 23 Economic Models 24 Our First Model: The Circular-Flow Diagram 24 Our Second Model: The Production Possibilities Frontier 26 Microeconomics and Macroeconomics 28 The Economist as Policy Adviser 30 Positive versus Normative Analysis 30 Economists in Ottawa 31 IN THE NEWS: Super Bowl Economics 33 CASE STUDY: Mr. Mankiw Goes to Washington Why Economists Disagree 35 Differences in Scientific Judgments 35 Differences in Values 36 Perception versus Reality 36 IN THE NEWS: EnvironmentalRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesHRM 28 PART 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 THE LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONTEXT OF HRM Equal Employment Opportunity 56 Employee Rights and Discipline 84 PART 3 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 STAFFING THE ORGANIZATION Human Resource Planning and Job Analysis 110 Recruiting 132 Foundations of Selection 154 PART 4 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Socializing, Orienting, and Developing Employees 182 Managing Careers 208 PART 5 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 MAINTAININGRead MoreMarketing and E-commerce Business65852 Words   |  264 Pagesof Marketing and Advertising  The text includes two chapters on marketing and advertising, both traditional online marketing and social, mobile, and local marketing. Marketing concepts, including market segmentation, personalization, clickstream analysis, bundling of digital goods, long-tail marketing, and dynamic pricing, are used throughout the text. x Preface In-depth Coverage of B2B E-commerce  We devote an entire chapter to an examination of B2B e-commerce. In writing this chapterRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesChief: Eric Svendsen AVP/Executive Editor: Bob Horan Editorial Project Manager: Mary Kate Murray Editorial Assistant: Jason Calcano Director of Marketing: Patrice Lumumba Jones Senior Marketing Manager: Anne Fahlgren Production Manager: Debbie Ryan Art Director: Jayne Conte Cover Designer: Bruce Kenselaar Photo Researcher: Karen Sanatar Manager, Rights and Permissions: Hessa Albader Cover Art: Fotolia Media Editor: Denise Vaughn Media Project Manager: Lisa Rinaldi Full-Service ProjectRead MoreMarketing Management 14th Edition Test Bank Kotler Test Bank173911 Words   |  696 PagesStrategic management E) Distribution management Answer: A Page Ref: 5 Objective: 2 Difficulty: Easy 3) Identify the correct statement about marketing management. A) It is primarily concerned with the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of data about issues related to marketing products and services. B) It focuses mostly on monitoring the profitability of a companys products and services. C) It focuses solely on attaining an organizations sales goals in an efficient manner. Read MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesfollowing classification of cases by subject matter to be helpful. I thank those of you who made this and other suggestions. Classification of Cases by Major Marketing Topics Topics Most Relevant Cases Marketing Research and Consumer Analysis Coca-Cola, Disney, McDonald’s, Google, Starbucks Product Starbucks, Nike, Coke/Pepsi, McDonald’s, Maytag, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Newell Rubbermaid, DaimlerChrysler, Kmart/Sears, Harley-Davidson, Boeing/Airbus, Merck, Boston Beer, Firestone/FordRead MoreMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 Pages441 441 CASE STUDIES A summary of the case analysis I N T R O D U C T I O N Preparing an effective case analysis: The full story Hearing with the aid of implanted technology: The case of Cochlearâ„ ¢ – an Australian C A S E O N E high-technology leader Delta Faucet: Global entrepreneurship in an emerging market C A S E T W O DaimlerChrysler: Corporate governance dynamics in a global company C A S E T H R E E Gunns and the greens: Governance issues in Tasmania C A S E F O U R Succeeding in the