Community college enrollments usually rise during tough economic times and the recent recession and slow recovery are no exception. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the number of students attending community colleges has grown dramatically in the last decade to about 12.4 million last fall. The AACC says that 1.4…

The promise of sustainably designed school facilities is that they will operate more efficiently and last longer than buildings constructed in more traditional ways. But that promise comes with a big if. The payoff is delivered only if the facility managers operate and maintain the buildings in ways that adhere to sustainable strategies called for…

As in many other countries, the transformation of the Swiss education system into one that is conducive to a sustainable society is difficult. This article attempts to clarify a framework within which such change could happen. Following an extensive review process, the author has compiled essential learning approaches, knowledge, skills, values…

A study of teachers' responses to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in a graduate course in Literature and Education for Sustainable Development, at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, Mona, revealed that ESD can change indifference to the "commons" to one of mindfulness about local and global…

This handbook identifies principles and policy mechanisms to advance community-based learning for sustainable development based on the commitments endorsed by the participants of the "Kominkan-CLC International Conference on Education for Sustainable Development," which took place in Okayama City, Japan, in October 2014. To inform…

This article describes the results of a nationwide questionnaire study of 3229 Swedish upper secondary school teachers' conceptual understanding of sustainable development in relation to their subject discipline and teaching experience. Previous research has shown that teachers have difficulties understanding the complex concept of sustainable…

The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences' (AAFCS) brand, "creating healthy and sustainable families," implies accountability in promoting sustainable consumer behavior. This study compared students majoring in family and consumer sciences (FCS) and its specializations to those majoring in other fields on constructs of…

In our day, leaders involved in ingenious sustainable development projects plan spaces and implement practices that are beneficial to the environment. These initiatives represent a fertile source of information on the competences linked to environmental design that we should nurture in our students. In view of improving our understanding of the…

This biennial report provides a comprehensive overview of UNESCO-UNEVOC's activities in technical and vocational education and training in 2012-2013. It illustrates UNESCO-UNEVOC's contributions to the UNESCO 36 C/5 sectoral priorities and programmatic objectives. Specifically, UNESCO-UNEVOC contributed to the biennial sectoral priority in…

A fundamental goal of geoscience education is ensuring that all inhabitants of the planet have knowledge of the natural processes that shape the physical environment, and understand how the actions of humans have an impact on the Earth on local, regional, and global scales. Geoscientists accept that deep understanding of natural processes requires…

With every student who graduates college to pursue a career in the green workforce, the case for green-collar job training at the nation's community colleges is made anew. As federal stimulus dollars wind down, community colleges are determined to maintain and expand green-focused education and job training successes. The American Association of…

Environmental education is not merely a modern form for the didactics of natural science, but is, on the contrary, an educational process that integrates ecological knowledge, philosophy, politics, economics and sociology, among others. This is because its purpose is to change the relationships of production, social structures of economics and…

This article examines two independent schools as case studies for educating for sustainability, and shares what they have learned, what works, and best of all, what can be replicated elsewhere. Midland School--rigorous, rustic, and full of heart--is a small college preparatory boarding school on almost 3,000 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley in…

The University of British Columbia (UBC) recently celebrated the opening of its Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), a living laboratory for researchers to teach, test, and study the long-term impact of sustainable practices and technologies. Featuring advanced building controls, sensing technology, and management software…

This paper identifies an emerging commonality between the professional spheres of planning, education and social or community work constellating around the concept of sustainable development (SD). It explores the contested nature of the concept of SD giving rise to a wide variety of sometimes conflicting "readings". It then goes on to…