In terms of national implementation of the DESD in the UK, there is not yet a UK-wide framework for ESD or the DESD. On a UK-wide level, Securing the Future, published by the government in 2005, has been the key policy driver for sustainable development (SD) and education for sustainable development (ESD). Securing the Future (part one) (part two) (part three) provides a strong SD framework and has driven action within government on SD.
Also in 2005, the UK government published the UK-wide shared framework for SD, One Future, Different Paths, which identified a shared understanding of the goal of sustainable development among England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The UK shared framework is set out as five principles of sustainable development. The five principles are:
Living within environmental limits
Ensuring a strong, healthy and just society
Achieving a sustainable economy
Promoting good governance
Using sound science responsibly
The UK-wide SD framework has also prompted action in a number of educational bodies under government supervision in the four nations, including those that work in higher education, further education, vocational education, and initial teacher education sectors. The UK government supports ESD in formal education, further and higher education, youth work, technical and vocational education, initial teacher education, and the voluntary and community organisations sectors. All government departments have produced sustainable development action plans as required by the UK’s current SD policies, and action for sustainable development is taking places across a number of dimensions and levels within government. Additionally, the UK government published its Sustainable Procurement Action Plan in 2007 to address the integration of sustainable development into government procurement policies and operations. For a more detailed description of UK government departmental initiatives relating to ESD and the Decade, please click here.
To find out more about the UK government’s ESD strategies and action, visit the UK’s dedicated sustainable development website, sustainable-development.gov.uk. The website provides a warehouse of information on government activity around sustainable development and contains useful links and publications for those interested in SD and ESD.
Whilst it is difficult to measure the UK’s progress in the DESD without a collective framework for action to measure against, there is clear evidence of existing and growing activity around ESD, and there are many examples of activity specifically aimed at implementing the DESD. UKNC recently completed its first monitoring report of DESD in the UK, entitled ESD in the UK in 2008: A Survey of Action, which aims to present a broad analysis of the state of ESD activity in the UK.
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