Eportfolio and Education for Sustainable Development （ESD） Fusion： An Innovation for 21st Century Technology

The purpose of this study is to provide a concrete innovation on how Education for Sustainable Development （ESD） is integrated into higher education using Advanced Educational Statistics as its platform. With this, university faculty, master＇s degree students and administrators can make appropriate strategies to become globally competitive and responsive to the sustainability mantra. A successful innovation has been developed, and found to be relevant and achievable. The key ingredient of this innovation is to utilize statistics as a platform of ESD fused with Multiple intelligences （MI）, Higher-Order Thinking Skills （HOTs） and latest technology. Moreover, this paper used a descriptive-correlation design, which identified the difficulties encountered by the master＇s degree students in making their innovations; then determined the relationship between the attitudes of students toward e-portfolio and their level of fusing ESD in statistics relative to： MI, HOTs and latest technology. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to predict its relationships. This innovation is highly appropriate for multidisciplinary, international students. It connects ESD principles with practice as it enables university＇s effort to contribute to ESD. This paper is supported by the actual, students＇ output which can be found in the website （http：//statisticsforndmu.blogspot.com/）.

Exploring Education for Sustainable Development in a Chinese Kindergarten:An Action Research

Purpose:This article was intended to share and reflect on experiences concerning the education for sustainable development(ESD)project at Hongqiao Kindergarten in Shanghai.The project aimed to explore how ESD could be implemented in a current curriculum and to provide useful examples of educational activities and experiences.Design/Approach/Methods:The action research included two cycles with four steps.The first cycle involved the integration of ESD into a traditional science curriculum.The second cycle involved the validation and optimization of the ESD objectives.The implementation strategies were reviewed and refined.Findings:First,a variety of strategies can be used to identify the theme and choose the content.Second,the objectives should be developed on children’s life experiences and interests.Third,the idea of ESD can be implemented in multiple ways.Fourth,a reasonable objective system involving ESD was constructed for children by ages.Fifth,there were many effective ways to integrate ESD activities into other domains of curriculum.The challenges and implications were also discussed.Originality/Value:The study had a positive effect on teachers’ability to practice ESD.This was a pioneer project in early childhood education in China,which provided valuable information for those aiming to implement ESD practices in Chinese kindergartens.

Education for Sustainable Development in Ethnic Autonomous Areas of China:A Comparison of Two Curriculum Initiatives and Their Educational Implications

This paper examines the educational implications of two curriculum initiatives in China that have produced curricular materials promoting education for sustainable development(ESD)in minority-populated ethnic autonomous areas in China.The two curriculum projects present distinctive discourses,conceptions,models,frameworks and scopes of ESD in the country.Nonetheless,there is a likelihood that the actual implementation of the curriculum initiatives,especially the enactment of the curriculum materials produced,might be thwarted due to structural and systemic educational constraints,an anthropocentric approach to sustainable development,poor teacher support and teacher training,omissions of the affective learning components in curricular contents,as well as loopholes and weaknesses in the development of the curriculum materials themselves.

Five trends of education and technology in a sustainable future

Quality education is one of the pillars in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.This overall goal can be connected to some general trends affecting education in the information age.We argue that education is key to the future quality of human life and the sustainability of the world.Generally,education is being transformed in both formal and informal learning contexts by new digital technologies.Overall,some of these major innovations and how they are changing education can be summarized into the following aspects:1)our educational aims and objectives;2)educational ecologies and contexts of learning;3)the processes of learning;4)the processes of teaching;and 5)educational governance and policy.Meanwhile,we note some of the potential risks and downsides of these technology trends.From the sustainable perspective,our review points to a great potential for educational reform,but it can only be achieved if we are willing to rethink and even abandon some of our traditional ways of doing things in education.

Sustainability Capacity Building Based on Educational Method: A Case Study on China and Sweden Joint Program

Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development (EE&ESD) have been widely accepted as an effective educational method to contribute to capacity development and processes of change in developing countries. This paper takes SIDA supported EE&ESD in formal educationadvanced international training program, China as an example. By analyzing and reflecting its orientation, implementation, outcomes and evaluation, experiences and lessons learned are expected to help improve the sorts of international cooperation capacity building programs both from international and also Chinese perspectives.

A Critical Analysis of Education for Sustainability in Early Childhood Curriculum Documents in China and Norway

Purpose:This article examines how early childhood curriculum documents in two culturally different contexts are associated with current concepts of sustainability and principles of early childhood education for sustainability(ECEfS)in China and Norway.Design/Approach/Methods:Applying critical document analysis,the study explores a number of landmark curriculum documents from China and Norway,comparing the ways in which ECEfS is conceptualized,including the concept of sustainability,children as agents of change for sustainability,and sustainability in young children’s everyday lives.Findings:Corresponding to the analytical framework,China and Norway attach different importance to the three dimensions of sustainability-social-cultural,economic,and environmental.For example,Norway has a more autonomous view of children’s agency,while China gives more emphasis to teachers’support.The two countries also have different perspectives on how to work with families and communities based on significantly different traditions and institutions.The comparative document analysis argues that predominant cultural dimensions in each context,such as collectivist and individualistic factors,may shape the understandings of sustainability in each country’s early years’curriculum documents.Originality/Values:By broadening the focus on the social-cultural aspects of sustainability,this study extends the development of a culturally inclusive understanding of the concept of sustainability and contextualized/localized approaches to ECEfS across the globe.

New Realization of Disaster Risk Reduction Education in the Context of a Global Pandemic: Lessons from Japan

The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged different development sectors,including education.In this article,two main analyses are provided:one on the biological hazards of the pandemic in the context of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015−2030,which analyzes the overall impacts on the education sector.Then we discuss the overall impact on education sectors,with specific focus on disaster risk reduction(DRR)education and education for sustainable development(ESD).Disaster risk reduction education and ESD are analyzed from the perspective of school-community-family linkages.Specific case analysis of COVID-19 response in the education sector is presented from Omuta City,Japan,which is considered as a champion city for ESD.Four phases of response in Omuta City are characterized with three specific foci:(1)mitigating covid impacts on educational program and participants;(2)preventing exacerbation of covid transmission within and outside schools;and(3)maintaining educational program integrity despite covid.Key lessons are summarized in the concluding section,which explore the importance of(1)educational governance(on critical decision making)during the pandemic as well as with cascading risks;(2)enhancement of school-community-family linkages as pandemic response commonalities between ESD and DRR education;(3)risk communication and citizen behavior;and(4)use of technology.We argue that integration of health and DRR education is important,that resilience needs to be redefined in terms of sustainable development goals(SDGs),and that education plays a vital role in achieving these ends.