The 5 Pillars of Education

The Five Pillars of Education

Del Rosario, Glenda T. Malig, Kimberly Anne P. Quiazon, Pauline Joviene D.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 

is a vision in education that aims to create a sustainable future by empowering the people

Education for Sustainable Development: 1.

2.

3.

Concerns all levels of education as well as social contexts; Allows for the acquisition of skills, capacities, values, and knowledge required to achieve sustainable development; Fosters responsible citizens and promotes democracy ; &

Education for Sustainable Development: 4. Allows individuals to survive, develop

their full capacities, live and work in dignity, participate fully in development, improve the quality of one’s life, make informed decisions, and continue learning by providing the essential learning tools needed to achieve the abovementioned.

United Nations of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) (1) (2) (3)

(4)

improving the quality of basic education, reorienting educational programs, developing public understanding and awareness, and providing training.

Learning to know (Acquiring instruments of understanding) Objectives:  Learn to learn  Acquire a taste for learning throughout life  Develop critical thinking  Acquire tools for understanding the world  Understand sustainability concepts and issues

Learning to know (Acquiring instruments of understanding) Education for Sustainable Development:  Recognizes the nature of the concept sustainability;  Reflects the needs of societies;  Acknowledges that fulfilling local needs often has international effects; &  Addresses content, context, global issues, and local priorities.

Learning-to-Learn skills     

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Learning to read with comprehension Listening Observing Asking questions Data gathering Note taking Accessing, processing, and selecting information

Teacher’s roles:  

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Facilitator Catalyst Monitor Evaluator

Learning to do (Act creatively in one’s environment) Objectives:  Be an actor as well as thinker  Act on global and local sustainable development issues  Acquire technical and professional training  Apply learned knowledge in daily life  Act creatively and responsibly in one’s environment

Figure 2. Personal and Work Values for ‘Learning to Do’ (Source: UNESCO-APNIEVE as cited by Vega, V., 2006)

Learning to do (Act creatively in one’s environment) Education for Sustainable Development:  Is locally relevant and culturally appropriate;  Must become a concrete reality for all our daily decisions and actions; &  Is about helping to build a sustainable and safe world for everyone.

Learning to live together…in peace and harmony (Participate in and cooperate with other people in all human activities) Objectives:  Participate and cooperate with others in increasingly pluralistic and multicultural societies  Develop an understanding of other people and their histories, traditions, beliefs, values, and cultures

Learning to live together… (Participate in and cooperate with other people in all human activities) Objectives:  Tolerate, respect, welcome, embrace, and even celebrate difference and diversity in people  Respond constructively to the cultural diversity and economic disparity found around the world  Be able to cope with situations of tension, exclusion, conflict, violence, and terrorism

Social and Emotional Learning 

involves the teaching of a wide range of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors to enable us to interact with others in a just, equitable, and empathetic manner.

Figure 3. Learning to Live Together: The Asia-Pacific Perspective Schematic Diagram of Core and Related Values Needed To Live Together in Peace and Harmony (Source: UNESCO-APNIEVE as cited by Vega, V., 2006)

Learning to live together… in peace and harmony (Participate in and cooperate with other people in all human activities) Education for Sustainable Development:  Builds capacity for community-based decision making, social tolerance, environmental stewardship, adaptable workforce and quality of life.

Learning to be (Develop one’s personality and act with greater autonomy, judgment, and personal responsibility) Objectives:  See oneself as the main actor in defining positive outcomes for the future  Encourage discovery and experimentation  Acquire universally shared values

Learning to be (Develop one’s personality and act with greater autonomy, judgment, and personal responsibility) Objectives:  Develop one’s personality, self-identity, self-knowledge, and self-fulfillment  Act with greater autonomy, judgment, and personal responsibility

Figure 4: The Core Values, Learning To Be Fully Human (Source: UNESCO-APNIEVE as cited by Vega, V., 2006)

According to Paulo Freire, humanization is man’s ultimate vocation and destiny. This can be accomplished through conscientization which is a process of recognizing the contradictions existing within oneself and in society and of gradually being able to bring out about personal and social transformation.

Learning to be… Education for Sustainable Development:  Builds on the principles and values that underline sustainable development;  Deals with the well-being of all three realms of sustainability – environment, society, and economy; &  Contributes to a person’s complete development: mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic appreciation and spirituality.

Universal Aims of Education:  

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Towards a scientific humanism Creativity Towards social commitment Towards complete man

Learning to transform… one self and society (Knowledge, values, and skills for transforming attitudes and lifestyles)

Objectives:  

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Work toward a gender neutral, nondiscriminatory society Develop the ability and will to integrate sustainable lifestyle for ourselves and others Promotes behaviors and practices that minimize our ecological footprint on the world around us

Objectives:  

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Be respectful of the Earth and life in all its diversity Act to achieve social solidarity Promote democracy in society where peace prevails

Education for Sustainable Development: 

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Integrates the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspect of learning; Encourages changes in behavior to create a more viable and fairer society for everyone;

Education for Sustainable Development:  

Teaches people to reflect critically on their own communities; & Empowers people to assume responsibility for creating and enjoying a sustainable future.

References: 

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Vega, Violeta et al (2006). Social dimensions of education. Quezon City: Lori Mar Publishing. UNESCO (2014). Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014. Retrieved on June 12, 2014 from menntuntilsjalfbaerni.weebly.com/