Sustainability Education

Overall Winner, SAGT (Scottish Association of Geography Teachers) Awards 2022
Winner, Global Dimension Teachers’ Choice Award 2023
Shortlisted, BERA Educational Research Book of the Year 2023
Highly Commended, GA (Geographical Association) Publisher’s Awards 2023

Sustainability Education: A Classroom Guide provides an accessible, in-depth guide and critique of sustainability education for school and university students, teachers, curriculum makers and school governors working around the world with children aged 3- to 14-years old. Informed by research findings and learning theory, it provides a progressive framework for sustainability education spanning all subject areas and applicable in a wide range of settings. There are over 180 age-related teaching ideas on topics such as conservation, health, food, wildlife, climate change, social justice and sustainable living, as well as provocative questions designed to stimulate educational debate. Written by two highly experienced UK-based educators, it draws together specially commissioned contributions from Australia, Israel, Norway, South Africa, the UK and the USA. Key concepts and links to the UN Global Goals (SDGs), are highlighted throughout. A companion website offers an extensive toolkit of specially prepared PowerPoint presentations and details of over 100 lectures, reports, picture books, websites and classroom and INSET teaching resources.

Commended for Geographical Association Awards 2023 (UK)

“This timely guide is posed to reorient thinking on sustainability education. Most importantly, young children are invited to take an active part in this journey. Authors throughout the guide display great care in their pedagogical approaches. The message of harmony, coexistence, peace, love, balance and justice is clear.”

A highly relevant and important resource for our times. The book provides great examples of how sustainability can be woven into any primary curriculum. It is full of thoughtful and informative ideas, case studies and clarification around the misconceptions linked with sustainability education. GA Publisher's Awards judging panel 2023
It’s easy to see why teachers favour this guide over other resources as it's just so comprehensive. Written by two highly experienced educators Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson, this book contains advice for teaching sustainability issues across every subject between the ages of 3-14. With 180 age-specific activities, this is a treasure trove of inspiration and advice that every educator should possess. Global Dimension Awards 2023
This wonderful book presents sustainability education for all education readers, from researchers and pedagogy lecturers to teachers and teacher education students. The ideas and presentation are original and engaging and will have a great impact on practice … A key textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate students looking at sustainability education. BERA Educational Research Book of the Year 2023 judges' panel
Anyone concerned with educating young people today should have a copy of this book. I would say that it is the most essential book for all teachers now and in future at KS1, KS2 and KS3. Prep School Magazine
Stephen Scoffham and Steve Rawlinson, along with their ten expert contributors, have produced a work that should be a 'must read' for all those associated with education... In effect, the book is both a manifesto and a manual for embedding sustainability in schools. Journal of the National Association for Environmental Education
This book is a hopeful, thought-provoking and timely resource grounded in the classroom, drawing upon research about sustainability and sustainability education... This book contains a wealth of creative teaching strategies which are quick and manageable to implement in the classroom. Geographical Association in Teaching Geography Spring 2023
A wonderful resource to get any school started on its now essential journey towards sustainability education. Church Times
The guide is an essential reading for those who engage in teaching and learning about the earth. The book is a capsule on sustainability on understanding the topic, its place in curriculum and teaching pedagogies. It discusses the current needs in transforming education to address the demands of the planet. Radhika Iyengar, Director of Education, Center for Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA
The educational system we have today was designed to suit the needs of the 19th and 20th century. Now that system is fast becoming out of date! Sustainability Education is a timely book outlining an education fit for the 21st century. The authors and contributors have presented a practical way forward to transform teaching in schools from job centred education to life centred and nature centred education. Every teacher concerned with the wellbeing of people and our precious planet Earth should use this publication as a handbook for regenerative learning. Satish Kumar, Founder, Schumacher College and Editor Emeritus, Resurgence & Ecologist, UK

Charles Chikunda, National Program Officer – Education for Sustainable Development, UNESCO office in Harare, Zimbabwe
Sustainability Education is a timely and vital manual containing a wide variety of ideas to encourage, support and guide practitioners of all age groups on weaving sustainability into their teaching. Lucy Neuberger, Classroom Teacher, International Preparatory School, Portugal

The key to tackling any challenge is first to understand it, and perhaps the greatest challenge we face is climate change. So how we approach sustainability education for a younger generation is absolutely vital. This book goes beyond the important discussion of wider issues, to focus on the role of education in sustainability and navigating its complexities. It also sets out practical approaches for educators who are on the front line of helping future generations understand the challenges of the planet they are inheriting. It is an important contribution to an increasingly vital area in education.

The Right Honourable Justine Greening, Former Secretary of State for Education, England

This pivotal book guides us to see sustainability education through a creative, confident and research-rich narrative. By exploring pedagogy, classroom ideas and key enquiry questions, this innovative book challenges and supports all educators towards practical, explanatory critical thinking, enabling action and understanding, vital for the futures for all learners.

Helen Martin, Headteacher Lavington Park Federation- Graffham CE Infant and Duncton CE Junior Schools, West Sussex, UK
A superb discussion of the notion of sustainability and the importance of including sustainability education in the primary curriculum, while illustrating how this can be achieved. A pleasure to read and learn from. Margaret Mackintosh, Former Senior Lecturer, Primary B.Ed. University of Plymouth, UK
Sustainability Education is an engaging and compelling read which deftly weaves together rich understandings from research with suggestions and ideas for practice. Elizabeth Rushton, Lecturer in Geography Education, King’s College London, UK
This excellent book should be essential reading for all primary, middle and preparatory school head teachers and policy makers, especially at the Department for Education... Society’s future is full of challenges for all educators but this first-class book provides plenty of ideas as to how we can be optimistic about the future. SSR in Depth, Association for Science Education

Stephen Scoffham is Visiting Reader in Sustainability and Education at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK and was President of the UK Geographical Association (2018-19).

Steve Rawlinson is Chair of the Primary Geography Editorial Board and was President of the Geographical Association (2015-16). For many years he worked as an Initial Teacher Education Tutor at Northumbria University, UK.

Contributors: Ben Ballin (Educational Consultant, UK) | Patty Born (Hamline University, USA) | Helen Clarke (Independent Scholar, @attention2place, UK) | Richard Hatwood (Denbighshire County Council, UK) | Elena Lengthorn (University of Worcester, UK) | Paula Owens (Educational Consultant, UK) | Hilde Tornby (Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway) | Sharon Witt (Independent Scholar, @attention2place, UK) | Yocheved Yorkovsky (Gordon College of Education, Israel) | Natasha Ziebell (University of Melbourne, Australia)

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