Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Human activity is the most important factor determining our future. The rapid growths of population and materialistic ways of living have given rise to what many geologists now call the era of the Anthropocene. We argue that in order to solve the wicked problems of the Anthropocene—such as climate change—we need education to be organized around sensing and actualizing the full potential of a human being. It is necessary to clarify the goal of education and the ideals of society toward that pursuit. Climate change education supports building societies that are characterized by flexible, creative, adaptable, well-informed and inventive sustainable well-being communities. In this article, we define the special aspects of climate change education and ask: how could we educate people for transformation toward a sustainable future? What kind of holistic change in thinking and action is needed for the construction of hope and of a sustainable future? What kind of pedagogical approaches can promote full humanness?

In this case study, the focus is on Kaospilot, an entrepreneurship and design school located in Aarhus, Denmark. The Finnish Innovation Fund, Sitra, has been working with the vision of a sustainable well-being society. Sustainable well-being refers to the pursuit of a ‘good life’ within the earth’s carrying capacity. This means that well-being is addressed in a holistic way and that humanity is consequently adjusting to the planetary boundaries. The other principles of a sustainable well-being society are in the empowering of individuals and communities, moving to a regenerative and collaborative economy, building competencies for a complex world, and developing inclusive and adaptive governance. When I visited Kaospilot in Aarhus, I was interested in terms of both ‘if’ and ‘how’ the Kaospilot education could take these myriad themes into account.

This case study aims to study and analyse what appears to be a successful co-created educational policy—the ‘Finnish National Curriculum 2016’. The author wished to understand the factors behind the success of the curriculum process, how ownership was created during the process and what school principals and other education professionals think about the curriculum content, as well as the processes and methodology. Questions abound. What are its strengths and weaknesses and does the curriculum pull schools closer towards their purpose? The Finnish education system has been celebrated as a twenty-first century global success story—what role does a national curriculum play in this story and how does it take the education system closer to enabling sustainable well-being? Does the progressive value-base and content of the curriculum successfully transfer to the classroom?