Introduction:
The fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is ‘Quality Education’, with its objective being to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong educational opportunities for all’. The targets within this goal cover such issues as access to and support of pre-school through secondary school education, achieving gender equality in education, and improving the quality of education facilities. But the target that I wish to focus on is 4.7, which states:
“By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”
Embedded in this target is the unspoken assumption that ‘all learners’ will, through their education, acquire a set of values that can be said to underlie all seventeen SDGS – those that will lead to the creation of a greener, safer, more equitable and overall ‘better’ world. This, in turn, requires a different way of thinking, or, if you will, a different kind of consciousness.
The consciousness and values integral to sustainable development education also, one might conclude, contain elements of spirituality. Both describe the way in which an individual sees themselves as fitting in with a greater ‘other’. We see this link between spirituality and sustainability-focused education in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’s Chapter Six, entitled ‘Ecological Education and Spirituality’.
The messages in Laudato Si are based on the philosophy and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the environment. These Franciscan Values can be said to transcend religion and, in many respects, align well the overarching objectives of the SDGs. The purpose of this short essay is to explore the use of Franciscan Values in the creation of a sustainable development-oriented curriculum at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York.
The mission of St. Francis College reads in part: “St. Francis College is a private, independent, co-educational, urban college whose Franciscan and Catholic traditions underpin its commitment to academic excellence, spiritual and moral values, physical fitness, social responsibility, and life-long learning. ……… These foster the development of critical thinking, moral choices, responsible citizenship and personal commitment to social justice and the environment.”
Imparting Franciscan Values
How is this accomplished? How does someone teach something that easily can be described as ineffable or part of the spirit? Well, the short answer is that it cannot be taught. Franciscan values are easier to demonstrate, and while that mostly can be done through words and actions, I think there is a way to do that in the classroom using ‘care for creation’ as a basic theme. Focusing on care for creation provides an opportunity to discuss not only where students fit with the rest of creation, but also how what the students are studying also fits with the rest of creation. Thus, students begin to realize how they and their studies are connected to something much bigger than themselves. It is through these connections that the ideas of the “development of the whole person” and the “transition to a citizen of the world” can be understood.
Furthermore, using a care for creation theme can help teach interdisciplinary thinking. For an example, let us turn to Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, in which ‘the interconnectedness of things’ is a common theme.[1]
Laudato Si’ and Environmental Education:
This encyclical can help anyone, regardless of faith, understand what ‘care for creation’ means. The intersection between Franciscan Values and environmental education is summarized in the following excerpts from the Laudato Si’.
“We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be shared with everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new convictions, attitudes and forms of life. A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us,” (page 149).
“Environmental education has broadened its goals … it tends now to include a critique of the “myths” of a modernity grounded in a utilitarian mindset (individualism, unlimited progress, competition, consumerism, the unregulated market). It seeks also to restore the various levels of ecological equilibrium, establishing harmony within ourselves, with others, with nature and other living creatures, and with God. Environmental education should facilitate making the leap towards the transcendent which gives ecological ethics its deepest meaning. It needs educators capable of developing an ethics of ecology, and helping people, through effective pedagogy, to grow in solidarity, responsibility and compassionate care … this education … is at times limited to providing information, and fails to instill good habits,” (page 153-154).
“Our efforts at education will be inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature. Otherwise, the paradigm of consumerism will continue to advance, with the help of the media and the highly effective workings of the market,” (page 157).
These passages call for a much more holistic worldview which recognizes the connectedness of things. There are strong parallels between the role of education in the encyclical and the goals for education as outlined in SDG 4. That essentially is what lies behind St. Francis College’s approach to an education that imbues Franciscan values, particularly with respect to care for creation.
St. Francis College’s Approach to Sustainability Education
Sustainability education at St. Francis College is built around the underlying concept that it should be interdisciplinary. Several years ago, an Environmental Studies Minor was created. A student pursuing the minor first selects either:
BIO 1000, Ecology and the Environment or SCI 1301, Environmental Science,
Then chooses two from:
BUS 1204 (Business and Society), BUS 5401 (Sustainable Development), ECO 3307 (Environmental Economics), PHI 3344 (Environmental Ethics), or REL 5309 (The Environmental Crisis and the World’s Religions)
And then two from among:
BIO 1102 (Contemporary Biology, Marine Biology), BIO 2204 (Ecology), CHE 1000 (Chemistry in Society), CHE 1101 (Chemistry and Life), CHE 5001 (Understanding our Environment), or ECO 2302 (Economic Issues Today)
While these courses represent different disciplines, more could be represented. For example, it would be good if disciplines such as Political Science, Psychology and Sociology could be added.
Furthermore, instead of confining education to environmental issues, an alternative is to examine how sustainability-related issues can be incorporated into the St. Francis College curriculum. The first attempt to do this was to consider joining Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). This was done on a provisional basis, however PRME turned out to not be a good fit for the College. First, as a small and primarily undergraduate institution, many of the responsibilities associated with PRME membership (reporting, participation in conferences, etc.) were difficult to fulfill. Second, its focus on management education was not consistent with a desire to look at sustainability across many disciplines.
A better choice for the College, however, turned out to be joining the United Nations Sustainability Solutions Network (UNSDSN), which gives it access to the UNSDSN’s educational arm, SDSN.edu (now the SDG Academy). The number of primarily online courses available through SDSN.edu has been increasing constantly, including for example Sustainable Cities, Climate Change Science and Negotiation, and other related classes.
It is possible to incorporate these online classes into other courses as supplements. For example, One Planet/One Ocean could fit into a Marine Biology course, Feeding a Hungry Planet might complement a course on nutrition, or The Best Start in Life could fit into a course on childhood psychological development.
To help facilitate the incorporation of content from the SDG Academy into existing courses, a special group of faculty volunteers has been formed who have agreed in principle to determine how to include sustainable issues in their courses. These faculty come from various disciplines and significant efforts are being made to involve student clubs to help disseminate information about the SDGs across the student body and demonstrate what students can do to help support the SDGs. Also, faculty, administration and students are being encouraged to develop strategies for community outreach to talk about sustainability to a variety of constituents, from local businesses, to community groups and to schools. That what makes St. Francis College unique – its Franciscan spirit – will be an integral part to promoting and teaching a sustainable lifestyle.