Project Objective

Design, deliver and evaluate a cross campus blended online ESD course entitled “Ethical Sustainability” for students within higher education.

Description & Partner Role:

In conjunction with our partner colleges, Dublin City University will develop a blended ESD course (with online and face-to-face elements) to introduce the concept of sustainability across our partner institutions. The focus of the course will be Ethical Sustainability as underpinned by the principles of the Earth Charter. A strong emphasis will be placed on action learning through engagement with local issues and the local community. In the first instance the ESD course will be designed for the undergraduate student body, with the aim of raising awareness of key concepts, contexts, principles and practices of sustainability through the lens of the Earth Charter. It is also expected to generate interest in post-graduate research within the field of education for sustainability and sustainable citizenship. It is envisaged that the online ESD course will be generic but modules within the course will be tailored to suit individual disciplines. This will ensure that the graduate attributes derived from these modules will inform practices within diverse workplace setting, enabling the sustainability of the learning and the embedding of it in day to day decision making and practices. The ESD course will also be made available to other higher education institutions within the greater Dublin area. Accreditation at levels 8 and/ or 9 (of the Irish National Qualifications Framework) will be sought within participating institutions. Research publications detailing the process of designing and developing the Ethical Citizen course will be disseminated nationally and internationally.