Education for Sustainable Development: Holistic Curriculum for Youth and Guide for Educators Erasmus Project

Project Title

Education for Sustainable Development: Holistic Curriculum for Youth and Guide for Educators

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) on all levels is critically needed with accelerating climate change and fast decreasing biodiversity. As schools lay the foundation for tomorrow’s leaders, experts and responsible citizens, integration of knowledge and skills for sustainable development in schools is crucial for our planet’s future and more specifically for implementing UN Sustainable Development Goals and EU sustainability policies. We are handing the next generation over a planet which has to face several serious environmental problems and a convergence of multiple crises. It’s important to help young people develop knowledge, skills, values and behaviours needed for sustainable development.

The project has three main objectives:
1. Develop an ESD Holistic Curriculum for youth
2. Develop a Guide for Educators
3. Develop a curriculum for Gaia School (student aged 16-19)
Both ESD Holistic Curriculum and Guide for Educators remain a flexible and open resource that provides opportunities and suggestions for educators and curriculum developers to adapt the learning objectives as well as the suggested topics and learning methods to their target group, learning setting and their country context. Curriculum for Gaia School is an example of how to integrate ESD Holistic and National Curriculum, that curriculum will be implemented at Gaia School.

The participants are as follows:
Network seminars participants – at least 50 different participants have participated in the seminars. Educators, teachers, experts, educational leaders, stakeholders from partner organisations – up to 30 different people and 20 youth).
Up to 65 persons will be involved at local seminars and meetings.
Multiplier events – a total of 155 participants + approximately 30 extra participants from partner organisations. Educational leaders, teachers and educators, youth and youth organisations, stakeholders outside partner organisations.
In total there will be involved 300 unique participants and approximately 47 500 persons become aware of ESD and our project results through our network.

Experts from partner organisations will develop The ESD Holistic Curriculum for youth, The Guide for Educators and The Curriculum for Gaia School. They will cooperate with each other and involve stakeholders and target groups in the network seminars to collect their input and raise participants’ awareness of the EDS. There will be four network seminars, one seminar in each country.
The online environment will be developed, it will be a platform where ESD Holistic Curriculum for youth and Guide for Educators are made available to the target group and the general public. A video will also be produced to encourage educational institutions (educational leaders and educators) to implement ESD in their work.
There will be four multiplier events, where results of the project will be introduced with the wider audience and stakeholders.

It is a development project, so the main methodology will be research and cooperation between experts. It’s also very important to involve target groups and stakeholders – that is why there will be four network seminars, where there will be participants from every partner country. Partners will also involve local target groups and stakeholders and lead their input to expert-team.

An ESD Holistic Curriculum for youth, Guide for Educators, Curriculum for Gaia School are developed, the e-learning environment and video have been completed by the end of the project.
In addition, the best practises have been shared and participants have learned from each other’s experience (at the network seminars and multipliers events). The capacity of partners and participants to implement ESD Holistic Curriculum and Guide for Educators in different target groups has increased. The partners are ready to share their experience with other stakeholders (they have extensive knowledge and experience in this field).

All participating organisations will have materials (the curriculum, the guide, online environment) that they can implement immediately at the local level with youth. Gaia School students (also from other countries) can study according to the new curriculum. Youth from partner organisations can learn and participate in different projects based on ESD Curricula and Guide for Educators.
All organizations are pioneers and key practitioners in the Education for Sustainable Development in their countries. In addition to the international Gaia network, all partners also have local networks to disseminate information and encourage other interested parties (schools, non-formal education organisations etc.).
The project contributes to implementing UN Sustainable Development Goals and EU sustainability policies. The materials developed by the project can be used across the EU and globaly. The outputs and results of our project will reach approximately 300,000 people.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 262976 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gaia Hariduse Selts (Gaia Kool) & Country: EE

Project Partners

• Gaia Education
• Stichting Gaia Nederland
• TALLINN UNIVERSITY
• Permacultura Mediterranea