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Photo (left to right): Newbattle Abbey College, UHI Perth, Fife College, City of Glasgow College
EAUC, in collaboration with Qualifications Scotland, Learning for Sustainability Scotland and the College Development Network, has launched a new guide to help colleges embed Learning for Sustainability (LfS) across teaching, learning and curriculum development. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) provides core funding to EAUC Scotland to deliver crucial national sustainability and climate action programs to support colleges and universities to respond to the climate emergency and reach net zero.
Co-designed with college practitioners, the guide combines practical advice, myth busting, professional development frameworks, case studies and tools to support colleges in embedding approaches to learning for a fair and sustainable future. It also includes a simple curriculum development toolkit to help teams benchmark current practice and develop action plans.
The publication of this guidance comes at a time when Learning for Sustainability has become increasingly important across Scotland’s tertiary education sector.
It supports colleges to respond to key sector priorities, including SFC’s commitments to tackling the climate emergency and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), while strengthening the quality of learning, teaching and the overall student experience. These priorities are reflected as cross-cutting themes within the SFC Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model.
The focus on embedding the key principles of Learning for Sustainability and the accompanying toolkit help teams identify strengths, draw out evidence, share effective practice and plan improvements. In line with the Externality principle of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework (TQEF), these resources can support colleges to meet sector high level expectations for institutions to consider, which are reflected in the QAA UK Quality Code and the Professional Standards for College Lecturers.
Finally, the guide also supports colleges to contribute to a resilient and thriving Scotland: sustainability encompasses interconnected social, environmental, and economic dimensions. By embedding Learning for Sustainability into learning, teaching, assessment and collaboration, colleges can prepare learners for a changing world while contributing to a fairer and more sustainable future.
Lynne Raeside, Interim Co-Director of Corporate Services at SFC said,
“Learning for Sustainability has an increasingly important role to play in preparing learners for the opportunities and challenges of a changing world. This new guide provides colleges with practical tools and evidence-based approaches to embed sustainability across learning, teaching and curriculum development.
“SFC is pleased to support EAUC Scotland’s work through our investment in national sustainability and climate action programmes. By helping colleges strengthen Learning for Sustainability, this resource will support progress towards our shared ambitions to tackle the climate emergency as well as equality, diversity and inclusion, while enhancing the quality of the student experience.”
Kathrin Möbius, Senior Sustainability in Learning and Teaching Lead at EAUC said,
Working with colleges is inspiring. They are such a critical part of the post-16 education system, delivering learning to a large and incredibly diverse audience. Yet, there is little to no guidance for colleges on how to meet increasingly emerging standards and requirements around Learning for Sustainability – until today. This guide is a significant milestone in closing this gap for colleges. Thanks to the collaboration, openness and honesty of our partners, reviewers and practitioner focus group, the sector now has a set of resources that truly aligns with college staff needs, combining well-founded theory with simple language and a framework to put LfS into practice. We’re already working on further resources to accompany the guide and are excited to continue supporting colleges to contribute to a better future for all.”
You can find the new new guidance on embedding Learning for Sustainability in colleges here.
