Developing ESD: what role for indicators? William Scott

1. Developing ESD: what role for indicators? William Scott Centre for Research in Education and the Environment University of Bath cree@bath.ac.uk www.bath.ac.uk/cree

2. What is an indicator? • a device for showing the operating condition of some system • a signal for attracting attention • an indirect measure of a broad concept which cannot be measured directly • any of various statistical values that together provide an indication of the condition or direction of a process or system

3. Functions of indicators • to monitor change and assess trends • to evaluate the effects of actions • to engage people and help communicate • to focus attention on important issues

4. Functions of indicators Talking about sustainable development is not enough… . We must hold ourselves to account as a government, but also as a country. All this depends on devising new ways to assess how we are doing Tony Blair, introduction to the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, 1999

5. Properties of indicators • selective / simplifying • technical or resonant • assessing performance or process • qualitative or quantitative • present / absent

6. Limitations of indicators Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted Albert Einstein

7. Limitations of indicators • Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a widely-used indicator for economic development • are data available and valid? • does all economic activity contribute to economic development? • is GDP a valid indicator of economic welfare, or economic potential?

8. Selecting indicators • single or multiple indicators? • do indicators relate to process or system? • do they meet the needs of policy makers / practitioners? • do they indicate what’s important / show trends? • are they understandable: simplifying, but not oversimplifying? • are they easily measurable? • can they inform action?

9. Indicators in the UK strategy Indicators are central to the monitoring and reporting of progress towards sustainable development. They are also powerful tools which can help focus public attention on what sustainable development means and to give a broad overview of whether we are achieving ‘a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come’. UK Sustainable Development Strategy, 1999

10. Indicators in the UK strategy • 147 indicators, 15 headline indicators • split into ‘economic growth’, ‘social progress’, ‘environmental protection’ • headline indicators published annually as ‘quality of life’ barometer • mostly performance indicators • mostly existing national statistics • indicator model problematic (Foster et al.)

11. Learning indicators in the UK strategy • Level 2 qualifications at Age 19 • Other indicators include those on adult literacy and numeracy, participation in lifelong learning, truancies and exclusions from school • Awareness of Sustainable Development in Schools - how does awareness relate to understanding? - how does understanding relate to sustainable development?

12. New Indicators • But we need indicators that are … • beyond attendance (and percentages staying on at school, or going to higher education) – though spending more rather than less time being appropriately educated is to be encouraged • beyond qualifications and proportions qualifying – though the more learned and skilled we are, the better all our lives will surely be.

13. New Indicators • … and that are … • beyond content (that is, expert-specified concepts, outcomes and assessment) – though knowledge is important • beyond experts (ie, having to know exactly what others know otherwise it doesn’t count as knowledge - although we need to take seriously people’s experience (wherein, after all, lies their expertise)

14. Current Education Learning Indicators • Level 2 Qualifications at Age 19 • The impact of formal learning on knowledge and awareness of sustainable development

15. Some possible indicators process indicator: schools judged higher than satisfactory against Ofsted ESD good practice guidelines output indicator: number of people with qualifications linked strongly to sustainable development / ESD outcome indicator: performance in surveys of understanding of sustainable development

16. Developing ESD: what role for indicators? William Scott Centre for Research in Education and the Environment University of Bath cree@bath.ac.uk www.bath.ac.uk/cree

17. Your Task: In a context that makes sense to you, generate one indicator that you think could be used as an effective measure of whether an ESD programme is building our capacity to live sustainably.