Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
10.3.2.3
Importance of Information and Communications Technology
to ESD in Geography
The Lucerne Declaration recognizes the contribution of ICT to teaching and learn-
ing goals of geography education in ESD. Active use of ICT in ESD gives learners
direct insight to people who are most affected by sustainability issues (e.g., environ-
mental problems), as well as fostering students' conceptualization and deeper
understanding of the attitudes of people in different cultures who are facing similar
problems. ICT also supports a multifaceted perspective that is necessary for foster-
ing sustainable attitudes and that promotes a high level of thinking, comprehensive
and critical. Moreover, the declaration concludes that use of ICT expands research
in geography education when incorporated within ESD. There is also potential for
online cooperation that promotes students' learning about problems across a global
scale and different cultures.
10.3.3
Signifi cance of Lucerne Declaration
The Lucerne Declaration is signifi cant in the geography education community
because it clearly articulates the contribution of geography to ESD. The fact that the
behavioral themes of the UNESCO IIS are mostly geographical indicates the impor-
tance that geography holds in ESD. To further buttress the value of geography,
the latest geographic information and research results should be incorporated into
the educational program and curriculum.
The concept of the Human-Earth ecosystem (Haubrich et al.
2007
), advocated as
a research method, is a framework based on geographic principles to examine global
issues core to ESD. Such similarities and overlap make a case for introducing this
concept into geography education as well. ESD is praised for its interdisciplinarity;
however, even before the views of Jones et al. (
2010
), geography was essentially a
comprehensive discipline characterized by cross-disciplinary research. This further
supports geography education as a most suitable core subject to include in and pro-
mote ESD curriculum development.
The Lucerne Declaration envisions that each country will tailor a national curricu-
lum, refl ective of regional issues. This approach differs from the International Charter
on Geographical Education, which aimed for international guidelines that would
serve as a global standard, although it is in line with the UNESCO IIS for UNDESD
(2005) policy. The Lucerne Declaration sets the ultimate goals for geography educa-
tion to be included in ESD for educating citizens. As such, these citizens who develop
sustainability values, are aware of the need to work toward a sustainable society, and
have the skills to make this a reality. These goals are precisely what are necessary to
inform people's decision-making and the codifi cation of laws in each country
(UNESCO
2005
).
