It is only by mainlining the adoption of degrowth education that Scotland can begin to move to systems of educational practice that begin to address the multiple emergencies we face
Learning for Sustainability is also now an integral element of the General Teaching Council of Scotland’s professional values. (9) The rhetoric is that LfS is delivered in a holistic way across all schools and at all levels. The reality is that this is as fanciful as believing Net Zero targets are anything other than glorified greenwash.
A great deal of what LfS represents and the quality of the learning and thinking behind its existence is to be applauded. My concern is that putting so many crucial issues – such as political literacy, issues of peace and conflict, global citizenship, understanding interdependence, and tackling climate change, etc. – in to one tickbox makes these issues seem peripheral to the purposes of mainstream education rather than its central priorities.
It is only by mainlining the adoption of degrowth education (10) that Scotland can begin to move to systems of educational practice that begin to address the multiple emergencies we face. The current focus around degrowth and economic transition, however, is too often set against challenges of moving our economies out of growth and fossil fuel dependency. This underplays the fact that the central transformation we require at a global level is in our hearts and minds. The political right understand this and have successfully overseen the complete capitulation of the curriculum to the market. Bringing the curriculum back in to actual public ownership needs to be central to any strategic approach – not just bringing humanity back from the brink but setting us on a new path altogether. For while our education system is ostensibly a ‘public service’, it has been hijacked by neoliberal, market-orientated perspectives. The result of this process can perhaps be more clearly identified in England and we cannot allow the same catastrophe to befall the system in Scotland.
We can learn how to read and write while we learn right from wrong. We can learn how to count as we learn to understand what counts when it comes to bringing a fairer more ecologically balanced world in to being. While we remain in the imaginary of curricula captured by the market, placing competition above co-operation, pushing fairy tales of growth and technofixes for the world’s dilemmas, there is no space for progress, much less for transformation.
The good news is that if we are to tackle climate change then it means we must address climate justice. If we are to address climate justice, we must address colonialism. To address colonialism, we must be anti-racist and anti-capitalist. Above all, we must address the patriarchal nature of global society and the intersectionality of oppressions that have distorted the human condition for centuries. By addressing these systemic causes of injustice, we undermine the case for militarism and war. These are the stakes at play in our classrooms, homes, and communities. We need an education system focussed on the task of reimagining a better future, not on standardised testing and league tables.