Education for Sustainable Development

Human Evolution 

Behavior

Sustainability Science

Global ESD works internationally to develop Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) curriculum that connects concepts in human evolution, behavior, and sustainability science. By linking scientific perspectives on social change with students and classrooms seeking to make the world a better place, our aim is to foster a more global discussion about where we are going in the light of where we all have come from. 

Today's global society faces major challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including sustainable resource use, social equality, and providing access to good education, health and human well-being for all.

What can we learn from the communities of the world, from our evolutionary history, from our everyday behaviors and experiences, and from other living beings about how to master these challenges of cooperation and sustainability?  

Research from biology, economics, anthropology, behavioral and sustainability science provides insights into the conditions and principles for the sustainable development of communities across contexts. 

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals.Image source: UN  Department of Public Information (Guidelines)

This is why we work to identify the overarching concepts and transferable principles as well as skills that underpin the work of scientists in these fields, and to develop teaching materials, lessons, units and teacher guidance to help cultivate these skills and transferable understandings in students and teachers across subjects and contexts.

An understanding of the origins and complex dynamics of human behavior can help students and teachers understand today's challenges of global collaboration and collective problem-solving towards human well-being and sustainability.