Student charter addresses sustainability at education forum
A delegation from the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) voiced their opinion on sustainability in education to Queensland Minister for Education the Hon Rod Welford as part of a forum in Brisbane recently.
As representatives of the University's Faculty of Education, the delegation, consisting of three students and two academics, addressed the topic of sustainability during the Patches of Green forum at Brisbane's Parliament House.
'The forum was organised as part of the iQuEST Project (Investigating Queensland Education for Sustainability in Teacher Education),' USQ project leader and Education Senior Lecturer Dr Robyn Henderson said.
'Pre-service teachers from five Queensland universities discussed their concerns, dreams and desires about sustainability and developed the charter in the weeks prior to the forum.'
USQ was represented at the forum by pre-service teachers – Jane Lindsay, Natasha Jones and Ray Moxon – and academic staff – Mrs Shauna Petersen and Dr Henderson.
An initiative of the Federal Government, the iQuEST Project is part of a national project on sustainability in teacher education, with the forum providing future teachers with an avenue to talk about many topical issues.
'It was an opportunity for some USQ students to be involved in considerations about the place of sustainability in teacher education and to engage in discussions with academic staff about how this might be achieved in the courses we offer at USQ,' Dr Henderson said.
In the lead up to the forum, the delegation also took part in a United Nations Association of Australia Conference at Parliament House in Brisbane, where the USQ representatives were immersed in two days of discussions about sustainability.
'The conference theme was ‘The future is in our hands'. It offered a broad view by going beyond environmental and climate change issues to consider the roles and responsibilities of citizens in global communities. The related issues of equity, poverty, peace and conflict, refugees and lifelong learning were discussed.'
Numerous dignitaries were on hand throughout the two day event, with Queensland Premier Anna Bligh just one of many prominent speakers at the conference.
'We also heard Dr Jean D'Cunha from UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) speaking against violence perpetrated during war, Mahboba Rawi an Afghanistan refugee who funds schools for children in Afghanistan, as well as USQ's own Professor Roger Stone, director of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments.'
Dr Henderson said that the Faculty of Education now planned to use the knowledge gained from the pre-service teacher forum and conference to enhance the faculty's programs.
'The outcome for USQ is that the issue of sustainability will be addressed throughout our Bachelor of Education programs.'
Faculty of Education Dean Professor Nita Temmerman also recognised the importance of including sustainability into education courses at the University.
'The project fits well with the broader USQ strategic intent of building sustainability into not only research endeavours, but across teaching and learning activities within all degree programs,' she said.
Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559