Abstract:

The paper explores the role played by education in the context of sustainable development, and focuses on the specific aspects of education for participation.

While emphasizing the importance of citizens’ involvement in the process of governance as an indicator and a promoter of democracy, the research in the field also calls attention to the need of preparing and training societies for this complex phenomenon and to the impact education for participation could have on sustainable development.

Among the first to point this out were, already at the beginning of the last century, the American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey and Professor John L. Childs, who considered that one of the most challenging issues in the reform of the American education system was “the discovery of methods and techniques by which this more direct and vital participation may be brought about”. The subject has also caught the attention of UNESCO, which has made education for sustainable development one of its priorities, supporting an integrated approach, transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary programs and research on the design of political and institutional frameworks for the inclusion of sustainable development issues and principles into all areas of teaching and learning.

The article also acknowledges the importance of educational institutions as transmitters of cultural values and, thus, as key elements in promoting cultural change for sustainable development. Different countries in the world have started research programs in order to identify the most efficient factors to influence and bring about cultural change meant to make democracy more legitimate. The framework developed in the United States by the Center for Civic Education in cooperation with the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship has proposed four directions for curricular development targets implementation of civic education and achievement civic virtue, the acquiring of civic knowledge and the understanding and practice of participation skills. The United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Canada, Japan and other countries have also showed their interest in promoting a new educational framework meant to support the progress of citizen participation in governance.

The communist regime in Romania discouraged the public involvement in political decisions for 45 years. Even after almost two decades of real democratic experience, Romanians are still afraid and/or reluctant to participating in the decision making process being it at the local or national level. In this context, the author advocates for the implementation of educational programs at all levels (from primary to tertiary education), designed for increasing awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of public participation among all categories of citizens, this being one significant way to create and promote sustainable development in the new European context of Romania.

Keywords:

education, sustainable development, public participation, policy decision making process, active.