EDM211: Education for Social Sustainability

Module code: EDM211

Module provider: Institute of Education

Credits: 20

Level: 7

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Geoff Taggart , email: g.taggart@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 11 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

In this module, students investigate a new approach to environmental and sustainability education, that of rethinking the Western way of knowing and being and engendering a frank discussion about the societal elements that are generating climate, environmental, economic, and social concerns. Highlighting the importance of Indigenous and premodern cultures, the module envisages educational practices as central to social sustainability. The module therefore puts a strong emphasis on inclusion, particularly in relation to race and disability, and draws on the pedagogic tradition of transformative learning. The module also considers whether digital technologies and artificial intelligence may facilitate or impede sustainability.

The module aims to support students:

• develop a critical understanding of fundamental educational issues as they relate to social sustainability by exploring evidence- based research and theoretically informed practice
• reflect critically on the specifically modern educational context in which students work and/or the philosophical, social, cultural and broad political context which has guided that educational provision
• compare and contrast educational contexts and teaching and learning practices experiences gained from critical professional experiences

The module will enable students to compare and contrast education systems of their respective countries, which will provide opportunities for discussion of global educational topics. Students will be also encouraged to consider a variety of settings where educational experiences can occur and reflect on skills, opportunities and possible challenges in introducing such wider approaches.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of social sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion by presenting a rationale for adopting and/or a critique of a particular position towards educational provision, such as policy, curriculum, assessment, teaching approaches with
2. Enrich their skills as a professional and reflective educational observer by drawing reflectively and critically upon their own and their peers’ educational experiences and literature about the nature of education and educational provision
3. Develop further their understanding of effective learning environments by comparing and contrasting critically the educational provision from different contexts, particularly modernist, non-Western and indigenous cultures.
4. Demonstrate a critical perspective towards technology, particularly the development of artificial intelligence, and evaluate its usefulness as a tool for social sustainability

Module content

The session will focus on the following topics. The order of the sessions may change:

• Introduction to the module: What are key influences around values and attitudes in education
• What is education for in an ecological age?
• The curriculum we now have- where has it come from, what is it, what is it for, who decides on it?
• Radical inclusion and sustainable learning cultures:  ‘nothing about us without us’
• The pedagogy of indigenous cultures and critical race theory
• Being human/”post-human”: digital technology and artificial intelligence in learning
• Paradigms in educational thought
• Transformative approaches to environmental education
• Linking theory and practice: How do we bring all these ideas together in our module assignment

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module uses a mixture of lectures, seminars, group work and guided reading. There are opportunities for peer collaborations and exchange of ideas.

Study hours

At least 15 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Level 3 (i.e. foundation modules for Part 0) and Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs