ESD for all? Do Sustainability Competencies need Decolonising?

How should practices in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) take into account the critique offered by the Decolonising agenda of higher education pedagogy, assessment and euro-centric perspectives? This poster focuses on one aspect of this challenge – the long-established aim of ESD to develop cross-cutting learner competencies to empower them to effect transformative change for societal benefit. Most recently, an 8-competency framework put forward by UNESCO was enshrined in the joint AdvanceHE/QAA guidance on ESD curriculum design for the UK HE sector. These competencies include systemic thinking, collaborative working and adopting a reflexive and values-driven approach. Such ESD competency frameworks have been criticised as being overly Eurocentric, both in terms of who put them forward and the contexts in which they can be successfully applied, and little research has proposed sustainability competencies in broader societal contexts. This poster aims to initiate dialogue on sustainability competencies as viewed through a Decolonising lens, by: introducing the concept as currently used; highlighting potentially under-represented key competencies; and outlining principles for developing relevant competencies for global learners in any context. This work is relevant for any taught course which seeks to empower diverse learners, including international students, to effect transformative social change professionally or personally.