SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE IS A NECESSITY

A new curriculum

 

A new curriculum will be implemented in the Finnish comprehensive schools beginning from the autumn 2016 in the first six grades and gradually during the next three years in the following grades.

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In the national curriculum sustainable lifestyle is emphasized as one of the four sets of values on which the Finnish comprehensive education is built on:

 

1. Every pupil is unique and has a right to good education

2. Humanity, general knowledge, equality and democracy

3. Cultural diversity is a richness

4. Sustainable lifestyle is a necessity

 

As a matter of fact, all these sets of values are necessary for building a sustainable lifestyle from an ecological, economic, social, and cultural point of view. They represent immaterial things that we need to put into the centre of the development of our societies and our personal lives if we are to save necessary ecological and economical resources for future generations.

 

Economic growth does not promote the well-being of the people

 

At present economy has taken over development and innovations in societies. This has had undeniable advantages. Yet during the period of strong economic growth from 1950 to the year 2000, the suicide rate in the world's male population grew from 16 cases per 100 000 inhabitants to 28 cases. At the same time, the female suicide rate grew from 5 to 6.

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The economy at its worst produces waste from pure raw materials. A plain economic way of thinking reduces meaningful human relations to means of gaining more material goods. This leads to reduced well-being and life starts to feel irrelevant.

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On the other hand, from a sustainability point of view, there is no limit to developing social and cultural aspects of our societies. Furthermore, these two aspects promote human well-being more and at a deeper level than any material things could do after the basic needs are fulfilled.

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For example, the Finnish Gross National Product tripled between 1966 and 2004, yet the general well-being that Finns experienced did not get better. Also in Costa Rica people live as long as people in Great Britain, they are as happy with their lives as the British, but their ecological footprint is only half the size of the British.

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In another survey, people were asked, how happy they were with their lives on a scale from 1 to 7. According to the survey well to do Americans scored 5.8, Maasai people, a semi-nomadic East African ethnic group, scored 5.7 and a random group of Swedes scored 5.6. Yet the ecological footprint of the Maasai people is only a fracture of the footprint of people in the Western world.

 

Building sustainable lifestyle and well-being in school

 

What are the conditions for building a sustainable lifestyle and promoting well-being in schools and in societies in general? One of the essential factors is students’ and teachers’ sense of community, which is built by the interaction and involvement of everyone in the school.

 

Pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of themselves as members of the school community and their relationship with other members of the community constitute an essential framework for human development and life-long learning. In practice, this is done by letting everyone know that they are an important part of the community in different activities and encounters.

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Everyone has to have an opportunity to bring something of their own to the benefit of the whole community. This creates an important feeling of being in control over one's life and being able to affect the surroundings and their own situation. Meaningful interaction with the environment requires an experience of inclusion and relevance which promotes personal well-being.

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The spirit of togetherness and an atmosphere of trust create social capital, which is reflected in the smoothness of the school's everyday life. Social capital is an asset even when the changes in one’s personal life undermine personal resources. This sense of community is a key factor in promoting equality and democracy in education. We cannot expect students to be more advanced in democratic values ​​and practices than the model which the school community provides. Active citizenship is also learned at school.

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In education, as in life in general, actions mean more than words. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality within communities. Schools, teacher training, and pedagogic research should examine their own choices of values and their everyday practices in order to strengthen participation and to promote a sense of community practices.

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Pupils and teachers should have an experience of personal worth, dignity, and involvement as members of the school community. Such schools are evolving into schools of the future producing sustainable development, educational well-being, and exclusion prevention for all the members of the community. Initial and further teacher training, school management training, and pedagogic research have a lot of opportunities and responsibilities in supporting this development.

 

Ecosocial knowledge

 

There is criticism against the model of three or four principles of sustainable development. Although it is necessary to take into account all the different principles while building a sustainable future, this model is somewhat vague in giving tools to promote a sustainable lifestyle. The main point with the criticism is that the model is not effective in directing our actions.

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Ecosocialknowledge is a new approach that takes into account that all the four aspects of sustainable development are not equal, but there is a hierarchy between them. The ecological aspect sets an absolute limit that cannot be exceeded in our actions. On the other hand, when we choose to focus on the cultural and social aspects there are no limits for innovations and development. Furthermore, human well-being is effectively promoted with these aspects.

 

Conclusions

 

It is clear that a sustainable lifestyle is a precondition for equality between present and future generations. We cannot use natural resources at the expense of our grandchildren. Furthermore, we raise the quality of life, happiness, and well-being when we focus on the preconditions for a good life as listed below instead of economic growth.

 

For a good life, we need experience of:

 

1. Strong meaningful human relationships

2. Trust, respect, and appreciation

3. Equal opportunities

4. Ability to influence one’s own life and that of the community

5. Freedom of action (being part of a community, social inclusion, and democracy)

6. Being part of the cultural tradition

 

After all, the most meaningful things in life are free!

 

Bibliography

 

1. Diener, E., & Seligman, M. Beyond Money. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 5(1), 1–31, 2004

2. World Health Organisation’s Mental Health Program – Access mode: www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/evolution/en/index.html

3. Salonen, A. & Åhlberg, M. The Path towards Planetary Responsibility - Expanding the Domain of Human Responsibility is a Fundamental Goal for Life-Long Learning in a High-Consumption Society. Journal of Sustainable Development, 5(8), 13-26, 2012

4. Salonen, A. Responsible Consumption. In: Idowu, S., Capald Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Berlin: Springer,