Teaching for Sustainability and Altruism through Project-Based Learning (SAPBL)

An approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

Goal

The SAPBL education framework seeks to develop learners who are both altruistic and sustainability oriented.

Method & Program Components

Children participate in projects focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their communities, practicing global citizenship, and developing social-emotional skills.

• Online teacher training in the SAPBL approach.

• Sustainability coaching. The sustainability coach assists teachers and schools to prepare and implement SAPBL projects.

• Altruistic-sustainability networks (ASN) built around each school. The sustainability coach will work with the school to establish relationships with community partners, businesses, local government and other stakeholders so that children have opportunities to fully pursue their projects in the community.

Further Description of the SAPBL Framework

SAPBL adds a twofold purpose to the mission of schooling; namely, 1) the moral development of the learner; coupled with, 2) the learner's active contribution to an ever-advancing, increasingly sustainable and ethical civilization.

More than academic or technical knowledge, we need each generation to develop a global moral identity rooted in the shared principles and virtues contained in the Earth Charter and human rights documents, and exemplified in related global compacts, such as Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide an extensive framework of activities, when considering the hundreds of related tasks and indicators, ready-made for exploration by children and youth if educational systems can be so designed. Conceptualizing all schools as agents for social change and community development will inspire experimentation needed to guide each generation to live out its core purpose of altruism for a life of service. (Haslip & Penn, 2020)

Book Chapter

The book chapter quoted above describes the SAPBL framework and is available here.

Haslip, M.J., & Penn, M. (2020). Cultivating human rights and protecting human dignity by nurturing altruism and a life of service: Integrating U.N. Sustainable Development Goals into school curricula. In H. Mahmoudi and M. Penn (Eds.), Human Dignity and Human Rights. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.