The power of artistic practices in ESD

Abstract

There exist already many practical projects that bring together Education for sustainable development (ESD) and artistic practices. They tie in with the transformative potential and the power that are attributed to the field of art in dealing with issues in the context of sustainable development. However, it is currently not clear how this potential is to be assessed in the field of formal education and especially in primary schools. This article addresses this issue on a theoretical level. It discusses how the inclusion of artistic practices in ESD can promote specific competences to help shape sustainable development and thus contribute to the overall goals of education. This incorporation takes place along four central areas, namely, development of vision, multi-perspectivity, spirit of inquiry and openness, which are central to both the educational concept of ESD and an artistic approach.

Keywords:

• Education for sustainable development (ESD)
• artistic practices
• interdisciplinary approach
• formal education
• primary school

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 https://www.fhnw.ch/ph/realexperimente [accessed 7 March 2023]

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW and the funding organization 3FO.

Notes on contributors

Julia Niederhauser

Julia Niederhauser, MSc is a researcher and lecturer at the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Her research interests are in education for sustainable development, inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and learning, general didactics, professionalization of teachers.

Corinne Vez

Corinne Vez, MA is a researcher and lecturer at the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. Her research interests are education for sustainable development and inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and learning.

Andrina Jörg

Andrina Jörg, MRA is a researcher and lecturer in the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. She teaches cultural mediation and curates the cultural (mediation) platform phkultur at the Brugg-Windisch campus. She is involved in research projects dealing with art and sustainability. As an artist and artistic researcher, she works on her art project ‘Paranatur Research Laboratory’. This project uses artistic and ethnographic methods to investigate the complex interconnections between nature and consumption and forms the basis for her dissertation project.

Franziska Bertschy

Franziska Bertschy, PhD is a professor at the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and head of the Chair of Didactics of Science and Humanities Education. Her research interests are perspectives-integrating teaching, education for sustainable development, inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and learning, general didactics, extracurricular places of learning.

Christine Künzli David

Christine Künzli David, PhD is a professor at the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and head of the Institute for Kindergarten and Early Primary Education. Her research interests are instructional design in early teaching, kindergarten-specific play and learning environments, education in the context of sustainable development, educational theories, inter- and transdisciplinary teaching and learning, professionalization of teachers, perspective-integrated teaching, education in extracurricular learning settings, philosophizing with children.

Georges Pfründer

Georges Pfründer is a professor at the School of Education at FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland and head of the Chair of Cultural Education and Theater Pedagogy.