Questions and positions on education for sustainable development at university in France: example of short professional cycles

Abstract

The questions focus on the emergence of education for sustainable development in the French university. The case study discusses the curricular examination of the Bachelor of Territory Professional Planning in 17 universities and the diachronic evolution, between 2001 and 2011, of their educational content around sustainable development. The analysis leads to a reflection on the specificity of French contexts, compared to international positions. Indeed, the legitimacy of the education provided is queried against the economization of the educational sphere. Didactic problems are posed by the reduction of distances between social practices and knowledge mobilized for the teachings. The evolution of the ‘school form’ and the specific place of ‘educations for’ in the framework of the institution are questioned.

Keywords:

• French contexts
• education for sustainable development
• school form
• university pedagogy
• legitimacy

Notes

1. This declaration can be consulted on the Internet: http://www.ulsf.org/pdf/French_TD.pdf.

2. By professional license, we mean an undergraduate university program that is completed in three years and leads to a professional practice. Most of these licenses are done in the Instituts Universitaires Technologiques (University Institutes of Technology). The analysis will be of the third year.

3. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001812/181270f.pdf.