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'We must urgently learn to live differently': the biopolitics of ESD for 2030.

Authors :
Bylund, Linus
Hellberg, Sofie
Knutsson, Beniamin
Source :
Environmental Education Research. Jan 2022, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p40-55. 16p.
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

Recently, the new global policy framework for implementing education for sustainable development (ESD) – ESD for 2030 – was launched officially. Drawing on Foucauldian theory, this paper explores biopolitical elements in ESD for 2030. The paper contributes to previous research on ESD policy by employing a biopolitical perspective, and by highlighting problematic aspects of the framework's will to include and to adapt to different contexts. The analysis brings attention to the framework's notions of life and to how different human populations are separated. Furthermore, the analysis of the framework demonstrates how notions of transformative pedagogy, community, and the individual, assume the functions of biopolitical techniques. The findings point to a biopolitical differentiation where rich and poor populations are assumed to need different educational interventions, adapted to their socio-economic contexts, in the global educational policy quest for sustainable development. Ultimately, we consider the potential of Foucauldian ethics as an affirmative alternative to the current mode of biopolitical differentiation in global ESD policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
13504622
Volume :
28
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Environmental Education Research
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
154955904
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.2002821