Sustainable Designs for Living and Learning (SDLL): Embedding multilingualism into Learning for Sustainability
Team
Professor Lavinia Hirsu (lead)
CenTCS
University of Glasgow
Professor Alison Phipps
School of Education
University of Glasgow
Dr Dobrochna Futro
CenTCS
Institution
Dr Pinar Aksu
School of Education
University of Glasgow
Fhiona Mackay
SCILT
Karen Faulds
SCILT
Jane Catlin
University of Strathclyde
Abstract
The language of sustainability continues to be English. The UNESCO competencies framework on Education for Sustainability (EfS) makes no mention of multilingualism in shaping and supporting human-environment ecologies. Yet, learners have the right to their own languages as these resources help them understand their environments, sustain different knowledge systems, and provide creative solutions to current sustainability crises. Our project embeds multilingualism into Learning for Sustainability in Scotland (LfS) within the context of Scottish primary schools. This 3-year research project is designed as an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, local artists, teachers, Learning for Sustainability stakeholders and young learners. We draw on our research expertise in arts-based multilingual approaches and we implement and develop these within an original framework for sustainable living: permaculture design. By the end of this project, we hope that each participating school will have its own multilingual living space where learners and their wider communities can explore and transform their relationships with their socio-natural environments.
Keywords
multilingualism, language learning, sustainability, arts-based