**2. Analytical lens**

Two eminent economists recently stated that "a healthy society is a vast web of cooperative activity sustained by mutual kindness and obligations" [16]. After decades of neoliberalism, some strains more virulent than others, there has been a considerable rise in '*possessive individualism'* and *'market fundamentalism'* [16] that privilege human competitiveness at the expense of our capacity to collaborate constructively. Such dispositions cultivate a mindset: "the more we view ourselves as self-made and self-sufficient the less likely we are to care for the fate of those less fortunate than ourselves" [17]. From an educational perspective this thinking promotes "learning as acquisitiveness, an individual pursuit, essentially that market mechanisms are the primary instruments for achieving the public good" [17]. The consequences are massive erosion of trust, decline in solidarity and a general retreat from public or common good, and these conditions make their way directly and indirectly into public schooling. Such pressures give rise to two languages and attendant logics—that of accountability and professional responsibility, as indicated in **Table 1** below.

**103**

sustainable society for all [19].

**3. Methodology**

*Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges*

• defined by current governance • standardised by contract

• economic/legal rationale • external auditing • predetermined indicators • transparent language • framed by political goals • compliance with employers'/ politicians' decisions

• control

• reactive

This categorisation recognises that accountability language and logic espouses the market assumptions and norms, whereas the language and logic of responsibility include degrees of relative autonomy and professional judgement. As part of our value stance in dealing with the tensions created by these competing and contradictory logics we recognise that it is possible to be accountable while not behaving in a professionally responsible manner; there is a moral dimension to the latter that, for an individual and a member of a profession, is inescapable. Additionally, while asserting that public good should prevail over private gain, from a professional responsibility perspective, it is necessary to recognise that "decision-by-rulebook intentionally eliminates judgement based on tacit knowledge", something that is part of the lifeblood of the teacherlearner encounter [16]. We are obliged to be accountable, this is inescapable, while behaving in a professionally responsible manner is a choice, an inescapable responsibility as professionals. Sustainable futures, even pedagogical futures, depend upon it. Sustainable development necessitates doing things differently to avoid the inadequacies of previous initiatives, while remaining open to the possibilities of what sustainable futures may look like. Moreover, education for sustainable development (ESD) is an approach to education that requires changes in knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to enable a more just and

*The types of logic and implications of professional responsibility and accountability [18].*

National educational policies are part of a wider international framework which requires states to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Obligations arise from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was established in 1994 and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 193 United Nations (UN) member states in 2015 [20]. Education for sustainable development is also supported by international policy initiatives such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) *Global Competence Framework* [21] and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) publications on *Global Citizenship* 

*Education* [22] and *Education for Sustainable Development* [23]. Such initiatives have

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*

• based in professional mandate

• relative autonomy and personally

• situated judgement

• moral rationale • internal evaluation • negotiated standards • implicit language • framed by professions

inescapable • proactive

**Table 1.**

• trust

**Responsibility Accountability**

*Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*


#### **Table 1.**

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

ignore the recurring lesson that 'teachers matter' [12], and are most likely to be central to educational processes into the future. There are compelling reasons for this that provide solid ground on which to build the argument presented in this chapter. First, the pandemic (still with us) has very definitely reinforced the message that 'home schooling' when combined with 'working from home' is not a sustainable 'bargain' between the public and the state; schooling in various forms will need to be sustained into the future. Thus, while flexible working from home arrangements are likely to continue after various vaccines ride to the rescue, respect for teachers, and what schooling in general manages to achieve, has been enhanced in the eyes of parents and public, and maybe even policy-makers. Second, while versions of 'lockdown' necessitated that schools go online, with varying degrees of success, in general, teachers have had to get to grips with technologies to an unprecedented extent, extended by higher education institutions that provide professional support to the profession online, thus 'alien' technologies have become familiar to many; a benefit that provides experience on calibrating the use and effectiveness of various platforms for student engagement, teaching, learning and leading—spawning ongoing reflection and debate. Yet, these actual and potential benefits have made all concerned yearn for face-to-face interactions, formal and informal, as the lifeblood of communication, community, and holistic education. Third, these recent experiences have increased awareness of inequalities due to concern regarding access to: hardware, software, as well as quiet spaces for work and learning, providing further evidence of the necessity for schools as 'safe havens' of challenge, respect and caring. Fourth, such considerations have accentuated the necessity to revisit schooling as a 'public good' [13], something to which Governments need to be committed, providing sustained and adequate resources and in the process, preventing those who see the potential of technologies for profit and the privatisation of teaching and learning, thus exacerbating rather than diminishing inequalities that, in recent years, have been shown repeatedly to have increased [14]. While we readily recognise that, at a time of rapid change, predicting the future has never been more precarious, it is essential to salvage from past and present 'bricolage' [15] as the building blocks of possible futures. Thus, we ask: What pedagogical repertoires provide the most likely prospect of achieving and sustaining educational develop-

Two eminent economists recently stated that "a healthy society is a vast web of cooperative activity sustained by mutual kindness and obligations" [16]. After decades of neoliberalism, some strains more virulent than others, there has been a considerable rise in '*possessive individualism'* and *'market fundamentalism'* [16] that privilege human competitiveness at the expense of our capacity to collaborate constructively. Such dispositions cultivate a mindset: "the more we view ourselves as self-made and self-sufficient the less likely we are to care for the fate of those less fortunate than ourselves" [17]. From an educational perspective this thinking promotes "learning as acquisitiveness, an individual pursuit, essentially that market mechanisms are the primary instruments for achieving the public good" [17]. The consequences are massive erosion of trust, decline in solidarity and a general retreat from public or common good, and these conditions make their way directly and indirectly into public schooling. Such pressures give rise to two languages and attendant logics—that of accountability and professional responsibility, as indicated in

**102**

**Table 1** below.

ment goals?

**2. Analytical lens**

*The types of logic and implications of professional responsibility and accountability [18].*

This categorisation recognises that accountability language and logic espouses the market assumptions and norms, whereas the language and logic of responsibility include degrees of relative autonomy and professional judgement. As part of our value stance in dealing with the tensions created by these competing and contradictory logics we recognise that it is possible to be accountable while not behaving in a professionally responsible manner; there is a moral dimension to the latter that, for an individual and a member of a profession, is inescapable. Additionally, while asserting that public good should prevail over private gain, from a professional responsibility perspective, it is necessary to recognise that "decision-by-rulebook intentionally eliminates judgement based on tacit knowledge", something that is part of the lifeblood of the teacherlearner encounter [16]. We are obliged to be accountable, this is inescapable, while behaving in a professionally responsible manner is a choice, an inescapable responsibility as professionals. Sustainable futures, even pedagogical futures, depend upon it. Sustainable development necessitates doing things differently to avoid the inadequacies of previous initiatives, while remaining open to the possibilities of what sustainable futures may look like. Moreover, education for sustainable development (ESD) is an approach to education that requires changes in knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to enable a more just and sustainable society for all [19].

### **3. Methodology**

National educational policies are part of a wider international framework which requires states to respond to the challenges of the 21st century. Obligations arise from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that was established in 1994 and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 193 United Nations (UN) member states in 2015 [20]. Education for sustainable development is also supported by international policy initiatives such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) *Global Competence Framework* [21] and the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) publications on *Global Citizenship Education* [22] and *Education for Sustainable Development* [23]. Such initiatives have been heavily critiqued from an educational perspective as lacking the transformative intent required to challenge the economic growth models which continue to drive climate change [24]. Nevertheless, in some contexts they have triggered educational reform efforts at national levels [25]. OECD reports on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have also become increasingly influential in education on a global scale [9].

For the purposes of this chapter, we draw on qualitative research that involved a content analysis of the education policies of the OECD and UNESCO since 2014, the year that marked a decade of education for sustainable development [19], while also drawing on international literature and other related empirical work of the authors [13, 26]. This provided a backdrop to the evidence-based recommendations on the future of education by such think tanks as the World Economic Forum [27], the World Bank [28] and the Economists Intelligence Unit, [29]. While the aforementioned are all economic agencies, pre-occupied with preparation for the world of work, rather than providing a 'good' education they are influencing education policy on a global scale by publishing recommendations on pedagogical approaches required for 21st century schooling. Themes discussed below have emerged from a meta-analysis of documents selected from searches undertaken using various combinations of key words such as: trends facing education, education for sustainable development, 21st century skills, digital technology in education and 21st century teacher competencies. The most prominent of these documents are summarised in


**105**

*Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges*

**Table 2** and are included in the reference list. A systematic examination of these policy documents revealed a number of recurring considerations as pivotal triggers for change in education and the expectations regarding teachers' capacity and

Using inductive analysis, three main pedagogical themes emerged from the research, teachers' capacity for: a) adaptive expertise and collaborative practice; b) technology enhanced learning and c) the fostering of 21st century skills, while these are considered through the lens of accountability-professional responsibility and sustainable development. Analysis here gains in significance by providing indepth scrutiny of policy content, not for the purposes of generalisation, but rather to influence future deliberations on policy and practice as a contribution to shaping possible futures, in an open-ended rather than a prescriptive manner, leaving room for other voices as to how such policy items may be tailored to particular needs, while seeking to build and expand pedagogical repertoires through practical know

**4. Teachers' capacity and competence for adaptive expertise and** 

There are many 'trends' shaping education including: increasing global population climate change, pressure on living space for humans, increased risks of pandemics, income inequality, globalisation, and increased pervasiveness of technology in our lives all of which demand a systemic and rapid response from education systems all around the world [34]. UNESCO is entrusted to lead and coordinate the *Education 2030 Agenda* [35], which is part of a global movement to eradicate poverty through 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Education, essential to achieve all of these goals, has its own dedicated Goal 4, which aims to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". The OECD's *Education 2030* aims to help education systems determine the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students need to thrive in and shape their future and "contributes to the UN 2030 Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs), aiming to ensure the sustainability of people, profit, planet and peace, through partnership" [32]. The OECD [34] assert that in a complex and rapidly changing world, the discernible role of education in supporting the SDGs might necessitate the restructuring of formal and informal learning environments, and reimagining education content and delivery. Moreover, as knowledge of human development and learning is expanding exponentially the potential to shape more effective educational practices as suggested by Darling Hammond et al. [38] has

Making the most of these advances, however, requires assimilating insights across multiple fields and connecting them to knowledge of successful approaches that are emerging in education [38]. Enabling teachers to acquire 'adaptive expertise' or 'adaptive competence" required to apply meaningfully learned knowledge and skills flexibly and creatively across different contexts in a globalised society [39] is important and will require teachers to work with other stakeholders. This is not a new concept however, and there is a considerable literature that recognises the importance of 'improvisation' as an integral dimension of the teaching-learning encounter [40]. More than a century ago, Dewey [41, 42] not only re-conceived the way that learning should happen, but also the role that the teacher should play in the process of learning [43, 44]. For Dewey, it is not enough for the classroom teacher to be a lifelong learner of the techniques and subject-matter of education; they must aspire to share what they know with others in their learning community [45].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*

competencies within this reform agenda.

how, thus sustaining development.

**collaborative practice**

also increased (see **Table 3**. below).

#### **Table 2.**

*Chronology of salient policies analysed as part of this study.*

*Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*

**Table 2** and are included in the reference list. A systematic examination of these policy documents revealed a number of recurring considerations as pivotal triggers for change in education and the expectations regarding teachers' capacity and competencies within this reform agenda.

Using inductive analysis, three main pedagogical themes emerged from the research, teachers' capacity for: a) adaptive expertise and collaborative practice; b) technology enhanced learning and c) the fostering of 21st century skills, while these are considered through the lens of accountability-professional responsibility and sustainable development. Analysis here gains in significance by providing indepth scrutiny of policy content, not for the purposes of generalisation, but rather to influence future deliberations on policy and practice as a contribution to shaping possible futures, in an open-ended rather than a prescriptive manner, leaving room for other voices as to how such policy items may be tailored to particular needs, while seeking to build and expand pedagogical repertoires through practical know how, thus sustaining development.

## **4. Teachers' capacity and competence for adaptive expertise and collaborative practice**

There are many 'trends' shaping education including: increasing global population climate change, pressure on living space for humans, increased risks of pandemics, income inequality, globalisation, and increased pervasiveness of technology in our lives all of which demand a systemic and rapid response from education systems all around the world [34]. UNESCO is entrusted to lead and coordinate the *Education 2030 Agenda* [35], which is part of a global movement to eradicate poverty through 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Education, essential to achieve all of these goals, has its own dedicated Goal 4, which aims to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all". The OECD's *Education 2030* aims to help education systems determine the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students need to thrive in and shape their future and "contributes to the UN 2030 Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs), aiming to ensure the sustainability of people, profit, planet and peace, through partnership" [32]. The OECD [34] assert that in a complex and rapidly changing world, the discernible role of education in supporting the SDGs might necessitate the restructuring of formal and informal learning environments, and reimagining education content and delivery. Moreover, as knowledge of human development and learning is expanding exponentially the potential to shape more effective educational practices as suggested by Darling Hammond et al. [38] has also increased (see **Table 3**. below).

Making the most of these advances, however, requires assimilating insights across multiple fields and connecting them to knowledge of successful approaches that are emerging in education [38]. Enabling teachers to acquire 'adaptive expertise' or 'adaptive competence" required to apply meaningfully learned knowledge and skills flexibly and creatively across different contexts in a globalised society [39] is important and will require teachers to work with other stakeholders. This is not a new concept however, and there is a considerable literature that recognises the importance of 'improvisation' as an integral dimension of the teaching-learning encounter [40]. More than a century ago, Dewey [41, 42] not only re-conceived the way that learning should happen, but also the role that the teacher should play in the process of learning [43, 44]. For Dewey, it is not enough for the classroom teacher to be a lifelong learner of the techniques and subject-matter of education; they must aspire to share what they know with others in their learning community [45].

*Teacher Education in the 21st Century - Emerging Skills for a Changing World*

in education on a global scale [9].

been heavily critiqued from an educational perspective as lacking the transformative intent required to challenge the economic growth models which continue to drive climate change [24]. Nevertheless, in some contexts they have triggered educational reform efforts at national levels [25]. OECD reports on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have also become increasingly influential

For the purposes of this chapter, we draw on qualitative research that involved a content analysis of the education policies of the OECD and UNESCO since 2014, the year that marked a decade of education for sustainable development [19], while also drawing on international literature and other related empirical work of the authors [13, 26]. This provided a backdrop to the evidence-based recommendations on the future of education by such think tanks as the World Economic Forum [27], the World Bank [28] and the Economists Intelligence Unit, [29]. While the aforementioned are all economic agencies, pre-occupied with preparation for the world of work, rather than providing a 'good' education they are influencing education policy on a global scale by publishing recommendations on pedagogical approaches required for 21st century schooling. Themes discussed below have emerged from a meta-analysis of documents selected from searches undertaken using various combinations of key words such as: trends facing education, education for sustainable development, 21st century skills, digital technology in education and 21st century teacher competencies. The most prominent of these documents are summarised in

**Year Organisation Title Reference**

[19]

[20]

[30]

[36]

[28]

[29]

[37]

2014 UNESCO Shaping the Future We Want - UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

2015 UNESCO Global Citizenship Education [22]

 OECD Education policy outlook 2015: making reforms happen [31] OECD Education for Sustainable Development [23] OECD Global Competency for an Inclusive World [21] OECD Education 2030: The future of education and skills [32] UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers V03 [33] OECD Trends Shaping Education [34] UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development. A roadmap [35]

2015 United Nations Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for

2015 OECD Students, computers and learning: Making the connection

2019 OECD TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School

policy to practice

2020 OECD PISA 2018 Results (Volume VI): Are Students Ready to

of Work

2019 World Bank World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature

Leaders as Lifelong Learners

Thrive in an Interconnected World?

Worldwide Educating for the Future Index 2019: From

The Future of Jobs Report [27]

**104**

**Table 2.**

2019 The Economist

2020 World Economic Forum

Intelligence Unit

*Chronology of salient policies analysed as part of this study.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Practices aligned with the science of learning and development. Adapted from [38].*

Freire [46], like Dewey, believed that each student should play an active role in their own learning, instead of being the passive recipients of knowledge. Consequently, both authors are in agreement that the ideal teacher would be open-minded and confident—confident in their competence while also open-minded to sharing and learning from his or her students [47]. A recent study by Farrell and Marshall [26] in the context of initial teacher education (ITE) found that some student teachers' use of digital pedagogy toppled the typical co-operating teacher/student teacher

**107**

*Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges*

hierarchy, placing the student teacher as mentor to the co-operating teacher. This was particularly true of the recent move to remote learning as a result of Covid 19. The pandemic is also a powerful reminder that education plays a significant role in facilitating not just academic learning, but also in supporting physical, social and emotional well-being. The key, in these instances, is a willingness to collaborate for mutual gain, thus building pedagogical capacity, as well as enhancing pedagogical

Balancing traditional forms of education and learning with wider social and personal development means new roles for all involved in education while seeking simultaneously to provide a holistic education, frequently against the grain of external policies more pre-occupied with preparation for the world of work. Such challenges necessitate melding the old with new, a multi-disciplinary approach to education and requiring "Democratic Pedagogical Partnership" whereby "formal but flexible arrangement between teacher educators and stakeholders who engage in 'collaborative professionalism' improve learning for all students in a variety of contexts through effective pedagogy and practice" [48]. One of the four Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications [49] is that teaching is a 'profession based on partnership: institutions providing teacher education should organise their work collaboratively in partnership with schools, local work environments, work-based training providers and other stakeholders" In further recognition of the role of partnerships in education, the Council of the European

*Teacher education programmes should draw on teachers' own experience and seek to foster cross disciplinary and collaborative approaches, so that education institutions and teachers regard it as part of their task to work in cooperation with* 

In support of this, the OECD [31] advocates that partnerships are central to the fostering of innovative teaching and learning-communities in which there is a bridge between theory and practice and between practitioners and those engaged in academic research. Making this rhetoric a reality will be a challenge even in the most advanced economies. Culture and context matter along with access to the continuing professional development of teachers [36]. Therefore, if governments are to harness the potential of education to have a positive impact on sustainable development, they need to invest in cultivating the most accomplished aspects of pedagogy that exists and can be enhanced by the transformative digital technology increasingly at our disposal. It will be difficult to achieve, and, in the first instance, it will be necessary for the research and policy communities, even in the most advanced economies, to address why pedagogical reform failure, reform fatigue or overload, are getting in the way of more sustainable transformations, more rooted in teacher-

learner engagement, and the efforts necessary to overcome such challenges.

**5. Teachers' capacity and competence for technology enhanced learning**

As indicated above, the Covid 19 pandemic has lent renewed urgency to being adaptive, while also extending pedagogical repertoires to embrace the potential offered by various technologies. More generally, the rapid pace of change and challenges facing the 21st century provides opportunities "and a window for action, as evidenced by the power of digitalisation to transform, connect and empower" [34]. Digital technology is playing a pivotal role in the development of modern economies and societies. This has profound implications for education, both because

*relevant stakeholders such as colleagues, parents and employers.*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*

repertoires through adapting technologies.

Union [50] observes that:

#### *Sustainable Teaching in an Uncertain World: Pedagogical Continuities, Un-Precedented Challenges DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96078*

hierarchy, placing the student teacher as mentor to the co-operating teacher. This was particularly true of the recent move to remote learning as a result of Covid 19. The pandemic is also a powerful reminder that education plays a significant role in facilitating not just academic learning, but also in supporting physical, social and emotional well-being. The key, in these instances, is a willingness to collaborate for mutual gain, thus building pedagogical capacity, as well as enhancing pedagogical repertoires through adapting technologies.

Balancing traditional forms of education and learning with wider social and personal development means new roles for all involved in education while seeking simultaneously to provide a holistic education, frequently against the grain of external policies more pre-occupied with preparation for the world of work. Such challenges necessitate melding the old with new, a multi-disciplinary approach to education and requiring "Democratic Pedagogical Partnership" whereby "formal but flexible arrangement between teacher educators and stakeholders who engage in 'collaborative professionalism' improve learning for all students in a variety of contexts through effective pedagogy and practice" [48]. One of the four Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications [49] is that teaching is a 'profession based on partnership: institutions providing teacher education should organise their work collaboratively in partnership with schools, local work environments, work-based training providers and other stakeholders" In further recognition of the role of partnerships in education, the Council of the European Union [50] observes that:

*Teacher education programmes should draw on teachers' own experience and seek to foster cross disciplinary and collaborative approaches, so that education institutions and teachers regard it as part of their task to work in cooperation with relevant stakeholders such as colleagues, parents and employers.*

In support of this, the OECD [31] advocates that partnerships are central to the fostering of innovative teaching and learning-communities in which there is a bridge between theory and practice and between practitioners and those engaged in academic research. Making this rhetoric a reality will be a challenge even in the most advanced economies. Culture and context matter along with access to the continuing professional development of teachers [36]. Therefore, if governments are to harness the potential of education to have a positive impact on sustainable development, they need to invest in cultivating the most accomplished aspects of pedagogy that exists and can be enhanced by the transformative digital technology increasingly at our disposal. It will be difficult to achieve, and, in the first instance, it will be necessary for the research and policy communities, even in the most advanced economies, to address why pedagogical reform failure, reform fatigue or overload, are getting in the way of more sustainable transformations, more rooted in teacherlearner engagement, and the efforts necessary to overcome such challenges.
