Education for Sustainable Development

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Education for Sustainable Development: Perspectives from Policy and Practice –
Assignment Instructions and Guidance
The final assignment for the module is a 5,000 word task-based assignment which asks you
to draft an ESD (or CCE or related term) policy for an educational organisation of your
choice. For instance, this might be for a school, a further/ adult education organisation, a
university, or an NGO. This could cover a range of areas of activity within an institution or
organisation, so you can be creative about how you approach this. Do, however, please
speak to your allocated coursework tutor before beginning work on the assignment to
ensure that what you plan to do is appropriate in terms of both topic and scope.
The assignment should include (i) the text of the policy itself (approximately 3,000 words)
followed by (ii) a discussion (approximately 2,000 words) of your rationale for the design
and content of your policy.
The first part of the assignment – the policy – should include the following core elements (in
any order):
An executive summary. This should be a short (250 words or fewer) overview of the
policy. It will act like an abstract and so will not count towards the total word limit
for the assignment.
An introduction setting out the focus and scope of the policy.
A definition of ESD (or CCE or other term) and how it is being used within the policy.
This should include links to relevant literature to support your view/ perspective.
A rationale for the creation of the policy (e.g. why is this needed ). Where there is
literature which supports this (e.g. research on the need for teacher education or
curriculum change, etc.), then you can also include that.
Explanation of the intended audience/ context in which the policy will be used. If you
are writing a policy for a university, for instance, you’ll need to describe the
institutional context (e.g. national/ regional setting, local community, who the
students are, etc.) and who the policy is aimed at (e.g. lecturers in a specific
discipline or across the institution, etc.).
Aims/ intended outcomes of the policy (e.g. what does your policy seek to do ).
Description of educational activities which the policy supports and/ or aims to create
(e.g. this could include teacher education, support for learners, new initiatives,
suggested changes to an existing curriculum, etc.).
Discussion about who will be responsible for implementation of the policy (e.g.
national policy makers, management in the institution or organisation, etc.) and the
type of resources needed.
These core elements can, of course, be supplemented by any other sections or topics of
discussion that are relevant to your specific policy or context, if you wish. It is highly
recommended that you revisit the discussions and examples of policy that we explored in
Weeks 1 and 2, the checklist that you/ your group created about what makes for a ‘good’
ESD policy (Week 1), and the draft outline that you created for Week 10. These will all help
to aid your thinking and the development of your own policy, including considering the
structure and headings you might use for the sections.
The second part of the assignment – the discussion – should provide an explanation of the
literature and examples of policy that you drew on to create your own policy. Given the
short length of the discussion, it does not need to repeat ideas that have been included in
the policy itself. For example, since you will have already defined ESD and explored its
meaning within the policy text, then you do not need to do this again. The discussion should
instead be about explaining (i) why you chose that definition (this might include academic,
professional and/ or personal reasons) and (ii) what it is based upon (e.g. literature, your
experiences).
Questions to consider as you write the discussion might include:
Why did you choose to write this kind of policy
How does it link to your personal interests or professional practice
What key ideas or theories did you draw on to inform your policy
How might your policy support educators or an organisation to address/ embed
issues of sustainability/ climate change within their practice
How is your policy similar or different to others that you reviewed during the
module
What do you think the challenges might be in implementing your policy
Keep in mind that the discussion section is a key way of showing your learning from the
module, so should include references to relevant literature (from the key readings and also
your own independent exploration). It should also illustrate your understanding of key ideas
and debates that we have explored in the module.
Be sure to also include a list of references at the end of the assignment with details of all the
literature that you have cited both within the policy text and the discussion. Please note
that you are welcome to use literature and documents that are written in any language that
is accessible to you, so you do not need to restrict yourself to English language publications.
If you would like to do this, please provide a translation of the publication’s title in the
bibliography (you can put this in brackets next to the title in the original language) so that
tutors/ markers will have an idea of what it is about.
Further Assignment Guidance
There are also a range of other materials provided to help you develop your final
assignment. This includes:
An ‘ESD Module Overview’ grid (posted in the Assessment section in Moodle). This
document shows the ideas and materials that we have explored throughout the
module and indicates how these have been preparing you to complete the final
assignment.
The list below of ‘Guidance questions for further thinking’.
The section on ‘Advice on Writing your Assignment’ below (also included in the
module handbook).
Information on tutorial support, the submission process, word counts and
extenuating circumstances, which are all provided in the module handbook and on
Moodle.
The UCL IOE Marking Criteria which set out what is expected within coursework in
order to achieve each mark. New students starting the programme, on or after
September 2024, are assessed using the Faculty approved numerical grading scale.
Continuing students, enrolled on the programme before September 2024, are
assessed using the Faculty approved letter grading scale. Please refer to the relevant
IOE Grade related criteria for numerical and letter grading scales. The wording of the
Faculty criteria descriptors is identical on both the numerical and letter grading
scales.
Guidance questions for further thinking
Area of interest What sort of policy am I interested in creating
How does it relate to me, my context and experience
Are there any existing educational policies that I can look at
as examples to guide me
Structure How am I structuring this assignment
What is the order of the sections and why
What is the balance between the sections in terms of
length
Use of academic literature What kinds of literature and previous research can I draw
on to inform my development of an ESD policy
What kinds of literature and previous research can I draw
on to support my rationale for the design (e.g. focus,
content, approach) of my ESD policy
Which writers am I going to draw on
Which readings from the module am I going to
incorporate
What wider literature am I going to use
What wider sources of information are available, for
example from organisations or websites
Advice on Writing Your Assignment
Below are some general suggestions about writing this assignment:
It is always a good idea to include a clear introduction to your assignment, saying
what the focus of the assignment is and giving an outline of the overall structure.
This will help your reader to understand the key points/ arguments you plan to
address. Since this assignment has two distinct parts – the policy and the discussion
– it is a good idea to include a brief introduction to each part separately.
Consider the focus of your assignment and the key topics that you want to cover in
your policy and discussion. It will not be possible to include everything that we have
explored in the module, so you need to make sure that what you plan to do is
feasible within the word count. Keep in mind that it is usually better to explore a few
issues/ topics in depth and to clearly show your learning and understanding of these.
If you try to cover a large number of issues, you are likely to only have space to talk
about each very briefly and not in sufficient depth.
Make sure that you link your policy and discussion to the relevant literature in order
to show your knowledge of key debates in ESD (and any related terms that are
relevant), as well as your familiarity with key writers/ ideas. This should include
literature that we have explored in the module as well as other literature that you
have found through your own searches.
Consider the different audiences for each part of the assignment and what tone is
needed in your writing. The audience for a policy document, for example, is different
to that of a course tutor. The tone of the policy document is therefore likely to be
more formal. The discussion will be more academic in tone, but will also refer to
your own ideas, learning and practice so can use the first person (‘I think…’, ‘my
understanding is….’, etc.).
Remember that a policy is a strategic document – so it is not the same as a teaching
resource or guide, which is largely about sharing information and ideas. In other
words, a policy should set out a clear set of aims, and these should then be
supported by details of actions/ activities to help achieve them.
Be sure to make it clear who the author/ organisation of the policy is. This might be
an individual (e.g. a headteacher) or a group (e.g. a school committee, an NGO). This
will be the ‘voice’ or ‘viewpoint’ from which you create your draft policy. In other
words, consider who is writing the policy and why they think it is needed.
Don’t be afraid to be creative when drafting your policy. You are welcome to include
images, diagrams, a cover page, etc. to make it look like a ‘real’ published policy! This
can make it visually exciting and engaging for a reader.
Avoid using the passive tense (e.g. ‘It has been said that…’) when writing. This comes
across as somewhat vague and general. Instead, make it very clear to your reader
where particular ideas are coming from. If an idea comes from the literature, for
instance, then cite it properly. If it comes from a module discussion, then simply say
this in the text (e.g. ‘In our group discussion in the module we discussed…’). If it is
your own idea, or you are reflecting on your learning and practice, then you should
use the first person (e.g. ‘In my professional experience…’).
Using Literature
The best assignments go beyond the key readings that are provided for the module. This is a
clear way of showing that you have begun to independently explore the relevant literature,
and to develop your familiarity with key debates and concepts in the wider field.
Overall, when including literature in your discussion, try to use it as way of supporting your
own ideas and arguments, rather than simply describing what particular authors think of a
topic. Otherwise, an essay can end up reading like a ‘list’ of ideas, rather than an academic
argument. Keep in mind that one of the main requirements of writing at Master’s level is an
ability to write critically/ analytically, so this is an important consideration.
Structure and organisation
It is often easier to read an assignment if there are some visual clues to the reader as to
where the main ideas start and stop, so most students use section headings to help with
this. The assignment still needs to read like a coherent piece of writing with flow and sense
of direction, so it should not be chopped up too much, but some indication of the main
stages in the structure is helpful.
Referencing
All coursework on the MA programme should use the Harvard system of referencing. Be
sure to consult the referencing guidelines available in the Assessment section in Moodle and
to follow them. In particular, we ask that all referencing is done within the text. Footnotes
are not necessary, and do count towards the overall word count, so there is not a great deal
of advantage in using them.
Presentation
Although it may seem obvious, it is important to present your work in a way that is easy to
read and follow. For instance, be sure to use a reasonable size of font (11pt minimum) and
run a spelling/ grammar check to find any typos/ mistakes which might undermine the
clarity of your writing. It can also be helpful to have a friend or colleague read your work to
check for errors. Make sure that you include a cover sheet (available in the Assessment
section in Moodle) so that your work is easily identifiable.
**If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact the module leader or your
small group tutor. You can also post questions or topics for discussion to your fellow students
and/ or the module leader in the ‘Assessment Q&A’ discussion space in the Assessment
section in Moodle.

Education for Sustainable Development最先出现在KJESSAY历史案例。