Education for sustainability: a priority or an “add on”?

The term “sustainability” has no “universally accepted” definition (Davis, 2010, p. 2). However, there has been a more recent shift in the use of terminology from purely “Environmental Education” to “Education for Sustainability” to explain the role education plays in encouraging and understanding “sustainable living” as an interdependence between humans, other species and the environment (Davis, 2010, p. 2). In Australia, Education for Sustainability (EfS) has been part of the national agenda for over 30 years (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2009). One of the first major moves towards joining the global trends was in 1984 with the National Conservation Strategy for Australia that focused on educating communities towards sustainable development and conservation (Gough, 2011).