The Role of Education and Lifelong Learning in Sustainable Rural Development

plenary session

Dr. Rhys EvansIntegrate Consulting,Highland Perthshire

Scotland UK

Euracademy 5th Summer Academy

Introduction

Change, Learning

and Rural Development

Sustainability

Local Global

What is sustainability?

Stewardship Of environment

Of resources Of identity

Principles of Justice Social Justice Environmental Justice

Types of sustainability

Environmental

Economic

Social and Cultural

Sustainability and Time

Present

Past

Future

Learning as a mechanism for coping with change

An Ecological metaphor Learning functions as diversity in ability of

community to respond to change. Old knowledges, new knowledges, all are

important in development.

2: Changing rural development

Economic change Social change Environmental change Technological change Policy Change

Economic Change in Rural Europe

Primary sector economic activity Secondary sector Tertiary sector Quaternary sector

European change in emphasis from primary (production) to tertiary (services and consumption).

The new consumption economy

Consumption-in-Place Retains landscape features and is thus

sustainable Brings higher value than pure commodity

harvesting Otherwise-neglected local resources/assets are

integral to producing high value added services and products

In mass Global Market, local ‘isolation’ becomes an asset, not a liability.

Local ‘distinctiveness’ is key marketing tool – “there is no place like this….”

Place-marking Places Products Services

New consumption economy

Environmental change in rural Europe

Cross-border environmental issues Acid rain Water quality

Impact of agriculture and forestry Overproduction

Impact of urbanisation Growth, suburbanisation, counter-urbanisation.

Technological change in rural Europe

isolation Improved transport networks, linking formerly

isolated places to core markets New transport technologies reduce price for

goods and people presence

IT, rural broadband Lower call rates, mobile phone access

Policy change in rural Europe

EU development policy ‘Second Pillar’ – the environment

new regulation of rural environment Moves to change ordering of Agriculture and Rural

Development CAP support -- from production to ???? Modulation

Implicit support for community-led development at heart of sustainability LEADER

3: Development and Community

Putting the Community into Rural Development in Europe Changing governance Increased neo-liberalisation retreat from ‘food mountains’ to quality of rural

landscape Impact and importance of sustainability

Asset-based approaches to rural community development

Asset-based Rural Community Development (ABRCD) Sustainable Livelihoods

(UNDP, UK Dffid) Five Capitals Model

UK Sustainable Development Commission Asset-Based Community Development

Cody Institute, Nova Scotia, Canada Carnegie UK Rural Commission

ABRCD

Five Capitals model

‘Capitals’ are assets. Some are material Some are Intangible Some belong outside community Some belong within community All are necessary parts of sustainable

development

Five Capitals

Natural Human Social Manufactured Financial

Natural Capital

Biodiversity, flora & fauna Landscape character Soils Water Air and climate Minerals and other non-renewables

Human Capital

Employment and skills base Education and training Health and well-being Leadership and trust

Social Capital

Leadership and trust Community cohesion A sense of place Stakeholder networks and processes

Manufactured Capital

Archeology Buildings and Built Heritage Transport infrastructure, traffic and access

networks Processes and waste products Energy production and Consumption IT and telecommunications

Financial Capital

Private Capital Business investment Infrastructure investment IT and digital industry investment Land ownership

Public Capital CAP Rural programmes Environment, sustainability Local authority expenditure Community land acquisition

Five Capitals/Assets

These Capitals are the assets communities bring to the development table.

Knowledge Assets are expressed by individuals but can be a collective resource

Not limited to culture items such as music or food. Can include ways of working, the importance of local networks to mobilize development, and other assets which contribute to enterprise

4: Changing Education

Education and Community Development Education and Sustainability Education and economic development Learning and Livelihood

Learning – formal, non-formal?

Formal Primary, Secondary, Higher Education Accredited learning

Trade Skills Vocational Skills Language Skills IT Skills Business, Enterpreneurship

Learning – formal, non-formal?

Non-formal Non-accredited learning

Land-based Food, buildings and architecture, husbandry

Local language and culture products Local narratives, local place identities Important role for people

Life-long Learning

Learning

Challenge

Change

Life-long Learning

Builds robustness in the face of change Is of use to all ages Crosses formal and non-formal education Ensures continuity of knowledge

Place-based Education

“can be characterized as structured learning in issues of local history, culture, language, environment, and economy.

This approach to teaching and learning

represents a general orientation which focuses on local resources”

Eric Romero. USA

Place-based Education

“place-based education serves both individuals and communities,

helping individuals to experience the value they hold for others

and allowing communities to benefit from the commitment and contributions of their members”

Gregory Smith, USA

Place-based Education

Two aspects Research

Gathering local knowledges Using students or community members to do

research Dissemination

Teaching through formal and non-formal channels

Often inter-generational

Place-based Education

Ensures that individual knowledge, at risk of dying away, becomes collective knowledge, a collective resource.

Turns this knowledge into an Asset for the Community.

Provides both the raw material (knowledges), and a process (learning) through which individuals gain the knowledge to engage in self-development, personally and economically

Place-based Education

Contributes to sustainable development by: reinforcing local cultures and identities, making available key assets for collective and

individual development Increasing local pride, especially amongst the

young Increases social interaction across

generations, increases social capital and collective capacity

Place-based Education

Can take place in a school Can take place in a community centre Encompasses the outdoors and external

environment Can operate at as small or as large a scale as

necessary

5: Learning as a resource for sustainable development

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Local changes Global changes New opportunities for rural distinction

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Social change Economic change Political change

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

New challenges Decline of traditional role of rural Europe as sole

provider of raw commodities Loss of young people Increase of environmental and other regulation Encroachment of urban and global cultures on

local society

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Opportunities Growth of consumption sector Growth of distance working and IT New values for ‘natural’ environments New opportunities for aspects of rural culture

which were previously under-valued.

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Learning Place-based education captures heritage and

local knowledges and turns them into a community asset

Learning to manage new technologies allows rural residents to directly reach distant markets

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Lifelong learning Takes place across formal and non-formal

sectors Takes place at all ages, and at all levels of formal

education Part-time and distance learning can fit into rural

lifestyles and demands.

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Is the key to turning knowledge into an Asset Is the essential connector between the global

and the local Supports heritage knowledges and new

innovations equally

Lifelong learning and sustainable rural development

Is a key component of sustainable development at the levels of environment, economy and society.

Group task

Gather in small groups, not from the same area.

Take copy of Five Capitals table. Using flipchart, make new detailed table Take each category in the Five Capitals table

and Operationalize it – devise concrete examples of each Capital

Return to discuss and produce a master table

Example 1 Human Capital – employment and skills base

Human Capital Employment and Skills Base

Land-based skills Building trades Farming trades Forestry trades Domestic trades

Service sector skills Hospitality Local cuisine Tours and interpretation Consumer services

Example 2 – natural capital -- water

Water Quality Historic supply channels Current challenges Uses

Drinking Industry Power generation