A green manifesto for art, craft and design education

Abstract

In the challenging - and frightening - times in which we now live, education is seen as playing a key role in making change for the better. However, the Department for Education’s (2022) strategy on education for sustainability and climate change, applicable to schools in England, is lacking in many areas and fails to address students’, teachers’, and teacher educators’ priorities (Dunlop & Rushton 2022). Crucially, the environment and climate emergency greatly concerns many children and young people and these issues should be addressed across the whole curriculum, not just in geography and science (Teach the Future 2022a). Further, there needs to be more focus on emotions rather than facts, wellbeing rather than the economy. So, the question is: How can we ‘green’ art, craft and design education to ensure it is both effective and affective? According to Sullivan (2021, 414), art can change the world because it is ‘homeless, endless, and edgeless’ - this sounds exciting but does not aid teachers in curriculum design. In this paper I will share an emergent manifesto for an environmentally responsible art, craft and design (ACD) curriculum...