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Charles Alexander Hopkins

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Charles Alexander "Chuck" Hopkins is an educator who is best known for his contributions to the concept of education for sustainable development.

He was born in 1940 in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, and lives in Toronto. In 1999, following a career in formal education as a principal and superintendent, he became the inaugural UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability at York University in Toronto.[1]

Teaching

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Hopkins has previously worked for the Toronto District School Board as the principal of the Island Public/Natural Science School and the Boyne River Natural Science School, as a regional school superintendent, and as superintendent of curriculum.[2][3][4]

Education for sustainable development

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Hopkins describes education for sustainable development (ESD) as:[5]

Enough, for all, forever. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is the contribution that the world’s education, public awareness, and training systems can make to society’s quest for a more sustainable future.[6]

When the UNESCO Chair for Reorienting Education towards Sustainability was established in 1999, it was the first chairship to focus on ESD. The aim of the UNESCO Chair, according to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, was to facilitate the creation of a "pilot network of teacher education institutions" working on ESD.[7] The United Nations General Assembly has recognized ESD as a key enabler of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.[8][9][10]

Hopkins was one of the first to apply overarching concepts of sustainable development to education.[11][12][13] His advocacy for ESD has included speeches promoting outdoor education in the 1960s and international involvement in developing environmental education in the 1970s. Hopkins also advocates for hands-on engagement as a pedagogical tool. In a 1973 textbook for elementary students, he emphasized school development and neighbourhood exploration as a way for students to become engaged in hands-on learning.[14] He presented to the Brundtland Commission in 1986.[15]

As part of the UN preparation for the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1991/92, together with John Smyth, Hopkins helped draft Chapter 36 of Agenda 21: Education, Public Awareness and Training.[16][17] In 1992, he organized and chaired the World Congress for Education and Communication on Environment and Development Conference (ECO-ED) in Toronto, the first international education and communication conference following the summit. The event was considered one of the 'Canadian milestones' in the efforts towards educating for sustainability.[18][19]

Hopkins has published widely on the importance of engaging education in implementing sustainable development, and was an early advocate for this approach.[20][21] He has been involved in UNESCO's education efforts since 1999. He has also chaired the writing and adoption processes of two global UNESCO ESD Declarations: the Bonn Declaration on ESD (2009), marking the mid-point of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), and the Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on ESD (2014), which marked the end of the UNDESD and the launch of the Global Action Programme on ESD.[22][23][24]

In addition to his ESD work with UNESCO, he worked with the United Nations University Institute for the Advancement of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) in creating the Global Network of the Regional Centers of Expertise in ESD.[25][26]

Research

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Hopkins coordinates two global ESD research networks, the International Network of Teacher Education Institutions and the #IndigenousESD.[27][28] The first network is composed of teacher education institutions spanning 50 countries and focuses on enhancing ESD in pre-service and in-service teacher training. The INTEI network became known for its recommendations on how to reorient teacher education to infuse sustainability in 2005.[29][30] The second network, covering 40 countries, aims to embed sustainability in curricula to improve the education of Indigenous youth and informed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when addressing the opportunities in a post-pandemic world.[31]

Hopkins currently pursues research and activities with a focus on the whole-institution approach towards sustainability as recommended as a promising tool to create holistic changes by UNESCO.[32]

Honours

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Hopkins has received honorary doctorates from Uppsala University in Sweden (2006), the National University of Trujillo in Peru (2011), and Okayama University in Japan (2019). In 2022, he received a Clean 50 Lifetime Achievement Award for his efforts in connecting education to business and industry in Canada and globally.[33] [34][35][36]

As a result of safeguarding the Lithuanian treaties over several decades during the Cold War, which he returned to Lithuania in 2022,[37] Hopkins received the Lithuanian State Award on Statehood Day (July 6). The award was presented by the republic's president, Gitanas Nausėda.[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Charles Hopkins (he/him)". UNESCO Chair in Reorienting Education towards Sustainability. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  2. ^ Cumming, Roy George (1998). "The educational impacts of the Boyne River Natural Science School: Twenty-five years later (Ontario)". Thesis Wilfried Laurier University (Canada).
  3. ^ Smith, Cameron (12 April 2008). "Empty school mocks Toronto's green pledges". Toronto Star.
  4. ^ City News Toronto (23 September 2021). "TDSB to open Indigenous Land-Based Learning site at former Boyne Natural Science School". City News Toronto.
  5. ^ Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE) (2022). "Accord on Education for a Sustainable Future".
  6. ^ Hopkins, Charles (2009). "Enough for All, Forever: the Quest for a More Sustainable Future". Education Canada. 49 (4): 42–46.
  7. ^ "Implementation of the international work programme on education, public awareness and training. Report of the Secretary-General". United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. 19–30 April 1999. p. 5.
  8. ^ United Nations (2023). "Education for sustainable development in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".
  9. ^ UNESCO (2022). Knowledge-driven actions: Transforming higher education for global sustainability. Independent Expert Group on the Universities and the 2030 Agenda. Paris (France): UNESCO. p. 14.
  10. ^ United Nations (2017). "Education for sustainable development in the framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".
  11. ^ Hopkins, Charles (1991). "Environmental Education--A New Priority". Journal of Outdoor Education. 25: 3–6.
  12. ^ Hopkins, Charles (1991). "From awareness to action". UNESCO Courier. July 1991: 42–43.
  13. ^ Government of the Czech Republic in cooperation with UNESCO (1997). "Education and Sustainability: Means, Opportunities and Obstacles". United Nations Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development (UN DPCSD). Workshop on Education and Public Awareness for Sustainable Development. 28 November to 1 December 1995. Pruhonice/Prague, Czech Republic.: 52–61.
  14. ^ Hopkins, Charles (1973). Ecology. Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada. ISBN 9780039221027.
  15. ^ World Commission on Environment and Development. Archive Collection. Chronology of the Work of the World Commission. Summary. (30 October 1986). Summary of Written Submissions. Presented in Connection with the Public Hearings of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Ottawa, Canada, May 26-28, 1986. Environment Canada. p. 115.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  16. ^ "John Smyth A founding father of environmental education". The Herald. 2005.
  17. ^ Hopkins, Charles (2012). "Reflections on 20+ Years of ESD". Journal of Education for Sustainable Development. 6 (1): 21–35. doi:10.1177/097340821100600108 – via Sage.
  18. ^ Gordon, Donald M. (1993). "ECO-ED: rhetoric or progress?". Futures. 25 (1): 98–99. doi:10.1016/0016-3287(93)90122-A – via Science Direct.
  19. ^ Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) (2010). "Developing a Pan-Canadian ESD Framework for Collaboration and Action - Background Paper".
  20. ^ York University (2024). "Publications and references of the UNESCO Chair".
  21. ^ Hopkins, Charles; Damlamian, Jeannie; Lopez Ospina, Gustavo (1996). "Evolving towards education for sustainable development". Nature and Resources. 32 (3): 2–11 – via UNESCO.
  22. ^ UNESCO (2009). "Bonn Declaration on ESD".
  23. ^ UNESCO. "Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development".
  24. ^ UNESCO (2015). "UNESCO Global Action Programme on ESD".
  25. ^ UNESCO-UNEVOC. "Meeting with Experts from the Regional Centre for Expertise on ESD".
  26. ^ United Nations University (2024). "United Nations University Institute for the Advancement of Sustainability (UNU-IAS)".
  27. ^ York University (2024). "The International Network of Teacher Education Institutions, associated with the UNESCO Chair".
  28. ^ Kohl, Katrin (2019). "ESD for All: Learnings from the #IndigenousESD Global Research". JTES. 22 (21(2)): 105–120. doi:10.2478/jtes-2019-0020. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  29. ^ UNESCO (2005). "Guidelines and recommendations for reorienting teacher education to address sustainability". UNESCO.
  30. ^ Tilbury, D.; Mulà, I. (2023). Learning from thirty years of experience: Case studies in teacher education for sustainability (PDF). EENEE report.
  31. ^ Kohl, Katrin (2020). "Learnings from the #IndigenousESD Global Research: Twenty-First Century Competencies for All Learners". JTES. 22 (2): 90–103. doi:10.2478/jtes-2020-0018. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  32. ^ Hopkins, Charles (2021). "A whole-institution approach towards sustainability: a crucial aspect of higher education's individual and collective engagement with the SDGs and beyond". International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. 23 (2): 218–236. doi:10.1108/ijshe-10-2020-0398. hdl:10315/38576.
  33. ^ "List of honorary doctorates at the university".
  34. ^ "Honorary doctorate awarded to Professor Charles Hopkins from York University, Canada". 28 November 2019.
  35. ^ Clean 50 (2022). "Clean 50 Awards Nominees".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Randall Anthony Communications (21 April 2022). "Reorienting education towards sustainable development".
  37. ^ Chase, Steven (2023). "The lost treaties of Lithuania: priceless diplomatic treasures found in Toronto". The Globe and Mail.
  38. ^ York University (14 July 2022). "Y-File Article: Charles Hopkins Receives Lithuanian State Award".
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