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Responsible Living, Concepts, Education and Future Perspectives

  • Published on December 7, 2015
The book, published in 2015, focuses on the challenges of the transition to responsible, sustainable lifestyles and examines developments over the last decade in relation to: - the creation of awareness of consumer citizenship, civic involvement and environmental stewarship - research, projects and publications on education for responsible living - the creation and implementation of relevant teaching methods and materials - policies on education for sustainable consumption and lifestyles - global processes for education on sustainable development The articles deal with topics related to policy support, institutional approaches, educators, young people, and local communities. They draw attention to successful initiatives and reflect upon what still needs to be done. The book also looks at the roles that central actors such as PERL (The Partnership for Education and research about Responsible Living) play in this process.

Investigation into and reflection upon the direct and indirect consequences of the choices of individuals make this a constantly developing field of research and action. The book is a compilation of the best papers presented and the 2nd International Conference of the Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL).

This book is structured in five parts. The introduction is followed by four parts that reflect the content and the relevance of topics which are important for PERL. Part II "Advancing Norms and Policies" consists of articles focusing on norms and policies related to responsible living and the challenges of the "value/action gap". Part III "Transforming Learning Environments and Educational Approaches" explores the role that educators and learning environments play in advancing responsible living. Part IV "Empowering Youth and Local Communities" look at youth and local communities in a diversity of settings and the actions they are taking to realise responsible living. Important topics such as citizenship, democracy, and empowerment are addressed also. Part V contains a special interview with Victoria W. Thoresen, founder and director of PERL. This interview describes the creation of the partnership and its evolution to the form it has today in light of global discourses on sustainble ldevelopment and on climate change. The Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living will measure its impact by giving visibility to research done in the field of responsible living and creating joined approaches through partnerships. While partnerships develop new opportunities for the stakeholders involved they also require a readiness for mutual understanding, respect and courage to co-create. The work that has been carried out by PERL, including this publication, has had a significant effect on the partners involved and resulted in changed attitudes and behaviour. Although the partners themselves represent only a small fraction of those who have been exposed to PERL materials and activities, the report confirms that education and research about responsible living does have impact.

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