On 5 and 6 December ELIA facilitated its last two days of training in Systems Thinking as part of its Ecological Literacy Program for 18 Catholic Schools in Mauritius. Throughout the two days it became clear that we all understand Systems Thinking concepts and that we find them quite appealing. Through discussions on day one, teachers expressed their willingness and support for teaching Systems Thinking Principles, applying it in their field of expertise and learning together with their students how to contribute to a more ecologically sustainable world. The common challenge, however seemed to be the application of Systems Thinking into practice: How do we facilitate co-creation and co-learning? How do we organise ourselves in an ecological way, and how do we co-create living networks that are collaborative and foster learning and development of the whole system? And most importantly, how can we support our educational systems to become a Learning System for Sustainability?

There was a shared understandings that we need to look beyond conventional education for answers.  Conventional education systems are based on and informed by a Mechanistic World View: a World View that brings forth the systems that decouple, fragmentise and divide our interconnectedness. In his presentation, Dr. Smitsman spoke about his own studies and that of his colleagues working in the field of Ecological Psychology, and demonstrated how this Mechanist World View has also distorted our ideas and understandings about learning and development. Dr. Smitsman clarified how we as infants are natural system ‘sensors’ and system ‘actors’. Infants naturally explore their networks of relationships and learn through interconnectedness. He further shared how the teachers can apply four key principles of learning and development in their work with students. These basic principles form the foundation for the further development of key relational skills that each contribute to competencies for ecological living.

On day two in a workshop for relational practices, teachers were able to explore and practice facilitation of learning in an experiential way and working with resistance from a system’s perspective. It became clear to many that practice of Ecological Literacy is very different from understanding it conceptually. Through role play, teachers helped us understand their daily struggles with students, parents and school management. The teachers experienced difficulty in explaining systems thinking terminology, especially when instruction given was to use examples of it rather than definition. Teachers also got to experience unexpected resistance to changing their style of teaching. After the workshop, we opened up the floor to feedback and sharing of observations. Three main themes emerged: the importance of acknowledging the power dynamics, the underlying belief-patterns of these power dynamics, and our reaction-patterns to resistance to change.

As participant “resource persons” and observers, both of us saw the need for time and space for people to share their experiences, their ideas and challenges. We were inspired by the stories these teachers shared, their ‘can do’ attitude and a shared belief that happiness and development of children is the purpose of their work. This two day training also helped us realise that eco-literacy is not aimed at only teaching about caring for nature and each other – rather, it’s a learning experience for everyone, where both teachers and students learn how to relate to the living earth and to each other in a caring, engaged manner. This is the kind of learning that leads to development of the whole educational systems as a living learning system.  And furthermore, it makes learning more effective, practical and enjoyable, and prepares us to become “facilitators” for Change for Sustainability.

There is much more work to be done, yet the beginning of this deeper change has awakened through direct personal experience of what this is about. In 2012 ELIA will continue with Phase II of this Ecological Literacy Program with the Bureau of Catholic Education (BEC), supported by this dedicated network of teachers and their rectors, the driven Bishop of Mauritius and the very enthusiastic director Gilberte Chung!

P.S. Photos are available on our facebook page.

Written by Maja Zidov, Xavier Koenig, and Anneloes Smitsman