Eco-Socialism Education in Cuba: Some Reflections on Global Alternatives

Many innovative ways to achieve SDG 4 have been proposed, but almost immediately upon being uttered, they are met with a common refrain: “If only we had the time/money/power/coherence to really do it…” In the case of... [ view full abstract ]

Many innovative ways to achieve SDG 4 have been proposed, but almost immediately upon being uttered, they are met with a common refrain: “If only we had the time/money/power/coherence to really do it…” In the case of pedagogies of sustainability, there is a severe lack of all the aforementioned: schools are increasingly privatized, funding for education continues to lag behind need, teachers are put in impossible situations and blamed for their lack of results, and no one can decide whose responsibility it really is to ensure that the planet has a sustainable future. In this context, the Cuban education system represents an intriguing look at what happens when time, power, and coherence all work together to ensure that sustainability is not only part of pedagogy in the classroom, but also in extension with community members and all families. As a socialist country with a largely command economy, Cuba has managed to ensure that pedagogy is not a question of tests and degrees, but rather one of school, family, community, and country. Most notably, in recent years, the concept of a pedagogy of sustainability has been embraced at all levels of education and government in Cuba, and as such, it has been a major focus of curriculum and classroom practice. In such a situation, it is possible to investigate what happens when all our normal limitations are overcome in education for sustainability. This paper thus investigates Cuban pedagogies of sustainability in environmental education, focusing specifically on how institutes of pedagogy are implementing sustainability and environmental concerns at all levels. Based on a phenomenological investigation of individuals at pedagogical institutes in two main provinces in Cuba, the researcher identifies several themes which support ongoing pedagogies of sustainability and examines the possibilities for implementing them in non-socialist countries.