'Who am I, what can I do, what do I want'?

Katrien Van Poeck: "Education has three functions: qualification, socialisation and personality formation. By qualification, we mean the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences. Socialisation is about living together: at school, pupils practice how they relate to others. Personality formation is about developing one's own identity, the search for answers to questions such as 'who am I, what can I do, what do I want?'. In the classroom, the latter often remains underexposed. ESD offers a great opportunity to address that."

"In education, one of those functions always steps into the limelight. But the others remain present in the background and can step forward at any time, whether you want to as a teacher or not. Suddenly, your teaching activity takes on additional meaning. In his work, Leif Östman calls this 'companion meanings' [1]. He describes how biology students learn to identify marine animals during a field trip. They pull marine animals loose from the bottom to study them later."

"In the foreground, those students are doing qualification. But when one of them tries to pull a sea animal loose, she notices how the animal doesn't just release, and that experience provokes personality formation. Suddenly she becomes aware of her new identity as a scientist, as a manipulator of nature. And she may feel that is not what she wants. Unintentionally, personality formation arises, even though the teacher did not intend that with this assignment [2].

"Personality formation can often occur when working with local sustainability issues. Not only when the teacher consciously tries to enable that. Also by confronting pupils with certain aspects of those problems. Or by a conflict between the way we deal with problems or with each other at school, and the way the pupil experiences it at home. As teachers, we need to be aware that education is more than just qualifying and socialising. That we need to provide space for that personality formation, need to be open to those moments."

"After the discussion, the pupils filled in a questionnaire. What turned out: several pupils actually did not agree at all with the rest of the class, but they did not show it during the discussion. On the questionnaire, they did indicate that they did not share their classmates' world view at all, and that they would not want to live in a world ruled according to that view. So you can create opportunities for personality formation as a teacher, but pupils may decide not to express a dissenting opinion in a discussion. For whatever reason."

"As a teacher, you have an ethical responsibility, you have to be careful when discussing controversial issues as an opportunity for personality formation. Because if the discussion erupts, you can jeopardise social relations in the classroom. A delicate balancing act: is attention to opposing views appropriate, in that classroom, with those pupils, at that time? Sustainability issues can be hugely sensitive. Whether or not to eat meat, whether it is responsible to go on holiday by plane. In such discussions, pupils actually admit political colours. Some pupils are more vulnerable in that respect than others, and we have to take that into account."

"At the same time, the classroom is a valuable training ground. Even without teacher intervention, social conflicts arise at school. Then, as a teacher, you can look at where those conflicts derail, and how to prevent them. By looking for methodologies to reflect in a safe way. In this way, even a writing assignment can provide opportunities for personhood and yet pupils don't have to expose themselves in front of the class."

"When the school assumes its role as a place of practice, we learn to deal better with mutual tensions. Our society benefits when people can disagree in a respectful manner. That is for a piece of socialising: how do I engage in dialogue with people who have very different opinions? Hugely important that we give young people the opportunity to learn that."

"'Am I allowed to voice my own opinions?' Teachers struggle with that question. And with their role as role models, because what is the right example? With sustainability issues, there is often uncertainty about what is the right solution now. As a teacher, you need to remain aware of your responsibility and position of power at all times. But at the same time, it is also valuable to live out personality formation, to show what you think is important and what questions you yourself have."

"For my PhD, I observed a group of pupils visiting a biodynamic CSA farm [4; 5]. The farmer took the role of teacher. He showed very clearly what he stood for and explained why he made certain choices, what was at stake for him. At the same time, he made it clear to the pupils that he did not simply expect them to share his point of view. And encouraged them to say something if they disagreed with him."

"At first the pupils did not contradict him, but after a while they did question his views. By showing what he stood for, the farmer gave a touchstone to the pupils, a position that allowed them to take a stand for themselves. He imparted his beliefs without indoctrinating the pupils. Those who find that delicate balance create the right conditions in their classrooms and schools for personality formation."

This interview was made possible by the UNI4ST project (European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 843437), the SEAS project (European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, grant agreement No 824522) and the 'Open schooling for sustainable cities and communities' project (Formas grant 2018-01427).