EDUCATION AND LAW FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. CHALLENGES AND PENDING CHALLENGES

EDUCACIÓN Y DERECHO PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE. RETOS Y DESAFÍOS PENDIENTES

 

Marily Rafaela Fuentes-Águila¹

E-mail: mfuentes@umet.edu.ec

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4242-8593

Bryan David Díaz-Alava²

E-mail: bdiaz4583@upse.edu.ec

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3486-9666

¹ Universidad Metropolitana. Ecuador.

² Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena. Ecuador.

 

ABSTRACT

Sustainable development is not possible without education and without the intervention of the Law. Educational institutions, which train the new generations of lawyers, have the responsibility that professionals who graduate from universities are capable of contributing to sustainability, that they are aware of the risk and the effects caused by activities such as illegal mining, logging. of trees, failure to care for species, indiscriminate fishing and hunting, among other evils that have been affecting humanity. In any type of professional training, even at all educational levels, environmental education must be a priority. The right of human beings to a healthy, ecologically balanced environment and the debate on the rights of nature and the environment must be protected and focused from legal sciences. The study presented aims to reveal the importance of the relationship between Education, Law and sustainable development and identify the challenges of these sciences for sustainability.

Keywords:

Sustainable development, education, law, sustainability.

 

RESUMEN

El desarrollo sostenible no es posible sin educación y sin la intervención del Derecho. Las instituciones educativas, formadoras de las nuevas generaciones de abogados tienen la responsabilidad de que los profesionales que egresen de las universidades sean capaces de contribuir a la sustentabilidad, que estén conscientes del riesgo y de las afectaciones que producen actividades como la minería ilegal, la tala de los árboles, el no cuidado de las especies, la pesca y la caza indiscriminada, entre otros males que vienen afectando a la humanidad. En cualquier tipo de formación profesional, incluso en todos los niveles educativos, la educación ambiental debe ser prioridad. El derecho de los seres humanos a un ambiente sano, ecológicamente equilibrado y el debate de los derechos propios que tiene la naturaleza y el ambiente deben ser protegidos y enfocados desde las ciencias jurídicas. El estudio que se presenta tiene como objetivo revelar la importancia que tiene la relación entre la Educación, el Derecho y el desarrollo sostenible e identificar los retos y desafíos de estas ciencias para la sustentabilidad.

Palabras clave:

Desarrollo sostenible, educación, derecho, sustentabilidad.

 

INTRODUCTION

When one thinks of establishing a relationship between Education, Law and Sustainable Development, several questions immediately arise about the way in which higher education institutions in Law careers can intervene to promote the development of awareness, actions or research that contribute to the fulfillment of the objectives of sustainable development. Although in educational programs reference is made to the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments that universities and higher education institutions assume through the training of lawyers, in reality there is still a long way to go to fulfill the commitments derived from the 2030 Agenda (United Nations Organization, 2015).

The teaching of law has gone through different stages. The training of lawyers or law graduates has gone through periods in which studies were limited to the rote learning of legal rules, and even today it cannot be said that it has completely departed from this scheme. According to Barreto & Lozano (2021), it would be necessary to link the social with the legal and with reality. In spite of the demands focused on developing creativity, critical spirit, and assessments of laws, principles and regulations, beyond the legal bodies, even students and teachers spend more time repeating the descriptions made by the codes than questioning them.

The goals set out in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development imposed a new challenge for education, not only because the purpose of achieving quality education is established, but also because each and every one of the goals keep a synergy from which it is impossible to get rid of when conceiving an educational project or a curriculum (United Nations Organization, 2015). In law, issues related to equality, eradication of poverty, reduction of violence, protection of women, measures against gender-based violence, human rights to water, healthy food, nutrition, protection of nature, the environment, the objectives set to achieve a culture of peace, are basic issues.

Thus, the identification of the aspects of sustainable development, which are related to Education in the field of Law and their evaluation and presentation in this essay, contributes to the fulfillment of the professional duties required of any graduate and even students in higher education. With the dissemination and socialization of the themes that highlight the importance of promoting compliance with the goals set out in the 2030 agenda, it is possible to promote and encourage projects, programs, plans, establish public policies that enable the observance and adoption of effective measures that, in the time remaining between now and 2030, can be implemented for the good of present and future generations.

DEVELOPMENT

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are currently an indispensable tool for Higher Education Institutions. The possibility of guaranteeing quality education, particularly as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is only feasible through the implementation of a relevant educational project tailored to local, regional, national and international needs. In the field of Law, it is essential to achieve the connection between Education, Legal Sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations Organization, 2015). Environmental issues, human rights enshrined in international legal instruments and the fundamental rights contemplated in the Constitution, including the rights of nature, are part of the studies of Law (Ecuador. National Constituent Assembly 2008).

The relationship between education, law and sustainable development can be seen in the constitutional text itself. Thus, Article 350 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador states that “the purpose of the higher education system is academic and professional training with a scientific and humanistic vision; scientific and technological research; innovation, promotion, development and dissemination of knowledge and cultures; the construction of solutions to the problems of the country, in relation to the objectives of the development regime”. (Ecuador. National Constituent Assembly, 2008).

The authors Pérez & Vargas (2020), evaluate the multidimensionality, indivisibility and universality of the SDGs, which means that the fulfillment of some goals completes the realization of others and their non-fulfillment will affect the others. Eradicate poverty, end hunger, promote agriculture, better nutrition, ensure food security, healthy lives, well-being, quality and equitable education, promote learning opportunities for all, achieve gender equality, empower women and girls, ensure water, sanitation, sustainable and modern energies, promote sustainable economic growth, decent work, decent employment, combat climate change, conserve oceans, seas, protect forests, promote societies, among others are Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2015).

Of course, each and every one of these goals is directly linked to law, from which it follows that this science is fundamental for the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is and will continue to be a challenge for university education in undergraduate law degrees and graduate programs in this area, the production of knowledge, science and innovation, as this is key to solve problems related to poverty, to defend human rights to equality, non-discrimination or hatred, to non-violence, to protect people from insecurity and abuses that may be committed against them.

The COVID 19 pandemic had a profound impact on development and progress at all levels, especially because a significant amount of resources had to be allocated to health care and the preservation of people's lives. Within this impact, education had to be urgently transformed in order to cope with the changes and make every effort to ensure quality education for all that had been envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations Organization, 2015). As a result of the health emergency, Higher Education Institutions assumed, to a greater extent online education, a modality that has developed in students a greater independence in the search for knowledge. This was an educational projection of Law studies, but not so well achieved until then.

When consulting the ideas presented by De Souza (2011), it is agreed that in the conception of the formative process of law professionals it is necessary to ask again and again about those aspects on which the academy must insist to meet the profile of the professional demanded by today's society, in which sustainable development is indispensable. Just as it happens when creating curricula in which academics ask themselves how to contribute to sustainable development, innovative ideas should also be provoked in students, so that they do not learn from answers already elaborated or from written texts, but rather that students think, create, propose or carry out their own projects. As De Souza (2011) points out, “the answers that already exist are largely constitutive of the same unsatisfactory reality that we want to overcome, the time has come to revolutionize communication and education, replacing the pedagogy of the answer with the pedagogy of the question.” (p. 88)

In law, it is necessary to challenge the innovative talent of students. It is necessary that the best proposals emerge from collective thinking. While it would be necessary to encourage spaces for discussion and debate of the objectives of sustainable development in the classroom, in events, meetings, congresses, conferences or others and emphasize the responsibility of higher education institutions to contribute to progress, sustainability and sustainable development, all this should be done in order to provoke interest and motivation for the emergence of students' own ideas, although teachers facilitate their understanding and conviction of their duty to society.

As expressed by De Souza (2011), “the use of lateral thinking, to allow the imagination to fly free and generate different ideas and possibilities, without commitment to the established dogmas and taboos or the rigidity of sequential logic, of vertical thinking” (p.88) would be one of the best options to encourage the development of innovative research in law students. In the same sense of ideas, Rojas (2010) states the need to develop students' own thinking, which is summarized in the following quote: “To educate is to stimulate free and independent thinking... But the human being is not only intellect... The solidary heart joins the other in joy and suffering. It joins with others in struggle and action for justice and peace. Solidarity unites hearts in great goals and ennobles our struggles... against unjust inequality. Convincing the learner towards the formation of a heart of solidarity is the great ethical goal of education. A free mind and a heart of solidarity can make of our young people apostles of freedom and actors on the road to peace, justice and fraternal coexistence among all human beings”. (p. 281)

Law schools have contributed a lot to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in areas related to the protection of the rights of people, focused on the development of a sustainable culture, the promotion of peace and non-violence, the defense of universal citizenship and cultural diversity, inclusive education and the defense of human rights. Law education in Ecuador is consistent with the National Development Plan, which complements the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As expressed by Espinosa, law studies are consistent with the new times, where virtualization and internationalization acquire greater relevance (Espinoza, 2021).

Higher education in Ecuador includes among its purposes the deployment of scientific research, the promotion of technological transfers and innovations, the strengthening of personal autonomy, freedom of thought, ancestral knowledge and interculturality, the stimulation of development and social participation, the protection of the environment, the promotion of sustainable development, animal welfare, strengthening the constitutional state of rights and justice, plurinationality, local, regional and national development, strengthening the use of ancestral languages and cultural expressions, among others (Ecuador. National Assembly, 2010).

Challenges

Although from the point of view of the programming and execution of educational programs in law, results have been achieved that are consistent with the social needs and demands of the population, there are issues that need to be addressed systematically as a result of the constant changes in contemporary social life. It happens that technologies are growing and developing with surprising speed, which until very recently was not possible to predict. Today, we cannot ignore the fact that technological advances will lead to new skills for accessing jobs, and this generates a renewal of law curricula.

An example of the need for change would be the use of artificial intelligence for the generation of contracts or artificial intelligence in criminal investigation, of which there are examples worldwide (Cuatrecasas 2022). Merlo & Ulloa (2023) point out that there are beneficial results that have an impact on the speed and objectivity of evidence, however, little or nothing is learned in universities about the application of artificial intelligence to law. Perhaps it is necessary to project the training and improvement of educators in this area so that they can then take on teaching with sophisticated technological tools. The handling of data and the legal provisions for its protection are issues that should be addressed by the academy and by professionals in the legal sciences.

One issue that constitutes a challenge for education in law is the Research + Development + Innovation (R+D+i) projects, which should focus on innovative proposals that can be compared to the results that are more easily visible in other sciences such as pharmaceuticals or medicine, or in engineering (Delgado, 2017). Although proposals for legal reforms or public policies that constitute contributions and innovations in the field of legal sciences can be shown, the truth is that for them to be remarkable and recognized, they must show concrete and applicable solutions in practice. Many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide for the solution of social problems, so socio-legal research should occupy an important place in the educational training of legal professionals.

A question worth raising with a critical approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the way in which they have been previously evaluated, is that they are commonly seen as goals that are imposed by the global agenda and that are conceived from the international to the regional, national and local levels. Sometimes, this vision of tasks, goals or activities that come from plans that are conceived from the highest hierarchy to be fulfilled at the local level, can delay the execution of activities that tend to their materialization. It is very important to be aware of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to plan activities from the local and institutional level. The possibility of complying with the 2030 agenda must be foreseen with concrete actions from each economic, social, non-governmental or other entity.

Sustainable development, inclusion policies, priority treatment to members of the most disadvantaged sectors in the educational institution, is achievable through concrete actions such as the granting of scholarships to people of African descent, the adaptation of curricula for people with certain intellectual disabilities, the integration and diversification of the academic offer according to the labor demands of each territory, the modification of educational programs according to the situation of employability and the new demands that occur due to technological advances that demand other labor requirements.

Higher Education Institutions must provide students with the technological services that training requires for the current stages, such as preparing students for online hearings or mediation or arbitration through telematic services. Currently, students generally do not have training programs that allow them to handle the digital platforms used in the Judiciary Council or notary services, however, their preparation in this regard would place the student in better conditions to perform successfully and insert more efficiently to the practice.

The Development Plan of the Higher Education System is firmly based on recognizing the importance of Higher Education in the process of economic, cultural and social development of the country in order to strengthen and seek its continuous improvement (Ecuador. Higher Education Council, 2022). The substantive functions of teaching, research and linkage with society in the training of legal professionals offer the possibility of compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to ensure that there are free people who are aware of their role in society. Legal professionals must promote human development, build a country where progress is guaranteed under the principle of sustainability, so that present and future generations can have peaceful, inclusive, diverse societies, where they can live well in harmony with nature.

Based on these assumptions, there is a convergence between the Higher Education System Development Plan (PDSES) for the period 2022-2026 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which can be achieved through the development of joint activities and actions. The Higher Education System Development Plan set out three strategic objectives:

1. To strengthen coverage in higher education under the principles of the System; 2. To increase the contribution to knowledge for the social and economic development of society; and, 3. To strengthen the quality assurance of higher education; which cover coverage and quality; and, are framed in the principles of the Higher Education System, established both in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador and in the Organic Law of Higher Education (Ecuador. Consejo de Educación Superior, 2022).

For its part, the Organic Law of Higher Education (LOES) states that its humanistic, intercultural and scientific purpose constitutes a right of the people and a social public good in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic, which responds to the public interest and emphasizes that it will not be at the service of individual and corporate interests (Ecuador. National Assembly, 2010). The relevance of careers and programs in higher education correspond to local, regional and national planning and development and are consistent with sustainable development, the occupational market, and scientific and technological policies. Thus, law and education constitute basic pillars that will be taken into account for the sustainability of development.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher education in the field of law continues to present challenges in the fulfillment of sustainable development, among which are to respond adequately to the needs of a labor market in constant change and with new demands for human talent, so that the study programs and academic offerings are called to be more dynamic, facilitating the most updated technological training and responding to other needs of entrepreneurship that may be generated.

Research in the area of law is called to be more innovative and act as a driving force for human development and the solution of the most pressing social problems such as violence, poverty, corruption, discrimination against women, criminalization of the migrant population, unequal treatment of socially disadvantaged people, among others. It is necessary to strengthen interculturalism, diversity and citizen participation and contribute with research to the presentation of proposals to guarantee the human rights to a healthy environment, water, food, education, health, decent and dignified employment and good living in general.

The link with society in the legal sciences should be carried out in close connection with research and teaching and generate from this relationship programs and projects that allow an effective response to the needs and problems that arise in the environment, working directly in the communities so that the University demonstrates its ability to return or give back to society for this opportunity to become students of third or fourth level of training in law.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Barreto, A., & Lozano, E. (2021). Metodologías de investigación jurídica. Experiencias y desafíos del oficio de investigar en derecho. Universidad de Los Andes.

Cuatrecasas Morforte, C. (2022). Inteligencia Artificial como herramienta de Investigación Criminal. La Ley.

De Souza Silva, J. (2011). Hacia el ‘Día Después del Desarrollo. Descolonizar la comunicación y la educación para construir comunidades felicescon modos de vida sostenibles. Asociación Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica – ALER.

Delgado Fernández, M. (2017). Enfoque para la gestión de la I+D+i en la Industria Biofarmacéutica cubana. Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud, 3(28), 1-16. https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=76618

Ecuador. Asamblea Nacional Constituyente. (2008). Constitución de la República del Ecuador. Registro Oficial No. 449. https://www.oas.org/juridico/pdfs/mesicic4_ecu_const.PDF

Ecuador. Asamblea Nacional. (2010). Ley Orgánica de Educación Superior. Quito: Registro Oficial Suplemento 298. https://www.educacionsuperior.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/03/LEY_ORGANICA_DE_EDUCACION_SUPERIOR_LOES.pdf

Ecuador. Consejo de Educación Superior. (2022). Plan de Desarrollo del Sistema de Educación Superior (2022-2026).. https://www.ces.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/plan_de_desarrollo_ses_2022-20260068811001663958711.pdf

Espinoza, C. X. (2021). Universidad de inclusión, innovación y cambio. Universo Sur.

Merlo, G., & Ulloa, J. R. (2023). Inteligencia artificial. Su impacto en la justicia penal y en las ciencias forenses: Desafíos y oportunidades. Revista Pensamiento Penal, (475), 1-11. https://www.pensamientopenal.com.ar/system/files/Documento_Editado1259.pdf

Organización de las Naciones Unidas. (2015). Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/es/objetivos-de-desarrollo-sostenible/

Pérez, O. I., Romero, M. C., & Vargas, P. (2020). Interacciones y sinergias entre ODS: un análisis desde la responsabilidad social en Colombia. Desarrollo y Sociedad, 86, 191-244. http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0120-35842020000300191

Rojas Osorio, C. (2010). Filosofía de la educación, de los griegos a la tardomodernidad Editorial Universidad de Antioquia.