Abstract
Education is critical for promoting sustainable development; however, a reliable methodology for such education has not yet been established. Here we provide one by applying control theory because we consider that human beings have to control their activities in order to deal suitably with environmental and social problems and accomplish sustainable development. First, we identify the elements that are required for applying control theory to this purpose, and show the control system in which these elements are combined with a controller, or a measure for control. Next, based on the recognition that education for sustainable development corresponds to increasing human beings' skills and their motivation to synthesize this control system, we show the method for setting an educational objective and the four fundamental elements required in education. Moreover, we present a case study, which shows how to deal with global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels, in practice. The results of this case study show that practical education has increased learners' skills and their motivation to improve their energy use, which confirms, the validity of this methodology.
