NCEA Level 2 Education for Sustainability study plan

Define sustainability, sustainable development, and intergenerational equity in your own words and distinguish them from 'environmental protection' alone

Explain the four systems (environmental, social, cultural, economic) and give one New Zealand example of each

Map at least three cause-and-effect links between two systems (e.g. land-use change and local employment) in a diagram you draw yourself

Identify three competing sustainability perspectives (e.g. technocentric, ecocentric, kaitiakitanga-based) and state the assumption each makes

Compare two sustainability frameworks (e.g. the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the doughnut model) and state where they overlap and diverge

Analyse a real New Zealand sustainability issue by separating its environmental, social, cultural, and economic dimensions

Evaluate a trade-off where an economic gain creates a social or environmental cost, and justify which cost you weight most heavily

Apply the concepts of carrying capacity and limits to a named resource or region

Explain the core ideas of mātauranga Māori relevant to sustainability, including kaitiakitanga, whakapapa connections, and mauri, in accurate terms

Describe how Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the principles of partnership, participation, and protection shape environmental decision-making

Compare a mātauranga Māori perspective with a Western scientific perspective on the same issue, noting where they complement and where they conflict

Identify at least two other cultural perspectives (e.g. Pasifika, migrant, or farming-community) on a sustainability issue

Frame a researchable sustainability issue question with a clear scope, place, and time frame

Distinguish immediate causes from underlying or root causes for that issue

Gather and evaluate at least four sources, judging each for bias, recency, and relevance

Explain how cultural values and power affect whose view of the issue is heard

Complete the investigation by collecting or analysing evidence and drawing defensible conclusions

Select an action that is realistic, safe, and within your influence, and justify why it addresses a root cause rather than a symptom

Write a specific action plan with steps, timeline, resources, people involved, and success criteria

Identify at least two risks or unintended consequences of your planned action

Carry out your planned action and record what actually happened, including deviations from the plan

Collect evidence of outcomes using at least two measures (e.g. counts, survey responses, observations)

Evaluate the action against your success criteria and state what worked, what did not, and why

Reflect on your own role, including what you would do differently

Assess the wider and longer-term effects of your action, including who benefited and who was affected

Construct two plausible future scenarios for your issue and describe the conditions that would produce each

Apply a futures-thinking tool such as backcasting to work backwards from a desired 2050 outcome to present actions

Identify the assumptions behind your own preferred future and test them against evidence

Consolidate key concepts across all six domains into a single revision sheet

Practise answering exam-style questions under time pressure and mark your answers against the achievement criteria

Justify a decision on a sustainability issue by weighing evidence, cultural perspectives, and future consequences

Identify your three weakest areas and complete targeted revision on each