Significance of Education for the Economy of Sustainable Development – Toward Social Responsibility

In Poland, children and teenagers are obligatorily subject to the process of mainstream education until a particular age, currently until lower secondary schools, which are being closed. Some children and teenagers continue their education in upper secondary schools and some study at universities. The mission of education is to achieve diverse knowledge of life and the surrounding world. One of the elements of primary and further education is promoting knowledge of the natural environment, natural resources, plants, animals and the role of ecosystems in the life of every human being and economic entity. The objective of the study is to determine the role and significance of education and to indicate effects of education on sustainable development in the context of creating individual social responsibility for the natural environment. A fundamental hypothesis is as follows: “Long-term educational programmes executed as part of the education system and activities of enterprises, organizations, foundations or associations considerably contribute to the development of a high level of natural and ecological awareness of the young generation”. The following methods and exploration techniques were used in the research process: desk research, critical analysis of national and foreign literature on the subject, structured interview (standardized). The research was conducted among students of Finance and Accounting of the University of Szczecin and will be finished on 10 October 2017. The research findings will enable formulating conclusions and recommendations.