Conference Agenda

SustainAll is an Erasmus+ Project with partners in Austria, Germany, Portugal and Norway. The aim of our project is to support All-day schools in developing a curriculum as well as day-to-day practices, which foster sustainability education. The project endorses the whole-school approach, integrating ESD / transformative education in a holistic manner. Accordingly, teaching and learning for sustainability is extended to aspects such as community involvement and integrated governance. The whole-school approach further advocates for active, participatory learning (Hargreaves, 2008). In order to do so, this project will learn from existing good-practice examples. Based on these examples, which will be researched through case studies, the project aims at fostering a transformative culture of ESD and sustainability practeces by developing in-service training modules for All-Day schools wishing to adapt their program towards ESD and transformative learning and to change their school policy in accordance with the whole-institution approach.

In the first project year 2022, at least two case studies were conducted in specifically selected primary and secondary schools in all participating countries.

The overarching research questions of the case studies are:

• How are ESD projects and initiatives integrated in schools?

• What are the characteristics or factors that contribute for an ESD project to be a good practice example?

• What is the relationship between ESD and (transformative) learning in the context of all-day and whole-school school approach?

For each case study and each country, the results will be reported from a distinct as well as from a comparative perspective within the symposium.

A common template and defined evaluation criteria guarantee that the data is collected and evaluated in a comparable way in each country. Each case study includes a document analysis, guided interviews and participant observation.

An extensive literature review and the analysis of pre-selected theoretical models of ESD-related school development allow to compare inductively gained insight into the case study data to relevant aspects deductively derived from relevant existing models.

The models included were systematically analysed for overlaps and differences.

Bianchi and colleagues (2022) identify a set of sustainability competences to be incorporated into educational programmes. According to the EU Commission, “GreenComp can serve a wide range of purposes, including curricula review, design of teacher education programs, (self-) assessment/reflection, policy development, certification, assessment, monitoring and evaluation” (p.3) which precisely serves our project goals. The Schools for Earth project (Greenpeace, 2021) offers an approach to structural school development (Greenpeace, 2021). With the goal of climate neutrality and the firm anchoring of an ambitious Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), six cyclical work phases are identified to make the whole school approach efficient. The 5R model of Henderson & Tilbury (2004) reveals five key considerations necessary for program managers and partners to operate and manage an effective program. These include the need for programs to be relevant, resourced, reflective, responsive and reformative. Verhelst et al. (2020) explicate a conceptual framework of an ESD-effective school in eight characteristics.

The synopsis of models with competence orientation and models for systematic and effective school development processes thus provide a broad basis for comparison with our case studies. The case studies presented in the symposium each show a specific focus.

The results of the case studies and the cross-case analysis form the basis for the design hubs (March 2023): national in-service teachers´ and educational researchers´ design hubs figure out together which materials and course content will be needed to help All-Day schools to include ESD /transformative education in their school curricula and change their day-to-day practices following a whole-school approach to sustainability.

These results will be presented and discussed in the last contribution of the symposium.

In 2017, Norway began a reform process of the national curriculum, which included the addition of three interdisciplinary topics: Democracy and Citizenship; Public health and Life skills; and Sustainable Development. The realisation of these reforms is explored through the selection of three case studies that offer different approaches. The first of these cases is a state funded elementary school which is part of a research project with an All-day approach that is offered to pupils up to 4th grade. The whole-school approach is visible through the Positive Behaviour, supportive Learning Environment and Interaction (PALS) model. The school has worked with the PALS model since 2015 which focuses on strengthening pupils with lifelong learning skills, ESD competencies and encourages participation from the pupils. The second case is a state funded lower secondary school. This case identifies sustainable development as a priority area and has adopted a whole-school approach which is achieved not only through in-school collaboration, but close collaboration with external actors to develop student active ESD projects and initiatives. The third case is a private Steiner school with both elementary and lower secondary level. The whole-school approach is visible through the Steiner pedagogy. The local municipality has ambitions to be a ´green´ municipality, and as the first in Norway to build an eco-village, the establishment of the Steiner school is an extension of this vision. We conducted document analysis, interviews with school leaders and teachers, and class observations. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse the documents, interviews and observation data. Findings suggest that in all three of the case studies a whole-school approach is important for the implementation of ESD projects and initiatives, as supported by the literature (Greenpeace, 2021; Henderson and Tilbury, 2004). A further finding suggests that a whole-school approach was also important for the promotion of ESD competences with active engagement of external actors (Bianchi, G., Pisiotis, U. & Cabrera, M., 2022; Glasser & Hirsch, 2016; Rieckmann, 2018). However, the biggest challenge to ESD being lack of engagement on the part of some colleagues and this is something the schools continue to work on. In one of the case studies the All-day school approach was seen as a positive contribution to both the development of a whole-school approach and the promotion of ESD competences.

Bianchi, G., Pisiotis, U. & Cabrera, M. (2022). GreenComp. The European sustainability competence framework: JRC Science For Policy Report. Joint Research Centre. EUR: Bd. 30955. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2760/13286  Glasser, H., & Hirsh, J. (2016). Toward the Development of Robust Learning for Sustainability Core Competencies. Sustainability: The Journal of Record, 9(3), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1089/SUS.2016.29054.hg  Greenpeace. (2021). WHOLE SCHOOL APPROACH: Ganzheitlicher Ansatz zur Schulentwicklung. Schools for Earth.  Henderson, K. & Tilbury, D. (2004). Whole-School Approaches to Sustainability: An International Review of Sustainable School Programs. Report Prepared by the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412974615.n130  Rieckmann, M. (2018). Learning to transform the world: key competencies in Education for Sustainable Development. In A. Leicht, J. Heiss & W. J. Byun (Hrsg.), Education on the move. Issues and trends in education for sustainable development (pp.39-59). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Chapter 2. 

The two case studies in Austria were conducted at the primary school Wölfnitz (Case A) and the private grammer school Modellschule Graz (Case B). Both schools are part of ÖKOLOG, Austria’s largest network for schools and sustainability, which currently comprises 11% (over 700 schools) of the Austrian schools of all types as well as 13 (out of 14) university colleges for teacher education (Rauch & Pfaffenwimmer, 2020). Both schools can be described as "very advanced" in terms of their ESD activities integrated in its all-day activities. In terms of ESD and all-day school activities, two major themes become visible at the primary school Wölfnitz (Case A): ESD is integrated in the whole school approach and the participation of teachers and students. Although the school is an all-day school in separated form, the cooperation between the teachers and the afternoon educators has developed. The interviewees mentioned as hindering factors to implement ESD among others the lack of space (i.e. more rooms for the afternoon care), and that not all teachers are equally interested. The case study suggests the following characteristics that support these successful developments: the professional and emotional support of the head teacher, the motivation of the majority of teachers and students and cooperation with external ESD experts. Based on the model for ESD effective schools from Verhelst et al. (2020), three characteristics can be particularly emphasized: The ÖKOLOG programme acts as a shared vision and reflects the school-wide understanding of ESD. The school community of primary school Wölfnitz practices pluralistic communication with space and time for discussions and sharing on different viewpoints. All relevant stakeholders are involved in the democratic decision-making process. The Modellschule Graz (Case B), an integrated all-day school, widely established ESD into a whole-school culture which points towards its students, teachers, school staff and parents. All learn and act reflective and ambitious with the intention of being sustainable and experiencing it in its many facets. The Modellschule Graz finds itself in all characteristics compared to the model for ESD effective schools from Verhelst et al. (2020). Especially emphasized should be that the students are integrated in democratic decision making processes. Pluralistic communication processes are part of the democratic structures of the school and its pedagogy. Sustainability themes are selected jointly by teachers and students. Challenges at this school are associated with communication with parents, i.e. meet-free days initiated by students were feared not getting enough protein.

Rauch, F. & Pfaffenwimmer, G. (2020). The Austrian ECOLOG-Schools Programme – Networking for Environmental and Sustainability Education. pp. 85-102. In: A. Gough, J. Chi Kin Lee and E. Po Keung Tsang (eds.). Green Schools Globally: Stories of Impact for Sustainable Development. Dortrecht, Springer. Verhelst, D., Vanhoof, J., Boeve-de Pauw, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2020). Building a conceptual framework for an ESD-effective school organisation. The Journal of Environmental Education, 1-16. doi:10.1080/00958964.2020.1797615

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recognized as “an integral element of quality education and a key enabler for sustainable development” (UN, n.d.). However, little is known about good practice that influences students’ ESD outcome (Laurie et al., 2016). This study highlights the self-conception of schools’ freedom and space as a predictor for students’ ESD outcome. The research question is to what extent does the differently perceived degrees of freedom at a private primary school and the lack of freedom at a state secondary school influence the possibility of developing an ESD-friendly school? Both schools are selected based on their curricular dedication to ESD. Guided in-depth group interviews with school staff, parents and students were conducted and analyzed. Participants were selected based on the principals’ suggestion; participation was voluntary. The interviews (two/three interviews at the private/state school, ca. 60’ each) were recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were deductively coded using MaxQDA. The qualitative content analysis follows mixed procedures of content structuring/theme analysis (Mayring, 2000; Rädiker/ Kuckartz, 2019). The results of the document analysis and the observation report are also included and underline the results of the interviews. At the state school a lack of freedom is examined: The need for freedom is reflected in the fact that the terms “free” and “space” appear 35 times in the interviews, mostly as something missing (“Yes, because without this freedom, and the freedom affects the teachers just as much as the students, it somehow remains very exhausting. (TR226765, Pos. 19)"). In contrast, the terms appear only 6 times within the private school interviews and then mostly framed positively as something that already exists ("So you are not so helplessly at the mercy of a system, but the freedom of this system also enables you to go other ways. (TR220623, Pos. 18)"). The two cases show clear differences in terms of freedom: While the private school already considers a strong perception of already existing freedom and developmental space as a success factor, the state high school seeks to increase the degrees of freedom because staff and students consider it as a crucial component for a successful ESD. The differences between the schools are striking. Further studies must reveal whether these differences are representative of state schools - and whether sufficient freedom in terms of interests and participation, personnel development and empowerment, school development and grading are actually predictive for an intended ESD outcome.

Laurie, R., Nonoyama-Tarumi, Y., Mckeown, R., & Hopkins, C. (2016). Contributions of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to Quality Education: A Synthesis of Research. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 10(2), 226–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973408216661442 Mayring, P. (2000). Qualitative Content Analysis. FQS Forum: Qualitative Social Research Sozialforschung, 1(2), Article 20, 81–120. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190215491.003.0004 Rädiker, S., & Kuckartz, U. (2019). Analyse qualitativer Daten mit MAXQDA: Text, Audio und Video. Lehrbuch. Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22095-2 United Nations (n.d.). SDG4. Education. https://sdgs.un.org/topics/education

In the context of the SustainALL Erasmus+ Project, we aimed at finding examples of good practices about Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across partner countries to inform the development of training modules for teachers. The research team developed a common approach to instrumental illuminative rich bounded case studies, which ideally should fulfil seven criteria, namely, provide elementary and middle education, adopt an all-day and whole-school approach, be part of an eco-school network or similar, count on support and collaboration, have several years of experience, and effectively communicate the projects. Each partner reported at least two case studies including qualitative data from interviews, observations, and documents. Data was analysed according to mixed procedures of content structuring/ theme analysis (Mayring, 2022). The initial reports were sent to schools for member checking. The research team is currently conducting a cross-case analysis to better understand how ESD is being integrated across countries, evaluating how data corroborates or challenges theoretical models on ESD. Such results will form the basis for the Design Hubs (DH). The DH are derived from the innovation hub metaphor (Dhanaraj & Parkhe, 2006) where researchers, teachers, school administrators, interested pupils and teacher educators work together on an equal footing. This co-creation process offers a high level of participation for each stakeholder group, which is one quality criteria for ESD schools (Breiting et al. 2005). The aim is to discuss the results of the cross-case analyses and to develop ideas for the next step, which is to design materials and the online modules for a blended-learning teacher training course. Hence, an Educational Design Research approach (McKenney & Reeves, 2018) is applied to relate scientific findings and practice-relevant solutions in a multi-level iterative design process. During two 3-hour design-thinking workshops (one in Norway and one in Germany) the DH identify materials and course content to support All-Day schools including ESD / transformative education in their school curricula and changing their day-to-day practices following a whole-school approach to sustainability. The perspective of younger students will be included through video messages created in the participating schools. The DH are run in spring 2023. Results of both cross-analyses and design hubs will be presented at the conference.

Breiting, S., Mayer, M. & Mogensen, F. (2005). Quality Criteria for ESD-Schools. Guidelines to enhance the quality of Education for Sustainable Development. Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. Dhanaraj, C. & Parkhe, A. (2006). Orchestrating Innovation Networks. Academy of Management Review, 31 (3), 659–669. Mayring, Ph. (2022). Qualitative Content Analysis. A Step-by-Step Guide. London: Sage. McKenney, S. & Reeves, T. C. (2018). Conducting educational design research. London: Routledge