30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
Leadership Actions in Education for Sustainable Development –Establishing Leadership Agency for Permanent Accommodation in Education
Anna Mogren, Anette Forssten Seiser, Niklas Gericke, Teresa Berglund, Daniel Olsson
Karlstad University, Sweden
Presenting Author: Mogren, Anna;
Forssten Seiser, Anette
This empirical study on leadership actions investigate Education for sustainable development (ESD) in Swedish schools. School leaders at five schools in one Swedish municipality are interviewed twice in 2018 and 2020, to evaluate effects from a longitude school improvement project focusing ESD.
Actions can be seen as the school leader individual response on a direct stimuli. The school leader take action. Agency on the other hand is the gathered experience of such stimuli and the alternative possibilities at hand for a school leader to act upon (Feldman & Pentland 2003). Leadership agency in this study is defined the sense making of ESD over time by school leaders acting by experience, or what Hallenberg (2018) call expert agency, based in their own actions and related to other school leaders way of acting as a collective (Tourish 2014). The study adds knowledge to how individual leadership actions can contribute or counteract ESD implementation. Further aspects that drives and establishes ESD over time in schools; leadership agency on ESD is outlined.
A review study on school leaders and education for sustainable development, ESD (Mogaji & Newton, 2020) reported the need to make school leaders more aware of ESD, as a way to empower students to handle sustainable. Research onschool leadership to raise quality in ESD active schools points out a lack of connection between inner school organizational routines that give support to ESD and the external organizational routines that connect education to the surrounding society (Mogren & Gericke, 2017), which in ESD is a guarantee of the relevance of education to the learner. Knowledge on school leadership and ESD as exemplified is based on case studies that point out important starting points for an effective ESD implementation, holistic ideas (Leo & Wickenberg 2013; Mogren, Gericke & Scherp, 2019) collegial approaches in the school organization (Gericke & Torbjörnsson, 2022) and legitimizing functions (Mogren & Gericke, 2019). This study builds on the knowledge identified at the formulation arena of ESD and take it one step further, studying the realization arena, what actually falls out in practice of ESD implementation over time, based on initial intentions. The formulation arena of a project, setting the scene is not a guarantee for successful implementation, instead schools often fail in their ambitions on ESD (Hargreaves, 2008) and certification programs on ESD with initial ambitions is not always successful (Olsson, Gericke & Chang Rundgren, 2016 ).
Sense making activities is a methodological approach in school improvement and used in this study to understand practice (Weick, 2001). Sense making deals with challenges in the daily work patterns for school leaders, when ordinary frames of reference are disrupted and new understandings needs to be incorporated (Weick, Sutcliffe & Obstefeld, 2005). How school leaders make sense of ESD; couple the formulated visions to the practical outcomes of ESD is understood in this study by the framework of coupling mechanism (Liljenberg & Nordholm 2018). The framework of coupling mechanism seeks to understand more than if organizational routines on ESD are in place, but also their outcome and how they are used in practice. The coupling mechanisms is categorized according to either accommodation mechanisms leading to permanent changes of structures and routines in the organization for ESD. Mechanisms can also be assessed as assimilation, then leading to superficial changes, or decoupling mechanisms that shows no positive effects of implementation of ESD or even hinder changes in education.
Research questions:
A, What leadership actions are identified for reaching accommodation in an ESD school improvement process?
B, How is leadership agency in ESD formed and characterized in practical ESD implementation?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study is conducted within a school improvement project, studied by researchers in several different studies over time . The project was introduced to five schools in one municipality starting with a pre-study in year 2016 and followed by research until year 2021. The respondent nine school leaders from five schools all take part in the continues school improvement project on ESD. The aim of the practical improvement work for schools is to steer their processes towards an ESD whole school approach (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004) that establishes ESD in the school organization.
The theoretical framework of coupling mechanisms, assessing actions as accommodative, assimilative or decoupling (Liljenberg & Nordholm 2018) link the formulation arena of ESD and the realization arena with outcomes in practice. School leaders actions on three specific organizational routines of ESD are studied over time (a holistic idea of ESD, the interdisciplinary approach of ESD and leadership legitimization of ESD). Accommodation actions are searched as they intend to transform and change pre-defined understanding of education, causing real changes that are permanent. Leadership agency on ESD is analyzed by thematization (White, 2009) of collective action by responding school leaders over time. Leadership agency towards an established ESD implementation is outlined by combining the mechanisms used by school leaders steering their actions and the identified themes of importance for the whole group in leading towards ESD. Interview data was coded, transcribed and narratives was constructed.
nd characterized in practical ESD implementation?
We make use of the analyzation of narratives to answer research question 1, RQ1, What leadership actions are identified for reaching accommodation in an ESD school improvement process? In the second step, thematization of narratives (from RQ1) for each mechanism of ESD (accommodation, assimilation and decoupling) are analyzed to search for characteristics of leadership agency in ESD, answering RQ2, How is leadership agency in ESD formed and characterized in practical ESD implementation?
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsResults on identified leadership actions for reaching accommodation of ESD confirm the importance of leadership actions to establish a guiding holistic idea on ESD in the school organization, as well as acting on communication and feed-back systems where collegial long reaching work can develop over time.
Results further shows that a realization on ESD towards a permanent implementation is a pathway of distancing reliance on individual responsibilities of ESD to instead build structural support in the organization. Accommodating agency, as searched in the study consist of school leaders that involve collegial with other school leader to find moral support in decision-making as the same time as they increase their own understanding of the improvement of ESD. Five characteristic expressions for advancement in leadership agency of ESD towards a permanent implementation is identified;
1, changes in the infrastructure of education to establish interdisciplinary teacher teams.
2, the use of a distributed leadership approach to collaborate collegial on ESD.
3, the active use of steering documents to support and legitimize ESD implementation and as a response to critical voices.
4, the development of supportive and structural routines as well as continuously keeping school improvement on ESD alive.
5, establishing a terminology about ESD that is used at the local school and that need specific introduction to new staff .
Over all the pathway towards a permanent accommodation of ESD and the characteristic of accommodation mechanisms state that leadership agency of ESD is a question of nesting ESD to the robust foundations within education to establish structures and processes that prevents ESD implementation to fade or fail. In this study robust foundations are identified as ESD common goals in the organization, collegial work, communication, and leadership ambitions.
ReferencesFeldman, M. S., & Pentland, B. T. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 94–118.
Gericke, N. & Torbjörnsson, T. (2022). Supporting local school reform toward education for sustainabledevelopment: The need for creating and continuously negotiating a shared vision and building trust, The Journal of Environmental Education, 53(4), 231-249.
Hallgren, E. (2018). Clues to aesthetic engagement in process drama: Role interaction in a fictional business Doctoral dissertation, Institutionen för de humanistiska och samhällsvetenskapliga ämnenas didaktik, Stockholms universitet.
Hargreaves, L. G. (2008). The whole-school approach to eduation for sustainable development: From pilotprojects to systemic change. Policy & Practice-A Development Education Review, (6).
Henderson, K., & Tilbury, D. (2004). Whole-school approaches to sustainability: An international review of sustainable school programs. Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability:Australian Government
Leo, U., & Wickenberg, P. (2013). Professional norms in school leadership: Change efforts in implementation of education for sustainable development. Journal of Educational Change, 14(4), 403-422.
Liljenberg, M., & Nordholm, D. (2018). Organizational routines for school improvement: exploring the link between ostensive and performative aspects. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 21(6), 690-704.
Mogaji, I. M., & Newton, P. (2020). School Leadership for Sustainable Development: A Scoping Review. Journal of Sustainable Development, 13(5).
Mogren, A., & Gericke, N. (2017). ESD implementation at the school organization level, part 2 investigating the transformative perspective in school leaders’ quality strategies at ESD schools. Environmental Education Research, 23(7), 993-1014.
Mogren, A., & Gericke, N. (2019). School leaders’ experiences of implementing education for sustainable development—Anchoring the transformative perspective. Sustainability, 11(12), 3343.
Mogren, A., Gericke, N., & Scherp, H. Å. (2019). Whole school approaches to education for sustainable development: A model that links to school improvement. Environmental education research, 25(4), 508-531.
Olsson, D., Gericke, N., & Chang Rundgren, S. N. (2016). The effect of implementation of education forsustainable development in Swedish compulsory schools–assessing pupils’ sustainabilityconsciousness. Environmental Education Research, 22(2), 176-202.
Tourish, D. (2014). Leadership, more or less? A processual, communication perspective on the role of agency in leadership theory. Leadership, 10(1), 79-98.
Weick, K. Making sense of organization. Oxford:Blackwell, 2001.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfield, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of sensemaking.Organization Science, 16, 409–421.
White, J. (2009). Thematization and collective positioning in everyday political talk. British Journal ofPolitical Science, 39(4), 699-709.
30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
How to Support Schools in Implementing ESD? The Role of School Certification Programmes in School Development Processes.
Jutta Nikel
University of Education Freiburg, Germany
Presenting Author: Nikel, Jutta
ESD-oriented school certification/accreditation programmes are an integral part of the educational landscape in Germany and many other countries. Schools located in or near National Natural Landscape (NNL) such as UNESCO Biosphere reserves and National Parks shift their engagement with these natural sites and their Educational Centres from the occasional visit and the use of outdoor education activities towards establishing a long-term cooperation when becoming a “Biosphere Reserve School” or “National Park School”. According to the certification programmes schools are provided with an “instrument” for implementing thematic topics of SD in the context of the Biosphere reserve into their learning and teaching and a “guideline” of systematic structural implementation of ESD for example leading to changes in institutional practices. A key role in this supporting process is assigned to certification criteria are considered in line and covering the key elements of a Whole School Approach (WSA) or a Whole Institution Approach to implementing ESD (see Mathar, 2015; Wals & Mathie, 2022; Horst, 2021).
While there is conceptual and theoretical work on (effective) school improvement (see Reezigt & Creemers, 2005) and increasingly empirical studies on the impact of external instruments such as school inspection and school competitions e.g. (Dedering, 2017; Albers, 2016), there is limited work on the impact of school certification programmes in ESD on the voluntarily participating schools.
Out assumptions on the project matter are grounded in an understanding of school development as a "systematic, purposeful and self-reflective development process of schools [...], which aims at professionalizing school processes within schools and optimizing the quality of learning provision […]” (Maag Merki, 2018, 2). Further, we hold the premise - based on conceptual work on effective school improvement by Reezigt and Cremers (2005) - that a school certification programme’s impact results from its qualities for changes to the “contextual factors” (raising pressure for school to improve; providing resources/support to school for improvement) and for impacting a schools’ “process factors” (strengthening aspects of a schools improvement culture and improvement processes).
We aim to contribute understanding on how schools engage with the school certification criteria, or in other words, how they recontextualise the requirements, and if and how it impacts on their internal school development processes. Further, we are interested in the views of experienced project leaders on success factors for their respective certification programme.
For the empirical study we turned the research aim into the following research questions (RQ):
RQ 1: How have school leaders, ESD facilitators (and their school community) implemented (ESD) learning opportunities on SD and the biosphere reserve site in the curriculum and their daily institutional practice?
RQ2: How is this process supported, hindered or challenged by the certification scheme?
RQ3: What success factors for supporting schools in their school development processes on implementing ESD in a WSA are identified by project leaders?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe project consists of three sub studies with each one investigating the impact of certification process on school development processes towards implementing ESD in a WSA from a different ancle.
Study 1: A qualitative study of seven primary schools becoming “Biosphere Reserve Schools” in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Swabian (01/2020-04/2021. The leading research questions are RQ1 and RQ 2. The accounts were conducted in semi-structured expert interviews in schools with headmaster and ESD facilitators lasting between 60 and 90 minutes (see Gläser & Laudel, 2010). “Experts” in this understanding hold unique expert knowledge on processes of interest to the study. The interview data was analysed using content analysis. It entailed the coding of the interview along nine categories which were further operationalisations of RQ 1 and RQ2 and based on theoretical assumptions. From this coding, each schools implementation process was reconstructed and further used as a basis for comparing the seven schools' approaches to enacting with the criteria’ requirements.
Study 2: An explorative study of on how schools interrogate and develop their own teaching practice (with respect to the certification criteria on integrating topics of the biosphere reserve and SD such as sustainable consumption and sustainable tourism) (05/2022- 10/2022). Data was collected from a training workshop with schools which centred around the task to search for an “overarching complex question” (see Künzli David, et.a. 2008; 2008; Muheim, et al., 2018) for goal-oriented planning of a ESD teaching unit based on their own existing learning and teaching material. The results of the mapping exercise during the workshop were documented and analysed.
Study 3: (in the planning) A study on identifying of success factors for school certification programmes from National Natural Landscapes Educational Centres promoting school development processes (see RQ 3). First, a review study identifies how many school certification programmes are currently offered with respect to NNL and Nature Parks in Germany. The certification schemes and the criteria provided are analysed for comparison, especially concerning their assumed impact of school development processes. Secondly, the main data collection source will be a survey questionnaire (including quantitative and qualitative questions) addressed at the project leader for the school certification programmes in NNL and nature parks in Germany. Participants are asked to respond to a variety of proposed factors influencing on the success of the certification and more over on lasting impact on schools in their efforts to implement ESD in a WSA.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsIn the presentation the findings from study 1 and 2 are presented. The aim and research design for study 3 are introduced and to be discussed.
Exemplary, some of the findings from study 1 are described here: What has been enacted by school with priority is curricular work, for example by defining annual themes, division of themes across grade levels or definition of regularly recurring events or activities. Other areas that received prioritised attention: Examination of school mission statement, new acquisition and restructuring of cooperation with biosphere partners, schoolyard design and use. Lower priority was given to measures on the sustainable management and sustainable procurement of the school. Participants clearly stated the high added value of participation in the school certification scheme and praised project management approach for applying a good strategy on being demanding and giving freedom to the schools.
In terms on enacting on the certification criteria the findings suggest: Formal criteria such as (existence of a cooperation agreement, participation in further training and exchange meetings) are met and their enactment is praised by schools as they were considered as ensuring commitment on the task and project. Criteria requesting from the school activities concerning reporting and making efforts visible to the public were similarly enacted with a positive attitude as they were considered raising the school’s profile and identification within the school community. Finally, concerning the enactment on content certification criteria e.g. requesting the integration of topics of the Biosphere Reserve and SD into teaching in tendency the schools appeared more reluctant to enact on learning goals, teaching content and methods. Hence the later was addressed in a workshop with schools and made the subject of investigation in study 2.
The presentation will end with pointing up the interlinkages of the three studies towards the overall aim.
ReferencesAlbers, A. (2016) Schulwettbewerbe als Impuls für Schulentwicklung. Perspektiven von teilnehmenden Schulen des Deutschen Schulpreises. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Dedering, K. (2016) Schulentwicklung durch externe Evaluationen? Schulinspektionen und Vergleichsarbeiten in der deutschen Schulpraxis - eine Bilanz. Pädagogik, 1: 4, p. 44-47.
Gläser, J. & Laudel, G. (2010) Experteninterviews und qualitative Inhaltsanalyse als Instrumente rekonstruierender Untersuchungen. Berlin.
Horst, J. (2021) Towards coherence on sustainability in education: a systematic review of Whole Institution Approaches. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01226-8.
Künzli David, C. et. al (2008) Zukunft gestalten lernen durch Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung. Didaktischer Leitfaden zur Veränderung des Unterrichts in der Primarschule. Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin. http://www.transfer-21.de/daten/grundschule/Didaktik_Leifaden.pdf
Maag Merki, K. (2018). Zukunftsweisende Schulentwicklung in der Schweiz. Lehren & Lernen, 2, p. 16-17.
Mathar, R. (2015) A whole school approach to SD. In: Jucker, R. & Mathar, R. (Hrsg.) Schooling for Sustainable Development in Europe. Berlin, p. 15-30.
Muheim, V. et.al. (2018) Grundlagenband. BNE. Vertiefen. Herzogenbuchsee: Ingold Verlag.
Reezigt, G.J. & Creemers, B.P.M. (2005) A comprehensive framework for effective school improvement, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 16:4, p. 407-424,DOI: 10.1080/09243450500235200
Wals, A.E.J. & Mathie, R.G. (2022) Whole School Responses to Climate Urgency and Related Sustainability Challenges. In Peters, M.A. & Heraud, R. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2262-4_263-1
30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)
Paper
Exploration of the Economic Dimension of Sustainable Development
Irene Tollefsen
Western Norway University of Applied Sci, Norway
Presenting Author: Tollefsen, Irene
Objectives
In a literature review of Norwegian research on sustainable development within education it was concluded that socioeconomic issues are emphasised less than environmental issues (Mellingen and Tollefsen, forthcoming). Similar findings are seen in research from Sweden and Finland showing that the economic dimension of the sustainable development (SD) concept is the dimension that receives the least attention in teaching about sustainable development (Berglund, 2020; Uitto & Saloranta, 2017). Socioeconomic issues and the economic dimension are part of what “development” in the “sustainable development” concept was meant to reflect. In their book “Towards sustainable development: on the goals of development and the conditions of sustainability” from 1999, Lafferty and Langhelle argued that the “development” part was receiving less focus, a tendency they described as “disturbing” (p. 15). They understood “development” to speak to social justice and taking responsibility of how our actions affect those far away also within our own generation.
In an education context one could argue that some of these issues are covered in teaching outside the “sustainable development” context. Is it a problem then that it to a lesser extent is considered part of the SD concept?
The objective of the research project is to explore this question and also the possibilities and challenges of teaching about socioeconomic issues and the economic dimensions of the sustainable development concept. The following research questions will be addressed using an exploratory approach:
- What reflections and concerns do primary education pre-service teachers bring forth concerning teaching about socioeconomic issues within a sustainable development context?
- What can an exploration of didactical approaches to issues related to these issues and the economic dimension uncover in terms of possibilities and challenges?
An aim is to borrow didactical approaches both within the social sciences subject and others, and develop new ones, in order to encourage awareness and reflections regarding whether or not these issues belong to the SD concept, and what potential difference it makes in how we speak of the concept, if it does matter.
Theoretical framework
The project combines critical pedagogy and political ecology as theoretical frameworks. Critical pedagogy’s ambition of making oppressive structures visible (Giroux, 1997) is used to encourage asking questions of the status quo and being able to imagine other ways of envisioning futures. Political pedagogy (Benjaminsen & Svarstad, 2010) contributes with its interdisciplinary nature and its critical realism addressing the nexus between an objective reality and our different understandings of reality, exploring taken-for-granted truths of dominating narratives and the interests they serve.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe data collection is to be conducted through teaching in the spring semester of 2021. Data collection is conducted during teaching through asking the students to share their thoughts using the survey app Menti, and through anonymous sharing of longer reflections into a shared document. Additionally, I will use content from an obligatory assignment as data. This assignment asks the students to choose a topic relevant to SD and the economic dimension and through sharing thoughts on what, how and why, they develop a didactical approach to this topic. The assignment will not be evaluated by me.
At the end of the semester the students will be invited to participate in a focus group interview where they will be asked to reflect on the exploratory process and what they will take with them from being part of it.
An essential part of this project is to reflect upon the role as teacher and researcher at the same time. By removing myself as evaluator of the obligatory assignment the aim is that the students do not feel that either contribution or interest in the project is being evaluated. By inviting to focus groups after the exam is finished, I hope this adds to this experience. The intention is that the students can feel like co-researchers, and as such I cannot judge their participation.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe pre-service teachers participating in this study have chosen a subdivision within the teacher education that prepares them for teaching in primary school. An expected outcome is therefore that the students will find the “transferal” process from how they are taught about concepts and topics, to how they themselves will teach, difficult.
Though there is little research to gain experience from explicitly addressing approaching the economic dimension of sustainable development, it is possible to imagine that the issues being addressed in this research are considered challenging because they are experienced as political issues. It will be interesting to see if, and how, this will be addressed as a factor by the students.
ReferencesBenjaminsen, T. A. & Svarstad, H. (2010). Politisk økologi: miljø, mennesker og makt Universitetsforlaget.
Berglund, T. (2020). Student views of environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development and their interconnectedness: A search for the holistic perspective in education for sustainable development Karlstads universitet.
Giroux, H. A. (1997). Pedagogy and the Politics of Hope - Theory, Culture, and Schooling. United States of America: Westview Press - Perseus Books Group.
Mellingen, Ø. K. & Tollefsen, I. (forthcoming) Sustainable development in Norwegian educational research – A literature review of the latest research – chapter in anthology
Uitto, A. & Saloranta, S. (2017). Subject teachers as educators for sustainability: A survey study. Education Sciences, 7(1), 8.
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