| 1. |
- Berglund, Teresa, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Diversity in views as a resource for learning? : Student perspectives on the interconnectedness of sustainable development dimensions
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 28:3, s. 354-381
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigates the different arguments put forward by Swedish upper secondary students on the interconnectedness of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development (SD). The aim is to study the diversity in views among students in order to find out whether this can be used as a resource in a holistic and pluralistic approach to ESD. The study design was based on a two-step process in which the first step was to identify students representing four different, broadly coherent, views on the interconnections between sustainability dimensions, with a specific focus on the role of the economy in SD. Thereafter, focus group interviews were undertaken with the selected groups of students representing the four different views. The findings indicate a diversity of arguments in discussions of SD and the potential that this plurality brings for perspective shifting. Moreover, the economic dimension appears as central to promoting discussions that aim to examine the overall interconnectedness of sustainability dimensions. A further conclusion is that omitting the economic dimension in ESD risks excluding the core of students’ ideas of how SD may be realized.
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| 2. |
- Berglund, Teresa, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Separated and integrated perspectives on environmental, economic, and social dimensions : an investigation of student views on sustainable development
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 22:8, s. 1115-1138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sustainable development (SD) concept is based on the idea that economic and social development should be linked to the environment. However, controversies about various associated issues often arise due to the differences in protagonists’ viewpoints, depending partly on whether they focus mainly on environmental, economic, or social dimensions and partly on ideological stances related (for instance) to the optimal ways of promoting economic growth and social justice. This study investigates views of 638 Swedish upper secondary students who responded to a questionnaire probing their views of SD from two perspectives. In the first, the dimensions were separately introduced, so the respondents only had to consider one dimension at a time. In the second, the dimensions were introduced in an integrated fashion, so the respondents had to consider effects related to all three dimensions. The results strongly indicate that the students’ views and priorities concerning the dimensions depend on both the perspective and the context. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed.
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| 3. |
- Boeve-de Pauw, Jelle, et al.
(författare)
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Teachers' ESD self-efficacy and practices : a longitudinal study on the impact of teacher professional development
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 28:6, s. 867-885
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This longitudinal quantitative study investigated teachers' development of self-efficacy and teaching practices relating to education for sustainable development (ESD) in four compulsory schools in a Swedish municipality. The teachers participated in a professional development program over three school years designed to support them in implementing ESD. The program was based on five seminars that supported teachers to discuss and experiment with the principles, complexities and challenges of ESD. Data was collected at five different time points strategically planned at key moments in the program, using a questionnaire including scales measuring teachers' self-efficacy for ESD and their self-reported ESD practices. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to follow the teachers evolution across a time span of about three years. Results show that the teachers' self-efficacy was boosted early in the program, but fell back to initial levels after confrontation with practice. Through further experimentation in practice, the teachers' self-efficacy increased back to the initial level toward the end of the program. Furthermore, teachers started self-reporting ESD practices as the program progressed, and the correlation between self-efficacy for ESD and ESD practices grew. These results highlight the importance of providing teachers with long-term opportunities for bringing ESD into their own educational practice. The results also caution against using self-efficacy as an outcome measure in short-term professionalization initiatives.
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| 4. |
- Borg, Carola, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Subject- and experience-bound differences in teachers' conceptual understanding of sustainable development
- 2014
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Routledge. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 20:4, s. 526-551
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article describe the results of a nationwide questionnaire study of 3229 Swedish upper secondary school teachers’ understanding of sustainable development in relation to their subject discipline and teaching experience. Previous research has shown that teachers have difficulties understanding the complex concept of sustainable development. According to the Swedish curriculum all teachers in all subjects should integrate a holistic perspective of sustainable development including economic, ecological and social dimensions. This study shows that teachers differ in their understanding of the concept mostly according to their subject traditions. Social science teachers emphasize social dimensions, and science teachers’ ecological dimensions, respectively. Teachers are aware of the relevance of the three dimensions to various degrees, but do not generally have a holistic understanding. The greatest uncertainty in teachers’ understanding is related to the economic dimension. Science and social science teachers are critical of incorporating economic growth into the concept of sustainable development while language, vocational and esthetical-practical teachers are not. No experience-bound differences of the teachers’ understanding could be found, but recently qualified teachers consider their understanding of sustainable development to be poorer in comparison to more experienced teachers’ self-evaluation. The study highlights the need for further training in sustainable development since more than 70 % of the questioned teachers stated that they need such training.
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| 5. |
- Forssten Seiser, Anette, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Developing school leading guidelines facilitating a whole school approach to education for sustainable development
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Routledge. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 29:5, s. 783-805
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explored the function of school leading in the implementation process of education for sustainable development (ESD) in five Swedish schools employing a whole school approach (WSA). A follow-up study design was used, in which schools that had initiated an ESD project in 2016 were subsequently visited twice for interviews with principals during the project and after it was finalized. The theory of practice architectures in combination with the concept of school improvement capacity was used as the theoretical framework in the analysis. The study showed how school leading should be about enhancing the local school’s capacity to improve. It also showed how specific practice architectures prefigured a WSA to ESD and how school leading in this context was about arranging—or orchestrating—practice architectures in ways that enabled such an approach. The issues of time and endurance were pivotal.Based on the empirical results from this study and school improvement theory, guidelines were developed that can be used to drive a WSA to ESD process forward through three different school improvement phases: initiation, implementation, and institutionalization. The limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed.
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| 6. |
- Gericke, Niklas, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Identifying capital for school improvement : recommendations for a whole school approach to ESD implementation
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Routledge. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 28:6, s. 803-825
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study explores how school improvement in combination with a teacher professional development (TPD) project influenced the implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) in five Swedish schools, when employing a whole school approach. Interviews were conducted with three teachers from each school. Shulman and Shulman's four forms of capital for capacity building were used as a framework for the data analysis. The impact of the project on the schools' pedagogical activities varied considerably between the schools. The transformative potential in ESD was realized to a greater extent in the schools characterized by high levels of moral capital - i.e. trust - than in the schools characterized by more individual and traditional ways of working. Three general conclusions concerning ESD implementation are drawn: 1) Prior to launching a whole school project for ESD, it is desirable to make an inventory of the capacity building capital at participating schools, and to identify contextual factors constituting external pressure on the building of capital. 2) The school improvement project and the TPD need to be locally adjusted to the available capital. 3) A strategy for adapting the project to the various external pressures needs to be developed.
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| 7. |
- Maijala, Minna, et al.
(författare)
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Conceptualising transformative language teaching for sustainability and why it is needed
- 2024
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 30:3, s. 377-396
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper defines transformative language teaching for sustainability (TLS) and shows how contemporary, learner-oriented language teaching can foster important competencies and skills needed to reach the goals of education for sustainable development (ESD). The main aim of our approach is to integrate transformation-oriented ESD into language teaching in a way that considers and utilises the special features of language teaching and learning. We discuss the substantial possibilities that language education offers to ESD and propose a transformation-oriented ESD framework as the foundation for TLS, covering the linguistic and cultural features of sustainability that are central to language teaching and learning. Finally, we outline the pedagogical implications for TLS related to subject matter content and methods, that is, how language teachers can use learner-oriented language teaching methods to integrate ESD in their lessons. We propose a theory-based interdisciplinary model for the implementation of TLS in language education and language teacher education.
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| 8. |
- Mogren, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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ESD implementation at the school organisation level, part 1 – investigating the quality criteria guiding school leaders’ work at recognized ESD schools
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 23:7, s. 972-992
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) implementation tends to focus primarily on student and teacher outcomes, and there have been few studies on leadership practices at the school organisation level that provide information on how quality in education contributes to ESD implementation. To address this issue, we conducted an empirical mixed methods study of existing practices in 10 highly ESD-active upper secondary schools in Sweden. The schools’ principals, who were responsible for implementing ESD, were interviewed to obtain information on the quality criteria they used to guide their work. Twenty-six criteria were identified and grouped into four main principal quality criteria on the basis of statistical analysis: Collaborative interaction and school development; Student centred education; Cooperation with local society; and Proactive leadership and continuity. This categorization both supports existing research on ESD quality criteria and highlights new criteria that are important but were previously unrecognized. Trends in the identified quality criteria are discussed and related to prior research in order to identify potentially fruitful school leadership and management for implementing ESD at the school organisational level. Research on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) implementation tends to focus primarily on student and teacher outcomes, and there have been few studies on leadership practices at the school organisation level that provide information on how quality in education contributes to ESD implementation. To address this issue, we conducted an empirical mixed methods study of existing practices in 10 highly ESD-active upper secondary schools in Sweden. The schools’ principals, who were responsible for implementing ESD, were interviewed to obtain information on the quality criteria they used to guide their work. Twenty-six criteria were identified and grouped into four main principal quality criteria on the basis of statistical analysis: Collaborative interaction and school development; Student centred education; Cooperation with local society; and Proactive leadership and continuity. This categorization both supports existing research on ESD quality criteria and highlights new criteria that are important but were previously unrecognized. Trends in the identified quality criteria are discussed and related to prior research in order to identify potentially fruitful school leadership and management for implementing ESD at the school organisational level.
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| 9. |
- Mogren, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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ESD implementation at the school organisation level, part 2 – investigating the transformative perspective in school leaders’ quality strategies at ESD schools
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 23:7, s. 993-1014
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previous research has suggested that adopting a transformative school organisation perspective when implementing ESD may be more productive than the previously recommended transmissive perspectives, but it is not clear how transformative perspectives could be introduced. To address this issue, we conducted an empirical mixed methods study of existing practices in 10 highly ESD-active upper secondary schools in Sweden. The schools’ leaders, who were responsible for implementing ESD, were interviewed to obtain information on the quality criteria they used to guide their work. The arguments used by the leaders to justify their criteria were analysed and categorised based on their relationships with the transmissive and transformative quality strategies. Both school organisation perspectives were found to co-exist within the schools. A detailed analysis of schools where the transformative perspective was dominant revealed three distinct quality strategies, one of which was found to embody a strong focus on a transformative approach. This specific quality strategy is discussed and suggested as a way for interested schools to implement ESD in a more transformative way at the school organisation level.
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| 10. |
- Mogren, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Whole school approaches to education for sustainable development : A model that links to school improvement
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Education Research. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1350-4622 .- 1469-5871. ; 25:4, s. 508-531
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study applies a model of school organisation developed by one of the authors to investigate school improvement processes leading to a whole school approach in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) literature. The model is operationalized to a survey instrument and distributed to Swedish upper secondary teachers. The instrument provides empirical indications of teachers’ perceptions of their schools in terms of four major dimensions of an ESD whole school approach, the importance assigned to a holistic vision, routines and structures, professional knowledge creation, and practical pedagogical work. The aims of the study are to compare the teachers’ perception of their school organisation. We compare perceptions of teachers working in schools actively implementing ESD and teachers in comparable reference schools. Comparisons are also made between teachers from schools applying different strategies and quality approaches in implementing ESD. The results indicate that, relative to teachers in ordinary schools, those in ESD schools perceive their school organisations to have higher quality and coherence, with greater potential to support teaching and pedagogical work in practice. However, there is substantial variation in perceptions of teachers from different ESD schools. The model’s robustness is validated by coherence of earlier results in the same schools.
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