Background

Sustainable Schools are a growing phenomenon, both in Australia with the introduction on the Australian Sustainable schools Initiative (AuSSI) and internationally with OECD’s Eco-Schools Programme. However, the skill set required of Sustainable schoolteachers is markedly different from those of a classroom teacher and one of the challenges to the sustainable school is the lack of suitably qualified and trained teachers in this new approach. Sustainable schools do not just include Sustainability Education in the curriculum, but they also model the school policies and procedures along sustainability lines. Sustainable Schools might, for example, have permaculture food gardens, litter free lunch policies, sponsor a sister school in a developing country, or they might have rehabilitated a section of their school as land for wildlife. What is important in a sustainable school is that learning is meaningful, real- life and, engaged with the challenges of our times by building capacity for active citizenship. The Australian Government Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts is funding the project, and the project is being coordinated by the Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability at Macquarrie University.

This project is consistent with UNESCO’s aims to reorient preservice teacher education towards sustainability. Specifically the project aims to:

• Work within participating teacher education institutions to incorporate specific changes to curriculum content, processes and/or procedures to align pre-service teacher education courses more strongly with education for sustainability.

• Develop strong partnerships and networks across the education system to strategically link government departments, teacher educators and a range of professional associations to enhance the reach of forthcoming and existing initiatives in sustainability education.

• Improve and support sustainability education networks and partnerships within Queensland through building an action-research network of partners in this project; and

• Provide support and professional learning for committed and passionate teacher educators to continue promoting sustainability education within their institutions.

Approach

This project is based on outcomes from a previous project (Ferreira, Ryan and Tilbury 2006) and aims to trial a new model of change within teacher education that combines a systems approach with an action-research process to change. Consistent with systems theory, we have targeted key stakeholders within the teacher education system such as students, teacher educators, policy officers, business and accreditation and professional organisations in order to effect change in teacher education from both the top-down and bottom-up by building capacity of teacher educators in sustainability education and supportive policy environments. An organisational Change agent has also been contracted to advise on institutional and systemic change.

These systemic stakeholders are being engaged in an action- research process as we evaluate the potential of the model to effect change across Queensland. Data is being collected through surveys, learning journals, and document analysis.

The project is active across 5 universities QUT, USC, USQ, JCU and ACU, and also involves the Queensland Government Department of Education, Training and the Arts, Queensland Government Department of Natural Resources and Water, Terrain Natural Resources Management group, The Global Learning Centre and Four Walls and a Roof Environmental Education consultancy.

Project Impact

To date the following has been achieved:

• All participating teacher education partners have developed institutional working parties and are incorporating sustainability education theory, examples, case studies. into a range of courses if effect increasing the number of students with access to sustainability education from x to y.

• A preservice teacher charter for education for sustainability has been collaboratively developed by student teachers across the 5 universities via facebook and presented to the Hon. Rod welford, Minister of Education, Training and the Arts at a student teacher forum.

• Strengthened an existing informal network of sustainability educators to a coherent group with clear purpose and vision.

• Negotiations are continuing with a range of high profile organisations such as UNESCO and additional systemic partners on further stages of this project.

To date there are a number of interesting findings from the project particularly in relation to the interpretation and debate of meanings around Education for Sustainability held across systemic partners and the role of the sustainability educator as “expert” and the validation and privilege of expert knowledge. There are still challenges in terms of building stakeholder “buy-in” when there are competing and sometimes contradictory priorities and more research needs to be undertaken in this area.

Team

• Sharon Parkes (Eidos)
• Dr Julie Davis (QUT)
• Ms Lisa Ryan (USC)
• Ms Karen Williams (Message Stix)
• Dr Barbara Odgers (ACU)
• Dr Robyn Henderson (USQ)
• Dr Hilary Whitehouse (JCU)
• Dr Ruth Hickey (JCU)
• Mr Cam Mackenzie (DETA)
• Ms Moni Carlisle (Terrain NRM)
• Ms Kirstin Kenyon (DNRW)
• Ms Hilary McLeod (GLC).

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Funding Partner:

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Participating Members:

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