Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a form of sustainability education in which students learn how to meet their needs for development in a sustainable manner while maintaining the ability for future generations to also meet their needs. Education regarding sustainability is important for understanding the increasing complexity around the natural environmental and sustainable development. Teaching about sustainability in schools can promote comprehension of these challenging topics. ESD programs have become more popular and more common over the past decade. As a result, there are now schools around the world with robust ESD programs. Assessing the quality of ESD programs across schools gives practitioners a broader perspective on what works and what does not work in ESD implementation. The authors of this study investigated how school leadership implemented ESD programs.
This study focuses on the idea of quality in ESD implementation. In this case, quality does not refer to a range from good to bad, rather it indicates qualities based on the subjective experiences of participants, such as shared leadership. Research on ESD implementation has shown that there are two main qualities in terms of how ESD is implemented. The first quality, called ESD 1, is defined as 'consensus and strong leadership.' According to the ESD 1, high quality education is based on school leaders coming to a consensus regarding educational goals. ESD 1 assumes a form of top-down management in schools. ESD 2 is defined as 'variation and a shared leadership.' According to ESD 2, high-quality education is a product of the ability to collaborate among educators and develop a shared vision. ESD 2 is focused on bottom-up management. ESD 1 and ESD 2 are used in this study to differentiate between the types of ESD quality criteria identified by the interviewees.
This study took place at 10 upper secondary schools in Sweden, all of which had ESD programs. The first seven schools were chosen from a list of Swedish schools that had won awards and/or gained certifications for ESD implementation. The remaining three schools did not have awards or certifications, but had implemented ESD programs and were part of a network of schools interested in implementing interdisciplinary studies. These schools were selected to ensure diversity in the sample.
The researchers interviewed 14 school leaders from each of the 10 schools, all of whom had at least five years of experience in their positions. The researchers collected data by asking school leaders about the quality of ESD at their respective schools. During the interviews, interviewees created hand-written concept maps (using paper and sticky notes) to represent their perceptions of the quality of ESD in their schools. Researchers listened to the recordings of the interviews and analyzed the content in the concept maps to identify quality criteria for ESD implementation. The identified quality criteria were then grouped into common categories. Based on the frequency with which each quality criterion was mentioned by interviewees, the criteria were scored and ranked.
Overall, 26 quality criteria were identified by the school leaders. 13 of the criteria were new, meaning that previous studies on ESD implementation had not identified these criteria. The four principal criteria include: 1) collaborative interaction and school development, 2) student centered education, 3) cooperation with local society, and 4) proactive leadership and continuity.
The authors found that the school leader interviews emphasized ESD 2 (variation and shared leadership) more than ESD 1 (consensus and strong leadership). This is supported by the fact that the top-ranked criterion was a 'creation of a holistic idea.' Most of the top-ranked criteria were about the implementation of a shared vision. Quality assumptions regarding a strong focus on leadership (relating more to ESD 1) were ranked lower on the list of quality criteria.
This study is limited by the fact that the researchers only analyzed schools in Sweden. The results may not be applicable for schools in other countries with different education systems. There was also a potential limitation regarding the content of the interviews. Although school leaders were asked to discuss their ESD programs as they existed in the present, some interviewees still talked about their visions for ESD programs in the future. Therefore, some of the reported conditions at the schools may have been idealized.
Based on the results of this study, specifically the school leaders' demonstrated focus on ESD 2-type implementation, the authors recommend that practitioners emphasize the creation of a shared vision in ESD programs rather than implementing a program from the top down. Educators should distribute the vision to students, teachers, and staff at their schools and make sure that the vision is agreed upon. However, educators should also acknowledge that most school leaders will operate using a combination of values from both ESD 1 and ESD 2.
The Bottom Line
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with a focus on variation and shared leadership helped achieve notable educational outcomes in schools. The authors of this study asked school leaders about the implementation qualities that led to successful ESD programs at 10 upper secondary schools in Sweden. Results showed that most school leaders focused on collaborating with staff to create a shared vision for ESD programs rather than using a top-down implementation style. The authors recommend that practitioners wishing to implement ESD programs adopt a bottom-up management style by working to develop a vision that is agreed upon by all participating educators.