Experiential learning lacks in environmental and sustainability education in Basque Country, Spain

As a response to the impacts of human activity on the climate and the international attempts to mitigate these negative impacts, environmental and sustainability education (ESE) in formal school systems has become prevalent. However, there is little research on how students perceive current ESE efforts. In Spain, the Basque Autonomous Community implemented the School Agenda 21 (SA21) which focuses on three goals: participation of the education community, sustainably managing schools, and ESE curriculum. Educational centers, Ingurugela, were created to support teachers in delivering ESE. In this program, schools can also be certified as a "Sustainable School” that exemplify ESE principles. Each year schools focus on an ESE topic, such as climate change or the circular economy, and design activities around it. In this study, the researchers sought to understand the effectiveness of the SA21 from the student perspective. The researchers inquired about how students' perceived ESE, their understanding of major environmental issues and actions to take, how students viewed their role in the issues and solutions, and the ways the students felt their school addressed these environmental issues.

The study took place between January and June 2019 in four certified sustainable schools in Basque Country, Spain. The researchers held discussion groups with secondary students between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. A total of 39 students were included in the study, with 6 to 10 students from each school in each group. The researchers conducted a series of two discussions with each of the groups, totaling eight discussions overall. The first group discussion prompted the students to think about the environmental issues they learned about in school and how they engaged in pro-environmental behaviors. A road map of topics covered was created after the first discussion to be reviewed in the second discussion. During the second group discussion, the students reported their observations of the road map and made conclusions based on those observations. The researchers complemented these discussion group results by analyzing the schools' curriculum documents and SA21 annual activity reports and conducting informal conversations with teachers and school administration. The researchers took field notes during their school visits, recorded group discussions, and transcribed the data for analysis.

The results indicated the students learned about environmental issues and solutions, yet had a reluctance to act in environmentally-friendly ways due to ingrained habits. Additionally, the students shared their schools could do a better job at practicing the pro-environmental behaviors discussed in classrooms. The students most often recognized recycling, plastic pollution, energy consumption, transportation, and food waste as the most discernible topics as part of the SA21. In general, the students acknowledged the information about these topics was accessible and permeated into the larger community (e.g., families), but people did not act on this knowledge. For example, the students acknowledged that food waste is a concern that contributes to food insecurity and bad planetary health, but reported that food is still wasted in their schools' cafeterias and at home regardless of this knowledge. The students explained that pro-environmental behaviors can be difficult to implement because people may feel uncomfortable with the change in their routine or the cost of the new activity. Ultimately, the students concluded people prioritize cost and comfort despite their individual role in the ability to contribute to a healthier and safer planet.

Finally, the students shared that although they learned about energy consumption and best practices to conserve energy in the classroom, their schools act unsustainably by running the heat with the windows open and not providing accessible alternative transportation options to and from school. The students came up with ways to improve sustainable actions for themselves, their schools, and their communities. Some of their methods to improve sustainable actions included being willing to pay more for sustainable products, consuming locally produced products, making ESE more prevalent throughout the school day, holding the school management accountable for sustainable actions, and sharing lessons from the SA21 with parents and friends.

There were limitations to this study. The SA21 is specific to Basque Country and may not apply to other world regions. It was not clear what was included on the road map used to guide the second discussion, which may have affected those conversations. The results are not generalizable for all environmental and sustainability education programs nor for all secondary students.

The researchers reiterated some of the recommendations for improvement shared by the students, such as school officials taking more ownership of demonstrating sustainable behaviors and stressing ESE consistently throughout the school day. Based on the results, the researchers suggested that student perspectives be implemented when designing ESE initiatives. Therefore, students will feel more ownership over their educational journey and may be more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviors. Finally, the researchers asserted that ESE programs in schools must move from discourse to action and include more experiential learning and hands-on activities for change in students and local communities.