Green Schools Globally

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxiv

   PDF

2. Green School Movements: An Introduction

   • Annette Gough, John Chi-Kin Lee, Eric Po Keung Tsang

   Pages 1-9

3. Background to Green School Movements

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11

      PDF

   2. Seeking a Green Future Through Education

      • Annette Gough

      Pages 13-29

   3. Towards a Generation of Sustainability Leaders: Eco-Schools as a Global Green Schools Movement for Transformative Education

      • Nicole Andreou

      Pages 31-45

4. Country Stories

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 47-47

      PDF

   2. The Enviroschools Programme in Aotearoa New Zealand: Action-Orientated, Culturally Responsive, Holistic Learning

      • Chris Eames, Heidi Mardon

      Pages 49-60

   3. Moving Green to Mainstream: Schools as Models of Sustainability for Their Communities – The Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI)

      • Larraine Larri, Angela Colliver

      Pages 61-83

   4. The Austrian ECOLOG-Schools Programme – Networking for Environmental and Sustainability Education

      • Franz Rauch, Günther Pfaffenwimmer

      Pages 85-102

   5. Ontario EcoSchools: A Framework for Environmental Learning and Action in K-12 Schools

      • Lindsay Bunce, Nancy McGee, Christina Phillips-MacNeil

      Pages 103-123

   6. The Past, Present and Future of Mainland China’s Green Schools

      • Yu Huang, John Chi-Kin Lee

      Pages 125-146

   7. French Sustainable Development Schools (E3Ds) to Promote Awareness and Commitment

      • Raphaël Chalmeau, Marie-Pierre Julien, Anne Calvet, Jean-Yves Léna

      Pages 147-167

   8. Eco-Schools Movement in Germany in the Light of Educational Reforms

      • Doris Elster

      Pages 169-188

   9. The Green School Award in Hong Kong: Development and Impact in the School Sector

      • Eric Po Keung Tsang, John Chi-Kin Lee, Sai Kit Eddie Yip, Annette Gough

      Pages 189-201

   10. Journey of Green Schools in India

       • Pramod Kumar Sharma, Preeti Rawat Kanaujia

       Pages 203-226

   11. Green Schools in Israel: Multiple Rationales and Multiple Action Plans

       • Tali Tal

       Pages 227-244

   12. Eco-Schools Kenya: Practising Education for Green Economy and Sustainability

       • Dorcas Otieno, David Wandabi, Lorraine Dixon

       Pages 245-267

   13. Green Schools in Mexico and Spain: Trends and Critical Perspective

       • Edgar J. González-Gaudiano, Pablo Á. Meira-Cartea, José M. Gutiérrez-Bastida

       Pages 269-287

   14. Eco-Schools as Education for Sustainable Development in Rural South Africa

       • Eureta Rosenberg

       Pages 289-307

   15. The Green School Movement in Sweden – Past, Present and Future

       • Niklas Gericke, Annika Manni, Ulrica Stagell

       Pages 309-332

This book brings together stories of the green schools movement ((Eco Schools, Enviroschools, Green Schools, Sustainable Schools, ResourceSmart Schools etc) in several countries around the world, with a focus on the impact of the movement on the development and implementation of education for sustainable development in each of the countries.  In particular, each story will explain the history of the movement per country, its current status, achievements, obstacles and broader impact.

There have been a number of evaluations of these school movements at a national or more local level, and numerous articles and chapters have been published on aspects of these schools’ activities, but to date these have not been brought together in a single volume that focuses attention on the impact of the movement on education for sustainable development in each country. This is the purpose of this volume.

The green schools movement focuses on a whole school approach which aims to include everyone (students, teachers and the local community), to improve school environments, including resource usage and the environmental footprint of the school, to motivate students to take on environmental problems and seek resolutions particularly at a local level but also thinking globally, and to improve students' attitudes and behaviours as part of developing a sustainable mind set.  

• green schools movement
• Eco Schools
• Enviroschools
• Eco Schools
• sustainable schools
• ResourceSmart Schools
• UN Conference on Environment and Development
• OECD ENSI
• sustainable development
• Environmental Education

“This book has been both insightful and reiterated my concerns about education. It is the first book that intentionally draws together the historic and current green schools experiences of a wide range of countries … . I believe this is a satisfying and important read for anyone involved in environmental education. It provides a comprehensive yet concise and well-formatted compilation of accounts that will be useful for new and existing educators as well as education policy developers.” (Megan Floris, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, February 18, 2022) “A distinctive feature of Green Schools Globally is the diverse array of perspectives that illustrate why it was not easy being green. Readers will appreciate the courage and resilience of the people who have persisted in the ‘stories of vision’ as curriculum demands have increased across vastly differing cultural and education environments. They should also appreciate how well supported these school initiatives are, by decades of scientific and educational research.  One might ask, on reading these fascinating tales of green schooling, exactly where responsibilities for our common futures must now reside.” (Emeritus Professor Paul Hart, University of Regina, Canada)
“This Volume brings together a diverse group of dedicated emerging and established scholars and practitioners who are all committed to reorient education towards people and planet. Their collective wisdom has resulted in a rich collage of perspectives and practices from around the world, showing how schools can connect to the grand sustainability challenges of our time, not only by paying attention to key emerging topics, like climate urgency, in the curriculum, but also and, foremost, by connecting to the existential questions young people bring to school, and finding more relational and actionable pedagogies that will help them develop the competencies they need in creating a better tomorrow.” (Professor Arjen E.J. Wals, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, UNESCO Chair)

• School of Education, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

  Annette Gough

• Offices of the President, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  John Chi-Kin Lee

• Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

  Eric Po Keung Tsang

Annette Gough is Professor of Science and Environmental Education in the School of Education and the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, and previously Head of the School of Education. She has been an adjunct/visiting professor at universities in Canada, South Africa and Hong Kong, and is a Life Fellow of the Australian Association for Environmental Education (since 1992). She has led research and development projects funded by the Australian and Victorian governments and non-government bodies, worked with UNESCO, UNEP and UNESCO-UNEVOC, and has been co-editor of the Australian Journal of Environmental Education. She has over 130 publications (books, chapters and articles and curriculum materials) and is an editorial board member for the Australian Journal of Environmental Education, Environmental Education Research and the Journal of Biological Education. Her research interests span environmental, sustainability and science education, research methodologies, posthuman and gender studies.





John Chi-Kin Lee is the Chair Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Vice President (Academic) and Provost, Director of the Centre for Religious and Spirituality Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Education in Environmental Sustainability at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). He has been appointed as the UNESCO Chair in Regional Education Development and Lifelong Learning at the EdUHK. He has been the Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor conferred by the Ministry of Education, the People's Republic of China. He has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Cogent Education, Editor of International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, Regional Editor (Asia-Pacific) of Educational Research and Evaluation and Executive Editor of Teachers and Teaching as well as advisory editor of Journal of Environmental Education Research (Taiwan). He is also a prolific writer who has edited and written more than 25 books, and published over 100 journal articles and book chapters.






Po Keung Eric Tsang is a Professor, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Head of the Department of Science and Environmental Studies, and Associate Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre at The Education University of Hong Kong. He is an environmental scientist by training, but he also specialises in environmental education research, and was one of the pioneers of the Green School initiative. He has been appointed visiting professor by Northeast Normal University and South China Normal University, and founding director of the Hong Kong and Guangzhou Centre for Environmental and Science Education in South China Normal University. He is active in the community as chairman/ member of numerous high-level government committees, chairman of Green Power, a major NGO in Hong Kong, and member (outreach panel) of the International Year of Global Understanding, launched by the International Geographical Union and UNESCO.

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