A new report, Learning for Sustainability: from the pupils’ perspective, commissioned by WWF, has highlighted the vital role pupils’ play in a whole school approach to sustainability.
Over a period of three years, 15 schools were visited and pupils asked about their experience of learning for sustainability within the school. Changes over the period were also monitored in terms of how the pupils’ progress through the school and their experience as the school improved its provision.
Liz Jackson, Head of Education at WWF said: “There have been many developments that set out how schools should move towards being more sustainable. Much of this is advocated within the context of the school and may involve simple practical measures such as saving energy or water, reducing and recycling waste, and many schools have policies and practices concerned with these matters.
“However, it is important that the pupils’ perspective is not neglected as this can help shape decisions and improve provision. The development of appropriate attitudes towards the environment is particularly important, rather than simply confining the emphasis on knowledge and understanding as these are the motivators for individuals to take action”.
A key finding of the report was that schools need to demonstrate that sustainability is something they value. This could be simply through the Head and Senior Management Team getting involved and taking an interest or by encouraging special activities and celebrating achievements that focus on aspects of sustainability.
Another important aspect in motivating pupil’s involvement in learning for sustainability is school councils, providing they offered proven potential for involvement in decision making. The most successful school councils enable pupils to feel that they have significant control over the meetings, such as setting agendas, making records of meetings and their opinions affecting the outcomes.
“Children need opportunities for collaborative decision making and setting agendas for themselves in everyday life. This enables them to begin to exercise control of their environment. When pupils are involved in monitoring, recording and reporting the effectiveness of the measures taken to improve sustainability within the school, or involved in planning changes, there are valuable educational outcomes and increased pupil motivation”, says Jackson.
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Editor’s notes
A survey of 41 schools by Ofsted (2008) identified that the current state of provision in relation to education for sustainability is patchy, but there exist excellent examples of good practice from which others may learn.
By the end of the DFES Year of Action in 2007, it was intended that all schools would have received the message set out in the Sustainable Schools Strategy.
The way we live is leading to environmental threats such as climate change, species extinction, deforestation, water shortages and the collapse of fisheries. WWF’s One Planet Future Campaign is working to help people live a good quality of life within the earth’s capacity.
For further information and copies of the report, please contact:
Sophie McCallum, tel: 01483 412387, email: smccallum@wwf.org.uk
