Development and formation of ESE policy: learning from teachers and local authorities

Abstract

In this qualitative case study, we adopted theories of street-level bureaucracy and policy entrepreneurship to examine formation processes of environmental and sustainability education (ESE) policy at school and local government level. We focused on teachers’ and urban government ESE officials’ motives for initiating ESE programs, the support systems they have in place for developing them, and the ways they recruit or repurpose budgets for them. We identified three main motives that induced actors to initiate ESE programs: social, rebranding and environmental. Additionally, we identified three patterns of support that administrators provided in the implementation process: initiating, allowing and adopting. We discuss the connections between budget types, motives and support patterns. A major implication is that following ESE dedicated policies conceals the ESE implementation processes that formal education undergoes. ESE policy research will benefit from understanding local educational government structure and programs, and their role in shaping ESE policy in practice.