Abstract
In the current context of unsustainability that we inhabit, education is considered to be a necessary pillar for social transformation towards sustainable development. The main goal of this research is to analyze the implementation of educational practical experiences of the education for sustainability programs from the perspective of teachers working in secondary schools in the Basque Autonomous Community. The analyzed schools are situated in different socio-economic and environmental contexts. The analysis also aims to diagnose the extent of knowledge on the 2030 Global Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a view to its future implementation. The study is based on qualitative tools such as in-depth interviews (38 interviews conducted at five secondary schools). For analytical purposes, the perspective of the teaching staff is adopted as they play an indispensable and determining role in education for sustainability. The main results showed that the involvement of the teaching staff, personal motivation and good leadership are essential for the success of the program, together with the support of school authorities. A stable teaching staff and a sense of identity with the project are decisive factors. In this sense, differences were detected between public schools and private schools that, to a certain extent, condition the difficulties faced by the teaching staff. Experiential activities, activities outside the classroom and a positive perspective on the subject are considered factors contributing to the success of the programs. SDGs were still largely unknown to the teaching staff but could provide a good framework for multidisciplinary education.
Highlights
Since the middle of the 20th century, human impact on the planet has been expediting a process known as ‘the great acceleration’ [1], in which the impact of the human species has multiplied
This is due to the hiring system that incorporates teachers into schools in the public sector, which involves their assignment to a series of schools until they obtain a permanent position
In the specific field of formal education, in all the cases studied in this research, the teaching staff are the key element for successfully putting the programs of environmental education into practice
Summary
Since the middle of the 20th century, human impact on the planet has been expediting a process known as ‘the great acceleration’ [1], in which the impact of the human species has multiplied This process entails an alteration in the cycles of materials, the accelerated rate of the extinction of species and the appearance of new contaminating materials, which in turn have a great effect on the welfare of people [2]. In this respect, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) has proposed a definition for a new geological age characterized by the human impact on the planet equaling or surpassing the forces of nature: The Anthropocene [3]. The world deficit per capita is 2.6 hectares per person [4]
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