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

Abstract

The Green Schools Movement in Sweden has a long history. In this chapter we will start with a historical review of the long interest of green issues in Swedish society and how these have influenced curriculum and teaching. We will address the different teaching traditions that evolved in environmental education in Sweden over time. Then we will describe how the green school movement been promoted in Sweden through initiatives from NGOs such as Hall Sverige Rent and World Wide Fund for Nature. This has led to certification systems for schools to participate with the possibility to be accredited as “green schools”. These certification systems have turned from an environmental perspective to a perspective towards Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Finally we will go through the extensive research conducted in Sweden the last years of the effects these certification systems has had in the schools at student, teacher and school organization level, and what we can learn from these studies in order to develop the green school movement for the future.