Projektdetaljer
Beskrivelse
A Comparative Case-Study of Organizational Drivers and Barriers for Leading Green Transition
Many students, researchers, and educational leaders currently call for sustainable development of Danish schools (e.g. Læssøe & Larsen 2021; Mernild 2021; Jensen 2021; Kramhøft 2021; Gudbergsen 2021). Sustainability is on the agenda both regarding school operation, teaching and curriculum. However, despite the widespread and timely hype about sustainability, crucial questions remain unanswered concerning how to practically organize schools to support green societal transition. Questions, that is, addressing how school leadership might contribute to catalyze this transition.
Front-line research on the integration of sustainability in schools emphasizes the importance of local and context-sensitive approaches to leadership and policy implementation (Harris & Jones 2018; Mogren & Gericke 2019). The eco-school is one model for how to organize educational institutions with a view to green transition. Interestingly, that a given school undergoes Foundation for Environmental Education’s seven-step certification of becoming an eco-school does not automatically change the values, actions, and overall worldview of students when compared to students at non-eco-school schools (Pauw & van Petegem 2013). At the present moment in time, it is therefore necessary to look further into how specific forms of school organization and leadership influence eco-schools' success or failure to contribute to green societal transition through the schools’ implementation of the ideals and practices of education for sustainable development (henceforth: ESD) (UNESCO 2017). The research project Eco-Schools in Denmark: A Comparative Case-Study of Organizational Drivers and Barriers for Leading Green Transition (henceforth: the eco-school project) therefore raises the following main research question:
How can organizational leadership of eco-schools contribute to green transition of society?
The eco-school project also raises the following sub questions:
Which organizational features characterize the Danish eco-school? (Descriptive)
What are the organizational drivers and barriers for realizing the potentials of eco-schools to contribute to green societal transition? (Comparative)
What kinds of leadership are especially suited to drive whole-school approaches to organizational development of eco-schools? (Prescriptive)
The eco-school project is motivated by the global green agenda, the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the University of Southern Denmark’s (SDU’s) green action strategy. The project specifically addresses the cultivation of environmental values, attitudes and behaviors among children and adolescents in schools, as this is considered to be an invaluable prerequisite for long-term green transition of society (Joldersma 2009; Jensen & Schnack 2006; Postma 2004). The project focuses on the dynamics of educational networks understood as the interplay between schools’ leadership teams, school boards, parents’ committees and teacher teams with the purpose of investigating eco-schools' organizational development (Moore et al. 2019; Díaz-Gibson et al. 2020). The eco-school project addresses organizational school development through a whole-school approach with a view to both intrinsic and extrinsic ecologies of participants and it addresses the issue of quality of ESD practices on an organizational level and with respect to school leadership (Hubers 2020; Mogren, Gericke & Scherp 2019; Hargreaves 2008; Schneider, Brief & Guzzo 1996). The eco-school project will thus synergetically support the green transition research agenda already established at SDU by supplementing the focus on teaching quality by adding important structural and organizational perspectives to educational research on green societal transition.
Many students, researchers, and educational leaders currently call for sustainable development of Danish schools (e.g. Læssøe & Larsen 2021; Mernild 2021; Jensen 2021; Kramhøft 2021; Gudbergsen 2021). Sustainability is on the agenda both regarding school operation, teaching and curriculum. However, despite the widespread and timely hype about sustainability, crucial questions remain unanswered concerning how to practically organize schools to support green societal transition. Questions, that is, addressing how school leadership might contribute to catalyze this transition.
Front-line research on the integration of sustainability in schools emphasizes the importance of local and context-sensitive approaches to leadership and policy implementation (Harris & Jones 2018; Mogren & Gericke 2019). The eco-school is one model for how to organize educational institutions with a view to green transition. Interestingly, that a given school undergoes Foundation for Environmental Education’s seven-step certification of becoming an eco-school does not automatically change the values, actions, and overall worldview of students when compared to students at non-eco-school schools (Pauw & van Petegem 2013). At the present moment in time, it is therefore necessary to look further into how specific forms of school organization and leadership influence eco-schools' success or failure to contribute to green societal transition through the schools’ implementation of the ideals and practices of education for sustainable development (henceforth: ESD) (UNESCO 2017). The research project Eco-Schools in Denmark: A Comparative Case-Study of Organizational Drivers and Barriers for Leading Green Transition (henceforth: the eco-school project) therefore raises the following main research question:
How can organizational leadership of eco-schools contribute to green transition of society?
The eco-school project also raises the following sub questions:
Which organizational features characterize the Danish eco-school? (Descriptive)
What are the organizational drivers and barriers for realizing the potentials of eco-schools to contribute to green societal transition? (Comparative)
What kinds of leadership are especially suited to drive whole-school approaches to organizational development of eco-schools? (Prescriptive)
The eco-school project is motivated by the global green agenda, the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the University of Southern Denmark’s (SDU’s) green action strategy. The project specifically addresses the cultivation of environmental values, attitudes and behaviors among children and adolescents in schools, as this is considered to be an invaluable prerequisite for long-term green transition of society (Joldersma 2009; Jensen & Schnack 2006; Postma 2004). The project focuses on the dynamics of educational networks understood as the interplay between schools’ leadership teams, school boards, parents’ committees and teacher teams with the purpose of investigating eco-schools' organizational development (Moore et al. 2019; Díaz-Gibson et al. 2020). The eco-school project addresses organizational school development through a whole-school approach with a view to both intrinsic and extrinsic ecologies of participants and it addresses the issue of quality of ESD practices on an organizational level and with respect to school leadership (Hubers 2020; Mogren, Gericke & Scherp 2019; Hargreaves 2008; Schneider, Brief & Guzzo 1996). The eco-school project will thus synergetically support the green transition research agenda already established at SDU by supplementing the focus on teaching quality by adding important structural and organizational perspectives to educational research on green societal transition.
Lægmandssprog
Hvordan kan skoleledelsen praktisk organisere skoler i forhold til at understøtte grøn samfundsmæssig omstilling?
Mange studerende, forskere og pædagogiske ledere efterlyser i dag en bæredygtig udvikling af danske skoler. Bæredygtighed er på dagsordenen både hvad angår skoledrift, undervisning og pensum. Men på trods af den udbredte og rettidige hype om bæredygtighed, er afgørende spørgsmål stadig ubesvarede omkring, hvordan man praktisk organiserer skoler for at støtte grøn samfundsmæssig omstilling. Spørgsmål, er, hvordan skoleledelse kan bidrage til at katalysere denne omstilling?
Mange studerende, forskere og pædagogiske ledere efterlyser i dag en bæredygtig udvikling af danske skoler. Bæredygtighed er på dagsordenen både hvad angår skoledrift, undervisning og pensum. Men på trods af den udbredte og rettidige hype om bæredygtighed, er afgørende spørgsmål stadig ubesvarede omkring, hvordan man praktisk organiserer skoler for at støtte grøn samfundsmæssig omstilling. Spørgsmål, er, hvordan skoleledelse kan bidrage til at katalysere denne omstilling?
| Kort titel | Øko-skoleledelse |
|---|---|
| Status | Igangværende |
| Effektiv start/slut dato | 01/08/2022 → … |
Emneord
- økoskoleledelse
- åben skole
- grøn omstilling
- uddannelsesnetværk
- skoleledelse
- bæredygtighed
- skoleudvikling
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