This paper presents an empirical study on leadership actions related to education for sustainable development, i.e. education that embraces ecological and socio-economic perspectives to foster students’ awareness of the importance of long-term sustainable development. The aim is to identify leadership actions that enable or constrain permanent implementation of such educational perspectives. Empirically, the study is based on data acquired in a school improvement project on sustainability, involving five schools in a Swedish municipality during the years 2016 to 2021. Data were collected in two rounds, in 2018 and 2020, through interviews with school leaders. A theoretical framework including the coupling mechanisms concept and previously identified organizational routines is applied in analysis of the rich data acquired to explore the school leaders’ reported actions, associated routines and their outcomes. The results reveal leadership actions that enable, and others that constrain, long-term establishment of education for sustainable development. The study confirms the importance of early establishment of a holistic educational idea embracing education for sustainable development, and both communication and feedback systems for leaders on its compliance. The study also shows the value of collegial structures and transformational leadership actions that prevent the fading or failure of intended implementation.

In this study we transform a recently created photosynthesis literacy framework to enacted curriculum in an educational design research (EDR) study, with the ultimate aim of fostering photosynthesis literate citizens by providing a more relevant photosynthesis education, based on its importance for sustainability and relevance to other pressing societal issues. The study was conducted over a year in Sweden in seventh-grade secondary school classes and in collaboration with two biology teachers. The EDR was divided into three stages: (i) piloting, (ii) developing a new teaching design, and (iii) three rounds of evaluation and development to finesse a teaching design that builds on the aforementioned photosynthesis literacy framework and consists of four themes, which are detailed in 25 learning objectives. In the three developing and evaluation rounds the teaching design was enacted by the two teachers in their biology classes. In between the rounds, the teaching design was analysed, revised, and re-revised. The final teaching design settled on and presented herein consists of ten lessons. This teaching design can be used to reinvent photosynthesis education in a way that makes it more relevant for students. It also addresses many of the known misconceptions related to teaching and learning about photosynthesis.

This study investigates the experiences of teachers in middle leading positions who worked as ESD facilitators during a three-year whole school approach project designed to implement education for sustainable development (ESD). Five schools in a Swedish municipality participated in the project to integrate ESD into their organisation and teaching practice. Project activities involved school leaders, teachers, and ESD facilitators, with the facilitators taking part in the design of the development process, workshop activities and content, and facilitating their school’s internal work. The aim of this study is to generate insight into their roles as facilitators of transformation in line with ESD, and how they can be supported to fulfil their roles. The analysis used a framework of sustainability change agents, identifying that approaches to change aligned with technician, mediator, convincer, and concerned explorer types. The findings highlight the importance of contextual factors–specifically, a shared vision, collaborative culture and organisational structures, and active school leadership in shaping ESD facilitators’ ability to fulfil their roles.

Sustainable development is a prominent issue on the agendas of citizens, policymakers, practitioners, and scholars alike. Conceptual frameworks have been suggested to guide teaching-learning processes in order to prepare future generations for sustainability challenges. One such framework is action competence in sustainable development (ACiSD) as a learning outcome of action-oriented education for sustainable development (ESD). The current chapter introduces the main components of this ACiSD-ESD conceptual framework for its operationalization using data from international large-scale assessments. ACiSD is defined by the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills, a strong motivation from within, and confidence both in one’s own capacities for inducing change and in a positive outcome of sustainability actions. ESD is characterized by holism, pluralism and participation, and an orientation toward action. Currently, international large-scale assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) are evolving towards providing opportunities to operationalize the ACiSD-ESD conceptual framework. This may enable monitoring ESD learning outcomes and sharing good practices on an international basis. 

Insects play a crucial role in maintaining the balance in ecosystems and provide essential ecosystem services that directly benefit us humans. Unfortunately, many groups of insects are rapidly declining, and researchers warn from the negative consequences of this decline. Therefore, it is highly relevant to educate people about the issue of insect decline and to empower people to take actions that contribute to sustain insect biodiversity. The presented teaching intervention "Actions for Insects" supports students in developing their own action competence to contribute to insect conservation. The intervention focuses on action-oriented learning to provide learners with the possibility to plan and take own real world actions for insect conservation. Action for Insects provides students with background information on insects, facilitates hands-on actions to support insects, and encourages students to use iNaturalist as a digital tool for insect observation. The teaching design is theory-based and fits to the Swedish curriculum for lower and upper secondary schools, which enables an integration in regular biology classes. The intervention was successfully tested with more than 180 students from four lower secondary compulsory schools in Sweden in 2022. The accompanying research showed that the participating students improved their self-perceived levels of knowledge, confidence, and willingness to take conservation actions for insects. The symposium contribution focuses on the theoretical backgrounds and the structure of Actions for Insects and highlights key findings and practical experiences.

Actions for Insects – An action-oriented intervention on biodiversity and insect conservation

Rationale

Insects play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance and provide essential ecosystem services that directly benefit humans. They have various roles in nature, such as predators, prey, pollinators, and decomposers, influencing how ecosystems function. Unfortunately, many groups of insects are rapidly declining, and researchers warn from the potential consequences of this decline for both humans and natural food webs (Cardoso et al., 2020). 

Scientists argue that we must take actions to support insect biodiversity now and educate the public to take action (Harvey et al., 2020). Thus, it is essential from a sustainability perspective to teach about the issue of insect decline in schools and equip students with the relevant skills to support insect biodiversity. Teaching about these topics also fits to key concepts in biology and science education (e.g., sustainability, ecosystem services, biodiversity). However, educational research about students’ personal perspectives in the context of insect decline and insect conservation is very limited (Ruck & Mannion, 2021).

Key objectives

A first objective of the presented project is to design a teaching intervention that helps students to develop competencies to take actions for insect conservation. 

A second objective is to investigate how the self-perceived action competence for insect conservation changes through this intervention.

Research design and methodology

The intervention design builds on the theoretically underpinned concept of action competence, which describes peoples’ ability to address complex problems (Sass et al., 2020). The design aims to support learners’ action competence by building on specific criteria (action-orientation, holism, pluralism) that are beneficial for fostering learners’ action competence (Sinakou et al., 2019). The teaching design was adjusted to the age group and the biology curriculum of Swedish compulsory schools in grades 7 and 8 (12-15 years). The resulting intervention was then implemented at four schools in a Swedish municipality in spring 2022. 

The development of students’ self-perceived action competence through the intervention was investigated quantitatively in a pre-post setting. The investigation focused on the three dimensions of self-perceived knowledge, confidence and willingness to take actions for insect conservation. The sampling consisted of an intervention group (pre-test: n=190, post-test: n=137) and a control group (pre-test: n=99, post-test: n=86) receiving regular biology lessons. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and t-tests in IBM SPSS.

Outcome & Findings 

A first outcome of the project is the theoretically grounded teaching intervention “Actions for Insects”, which is the first intervention building on the concept of action competence for insect conservation. The intervention consists of three phases. In the first phase, students learn relevant background information about insects and insect decline. Additionally, students work with iNaturalist as a digital tool for exploring insect biodiversity and the students search for insects at the schoolyard. At the end of the first phase, students plan their own actions to support insects. These actions can be anything that directly supports insects (e.g., growing insect-friendly flowers) or indirectly (e.g., informing others about actions). In the second phase, students have time to take these planned actions. Students decide for themselves which actions to take and how to proceed. During this phase, students are encouraged to take pictures of insects and upload them to iNaturalist. In the final third phase, students have the opportunity to reflect on their actions and on their role as researchers in iNaturalist.

A second outcome are the results from the pre-post-study that accompanied the implementation of the teaching intervention. On average, students had significantly higher values in the post-test after the intervention for the self-perceived knowledge, confidence, and willingness to take insect conservation actions. The largest effect sizes were observable for the self-perceived knowledge and the confidence. The students’ in the post-test after regular biology lessons in the control group had significantly higher values only for the self-perceived knowledge, whereas the self-perceived confidence and willingness did not change significantly. The effect sizes of all changes in the control group were smaller than in the intervention group.

Conclusions

The developed teaching intervention “Actions for Insects” proved to be effective in supporting the development of students self-perceived action competence, by fostering all three dimensions of knowledge, confidence, and willingness. We can conclude that students particularly need specific action-oriented knowledge (Which actions are effective? How to take these actions?). A novel aspect of the intervention is that it encompasses a variety of insects, going beyond teaching methods that focus on individual species. By this, the research project provides new insights for biodiversity education that are from high international relevance. The teaching design is open in the sense that it can be easily adjusted to other countries, school specific needs, and students' prior knowledge. At the symposium, we will discuss how the intervention and underlying concepts of action competence and action-orientation can contribute to effective biodiversity education in general, based on the findings from this study.

References

Cardoso, P., Barton, P. S., Birkhofer, K., Chichorro, F., Deacon, C., … & Samways, M. J. (2020). Scientists' warning to humanity on insect extinctions. Biological Conservation, 242, 108426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108426 

Harvey, J. A., Heinen, R., Armbrecht, I., Basset, Y., Baxter-Gilbert, J. H., … & de Kroon, H. (2020). International scientists formulate a roadmap for insect conservation and recovery. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 4(2), 174-176. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-1079-8 

Ruck, A., & Mannion, G. (2021). Stewardship and beyond? Young people’s lived experience of conservation activities in school grounds. Environmental Education Research, 27(10), 1502-1516. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.1964439 

Sass, W., Boeve-de Pauw, J., Olsson, D., Gericke, N., De Maeyer, S., & Van Petegem, P. (2020). Redefining action competence: The case of sustainable development. The Journal of Environmental Education, 51(4), 292-305. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2020.1765132 

Sinakou, E., Donche, V., Boeve-de Pauw, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2019). Designing Powerful Learning Environments in Education for Sustainable Development: A Conceptual Framework. Sustainability, 11(21), 5994. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215994 

In terms of developing students’ action competence when it comes to sustainability, the research literature highlights the importance of sustainability action taking in education for sustainable development. However, few studies have statistically investigated the relation between sustainability action taking and students’ action competence. Recognising the importance of action taking in education for sustainable development, this study investigates school experiences in influencing society as one important aspect of sustainability teaching and learning that promotes students’ action competence. We surveyed 902 students across three upper secondary schools situated within the same county municipality in Norway. One instrument measured the students’ school experiences in influencing society, and another assessed the students’ self-perceived action competence defined as i) knowledge of action possibilities, ii) confidence in one’s own influence, and ii) willingness to act. A structural equation model showed that school experiences in influencing society have a positive relation with all the action competence factors, supporting previous research that highlights the importance of taking action with regard to sustainability as a part of education for sustainable development. The findings indicate that providing students with opportunities to influence society can foster their development of action competence for sustainability. 

The article demonstrates how a questionnaire gauging students' experiences of participation in decision-making at their school can operationalise student participation in a whole school approach (WSA) to education for sustainable development model. Some 902 students in three upper secondary schools participated in the study by giving their answers to Likert-scale items developed to tap into their experience of participation in the decision-making at their school. The students identified four distinct pathways of participation: (i) School and Leadership, (ii) Teaching and Learning, (iii) Community Connections, and (iv) Student Council. The results are discussed in the light of focus group interviews with eleven of the participants. The student WSA participation questionnaire proved to be a reliable and valid instrument that, together with the student WSA participation model, can be used by school leaders wanting to increase student participation, and by researchers investigating student participation throughout the whole school.

The theoretical framework and empirical examples presented in this chapter stem from school improvement research and can be used by schools that want to work practically according to a whole school approach (WSA) toward education for sustainable development (ESD) through policymakers who want to establish guidelines enabling the implementation of WSA to ESD and through researchers who want to investigate and analyze the process of institutionalizing WSA to ESD. 

The literature on whole school approach (WSA) to education for sustainable development (ESD) has mainly been practice-based, lacking empirical and theoretical grounding. Moreover, the existing literature shows that it is difficult to accomplish WSA to ESD. This chapter addresses these issues by grounding WSA to ESD in applied methods and theories from the field of school improvement research and exemplifying with empirical findings of how to build the capacity to reform a local school in line with WSA to ESD. Four identified themes for developing a local school’s capacity are discussed: improvement history of the school, infrastructure of the school organization, improvement processes, and improvement roles. The chapter takes a novel process-oriented perspective and discusses the school improvement process longitudinally from initiation via implementation to reach institutionalization of WSA to ESD. The main conclusion is that it may take 5–8 years to institutionalize WSA to ESD.