Policy and holistic approach for teaching sustainability at the school level was the focus of Day 4.
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Reflection on Day 3
Christina Stavrou, Constantinos Phanis | Cyprus Pedagogical Institute
Day 4 began with a short reflection session regarding Day 3. Participants were asked to reflect on Day 3 and share what elements they found useful for their work and why, especially regarding the Activities at the Cape Greco Environmental Education Centre and the field-work activities at Malama (Skoutarospilioi) Beach. Their comments and reflections brought together the importance of applying effective activities and practices such as utilizing procedures related to the scientific inquiry method that serve the goals of education for sustainable development (e.g., experimentation, simulations, debate). They stressed the importance of outdoor and field-work activities to promote knowledge, skills and attitudes. -
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A. Mechanisms for Education for sustainable development: Policies and Frameworks / B. Education for Sustainable Development in Cyprus (policies and good examples of integration)
Aravella Zachariou | Unit of Education for the environment and Sustainable Development – Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
The effective integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in national and regional level prerequisites mechanisms and policies that support countries to promote and establish national frameworks on ESD which facilitate the long-term and constructive implementation of ESD in formal, non-formal and in-formal Education. In this plenary session, Dr Zachariou’s presentation informed the participants about the main regional mechanisms that impacted the national policies on ESD and discussed with them for the opportunities and challenges for their integration in national contexts. More specifically, the regional policies and frameworks that were presented were the implementation of the UNECE ESD Strategy 2021-2030, the UNESCO ESD roadmap 2030, the EC learning for environmental sustainability, the new European Bauhaus, the EU Green Deal. These policies, recommendations and frameworks were discussed on their main objectives, their priority areas, strategic aims and practical use in national context.
B. Education for Sustainable Development in Cyprus (policies and good examples of integration)
Aravella Zachariou | Unit of Education for the environment and Sustainable Development – Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
Cyprus is considered as an example of good practice regarding the policies on ESD and their implementation in praxis. As a continuation of the first part, this section of the presentation focused on presenting the national policies on ESD. More specifically, Dr Zachariou presented the national strategy on ESD which is the official document of ESD in Cyprus and includes in a more comprehensive, holistic and unified way of all the actions for ESD implementation in formal, non-formal and in-formal education. Also, she presented the revised national strategy on ESD and Green Transition 2030, which is based on the main regional policies that are already presented as well as sub-policies and frameworks that applied for ESD Curriculum, professional development, research, monitoring, bilateral and international collaboration, educational resources, schools as learning places for sustainability, Governmental Network of Environmental Education Centers, Environmental Educational Programs etc. Through the Cyprus example participants discussed and reflected on their national policies on ESD and presented an example of a policy that would be considered as a good practice to share with the group.
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Introduction to whole school approach - Definition and good practices for Education on Sustainability: The Cyprus Example
Aravella Zachariou | Unit for the Education for Environment and Sustainable Development – Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport
Whole School Approach (WSA) is a mainstream for ESD in school education. It captures ESD in a systemic and holistic way aiming to transform schools to a learning community for sustainability. During this session presented various models of Whole School Approach. The participants discussed their dimensions and reflected in their national context which dimensions applied. Additionally, she presented how WSA is applied in the Cyprus educational context. Specifically, she presented the Sustainable Environmental Education Policy, the indicators, the learning objectives and the self-reporting. Finally, the participants worked in groups and identified actions, programs and initiatives in various EU countries where WSA is applied.
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LTP 2.6 Green Citizenship in/for Europe (Unit 1: Introduction to whole school approach)
Jan Kvapil, Nika Knysh | Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium, Pirna
Workshop participants got acquainted with the Whole School Approach in the context of sustainability and Green Citizenship. They designed in groups their own "School of the Future" and tried to find a suitable strategy for its implementation. The workshop participants were sensitized to the topic through interactive methods and were asked to reflect on their findings and experiences and to systematize them with the help of the relevant material.
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Reflection, emotions and feeling for teachers' learning
Sofia Avgitidou | University of Thessaloniki
In her reflection session, Dr Avgitidou put emphasis on the emotions and feeling, with special reference to the feeling of belonging and inclusion and whether those emotions help the participants in their learning. After that, Dr Avgitidou encouraged the participants to reflect on what actions they can put forward in their educational setting to promote inclusion and learning. As she explained, those two are prerequisites for education for sustainable development. She asked for feedback based on the participants’ personal values and emotions and encouraged the participants to adopt a relational way of thinking (no one learns if he/she does not feel safe and accepted).