Exploring whole-school approaches to education for sustainability

There is growing interest in the development of education for sustainability (EfS) in New Zealand schools. Over a third of all schools are now part of the Enviroschools Programme, and the term “sustainability” appears prominently in The New Zealand Curriculum. Yet there is much still to be understood about how to develop effective EfS. One aspect that has been suggested for enhancing EfS is a whole-school approach, but there is little research evidence to guide teachers in what such an approach might look like. This article reports on a 2-year Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) funded project that explored whole-school approaches to EfS in our schools. Action research in six schools resulted in the development of a whole-school framework in EfS that can be used as a professional learning tool.