Several documents addressing sustainability education and outlining the role of education programmes in advancing the green transition were released this week.
On 16 June 2022, the European Council recommended that member states “step up and strengthen efforts to support education and training systems in taking action for the green transition and sustainable development so that learners of all ages and from all backgrounds can access high-quality, equitable and inclusive education and training on sustainability”. While the role of schools in educating for climate change is undisputed and mentioned across various documents (European Green Deal, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, European Skills Agenda, the Porto Declaration), the main European educational programmes are crucial vehicles in this process. In the spirit of the Erasmus+ (E+) and European Solidarity Corps (ESC) stakeholders’ consultation conference in Brussels, the European Commission (EC) released a set of implementation guidelines for both programmes to contribute to sustainability education. E+ and ESC are powerful learning tools reaching more than 10 million participants over the years 2021-2027, leveraging a significant potential to increase awareness, develop skills, engage with a broad range of stakeholders, and encourage both individual and collective efforts towards sustainability. Moreover, the multiplier effect of those programmes is substantial. The above-mentioned document not only presents a framework to promote the green dimension in the activities of both programmes at every step of the project lifecycle, but also suggests how partners can help contribute to the green transition. Greener activities within E+ and ESC actions involve encouraging participants to opt for green travel, to calculate their carbon footprint, or to use digital tools for a more sustainable implementation of project activities. National agencies and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) are responsible for providing participants updated materials and trainings on sustainability knowledge and to develop their own strategies tailored to national realities, with a dedicated green contact person in each agency. SALTO green resource centres also provide support in green capacity-building and in sharing best practices as a link between policy and practice.
Applying organisations are further advised to gather as communities and share resources and best practices. One platform for such community collaboration is the Education for Climate Coalition whose goal is to unite and mobilise the European education and training community towards a climate-neutral society and using community mobilisation as a policy instrument for a more sustainable Union. The European Commission (EC) recently released the 2024 annual report on the Coalition, reporting more than 9’000 members by the end of 2024. Started as a joint initiative between the Joint Research Centre and DG EAC, the coalition’s 2024 actions focused on maintaining an engaged community of members, offering further space for engagement in climate resilience and green competences, as well as connecting internal and external stakeholders. The annual report highlights learnings from the community-building process such as patience, the need for stronger policy dialogue for continuity, the necessity of aligning community priorities with actionable goals and, ultimately, building trust through transparent and proactive communication. As of the end of 2024, the Coalition is under full leadership of DG EAC.
Earlier last year, the 2024 European Training Monitor pointed out the gap between the high level of awareness of sustainability urgency and the lack of translation of this awareness to daily actions among the young generation (see SwissCore article). Striking a similar note, the EC’s Working Group on Schools from the European Education Area (EEA) Strategic Framework published two input papers this week. The first input paper presents an overview of learning for the twin transitions in schools and how both transition agendas can be mutually supportive on the one hand, but also conflicting on the other hand. It also examines challenges and opportunities in combining both transitions with policy actions and investments in schools. Significant disparities in the way member states integrate the twin transitions in their educational policy agendas are pointed out, following the Commission’s annual strategic foresight report that in 2023 already asked member states to coordinate efforts in providing digital and sustainability education to maximize impact. The working group reports complementarities between digital and green transitions in rethinking how education takes places, as opportunities to challenge teacher-centred approaches for more hands-on methods. Furthermore, the twin transitions are an opportunity to redesign where learning happens, beyond the classroom and in more innovative spaces, as well as involving a wider range of relevant actors in the process. Conflicting agendas involve sourcing the energy required to digitalise schools, which does not align with sustainable practices, the time spent in front of digital devices while sustainability learning requires more exposure to natural environments, and ultimately, the fear of misinformation potentially brought by digital tools in learning processes. Recommendations to advance the twin transitions in school education include a more systematic integration of the latter into national policy agendas, building more empirical evidence for their impact on learning, including student voices into school governance, and recognising the critical role of teachers as drivers of sustainability through capacity-building.
The second input paper examines youth participation in school on sustainability topics and claims that there is an absence of a clear policy framework that supports youth engagement in sustainability-related decision-making and activities in schools. The publication presents several successful case studies from Spain, Wales, and Germany, where youth engagement contributed positively to learning for sustainability. Key lessons of the practical cases include the need for member states to consult and integrate youth aspirations in education policies and to consider this target group as actors of change beyond traditional roles of activism and volunteering.
The working group on schools also published a summary of effective policy measures and practices highlighted during a workshop with members of the group on learning for sustainability. Members in the field highlighted the success of partnering with NGOs and civil society actors but emphasised that many challenges remain, such as that learning for sustainability requires time and significant changes in learning culture and structure, evidence-based policy-making which has not yet been done to a sufficient extent, and a lack of robust assessment frameworks. The paper also highlights the lack of teacher education and the need for transversal skills.