Disruptive Methodologies in Eco-Centers

Abstract

This chapter delves into the use of sustainability audits as a disruptive methodology through participatory action research to analyze the starting situation of educational centers in environmental matters. The use of these methodologies is sought to involve the entire educational community in order to carry out an analysis as global as possible. In this way, the needs and consequent environmental priorities are detected for the subsequent elaboration and determination of the different action plans. The main principles of the sustainability audits, ecoschool programs, and eco-participatory processes are presented together with the analysis of common issues when performing the audits and the selection of real experiences in different educational centers where how the implication of the community, and especially students, in the sustainability audits contributes to the generation of participatory attitudes and behaviors which improve the commitment of the centers towards sustainability, spanning from early childhood to higher education.