A System-Wide School-Based Program for Sustainability

Abstract

This chapter reports on an external evaluation of a statewide Education for Sustainability program conducted in Australia. The Climate Clever Energy Savers Program, conducted by the NSW Department of Education and Communities, invited students in primary and secondary schools (from Years 3 to 10), to participate in projects with their teachers' support, aimed at reducing their school's electricity consumption and costs. The chapter describes the Program in the context of the importance of sustainability development, and the centrality of education in achieving this. The ongoing evaluation investigates outcomes of the school-based projects, as well as teachers' views on the available support. This chapter investigates three case studies of the Program, examining outcomes, commonalities and differences across these sites. It describes the use of the Sustainability Action Process as a framework for guiding projects' progress. The chapter concludes with implications for practice and further research emerging from the case study investigations.