A Case Study on the Incorporation of Sustainability into the Curriculum of a Primary School connected to Eco-Schools

Abstract

Pupils in the Netherlands have difficulty making sustainable considerations, probably because not a lot of time is spent on the issue at school. It is expected that pupils will gain the skills to make such considerations, when sustainability education is implemented more into the curriculum. Eco-Schools implement sustainability into their curriculum, and have pupils participate actively in the sustainability processes at school. It is therefore expected that pupils of Eco-Schools are able to make sustainable considerations. The aim of this study is to research whether the ability of pupils (9-12 years) to make sustainable considerations is influenced by the school’s curriculum and how sustainability is integrated into the curriculum of an Eco-School. For this, a case study was done on a primary school on Goerree-Overflakkee in the Netherlands. Interviews, observations and document analysis were used to establish the intended and implemented curriculum on sustainability education of the school. The results were analyzed with an instrument based on the curricular Spider Web. The pupils were asked to make a poster of a solution to a sustainability issue. In a short interview they were asked to elaborate on their solutions. These results were analyzed by viewing whether the pupils considered the 3 P’s of the Triple bottom line theory on sustainability; People, Planet and Profit. This study shows that it is difficult for the school to implement sustainability fully into the curriculum. Even so, the school’s pupils showed some skill in making a sustainable consideration.