Green Schools for Sustainable Development (Green Schools)

The topics related to ecological/environmental education had long traditions in the educational systems of all three partner countries – Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania. They were presented in vario...

We wanted to support primary teachers in providing quality environmental education that was consistent with the modern dimensions of the topic and contributed to the development of environmental literacy among the younger generations. We proposed the creation of a training course for primary teachers to address current topics at the European and international levels, as defined in key documents such as the EC Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The course was to be base on a theoretical practical model for green education for teachers to help them further understand the global green topics, the relationship between them, and the main challenges and stages of implementing the concept of 'green schools,' which promoted the development of a comprehensive environmental culture within the school community. It aimed to help teachers create their individual strategies for teaching.

The concrete outputs and results of our project were as follows: Methodology: We developed a comprehensive methodology for organizing and implementing a short qualification course specifically designed for primary teachers in ecological education. The methodology was designed as a theoretical practical model and provided first hand evidence of the added value our green education approach brought to the level of classroom activities. It was published in all partner languages and EN through partners websites. Teacher Training: As a result of our efforts, we successfully trained 62 teachers and the initial plan was 30, with more than initially planned 10 teachers from each partner country benefiting from the program. Pupil Engagement: The training of primary teachers led to the active engagement of 1474 pupils in ecological education activities, which is almost double as the initially planned number of 750. Stakeholder Reach: We achieved a significant impact by reaching more than 5000 stakeholders across the three partner countries and actually expanded on European level through the European Trade Union Committee for Education, which is a federation of 127 education trade unions in 51 countries, representing in total 11 million members all over Europe. These stakeholders were informed about the methodology and its benefits for our national education systems. Moreover, they were invited to actively support dissemination, multiplication, and mainstreaming of ecological education. Short-Term and Long-Term Impact: Our project had a positive short-term effect, significantly improving the quality of ecological education at the primary education level. The first hand evidence, confirming this impact is synthesized in Chapter 3 of R1 (the model), where we present findings from the piloting of teachers. Furthermore, each teacher to participate in the piloting was invited to submit an individual report highlighting the effects on pupils. Looking ahead, we expect this improvement to contribute to fostering eco-systemic awareness and proactive environmental citizenship among learners in the long run. Our initiative seeks to make a lasting impact on the future generation, preparing them to be responsible stewards of the environment.