Participatory action research (PAR) derived from anti-colonial struggles in the third world in the 1960s. Traditionally it has been a method of the margins because of its commitment to linking social justice to research. Because of its counter-hegemonic tendency it has had great appeal among environmental educators advocating a socially critical…

Using survey methodology, students' beliefs, and willingness to act, about 16 specific actions related to global warming are compared across the primary secondary interface. More primary students believed in the effectiveness of most actions to reduce global warming and were willing to take those actions. In general there was a disparity between…

In an earlier paper (Skamp, Boyes, & Stanisstreet, 2009b), students' beliefs and willingness to act in relation to 16 specific actions related to global warming were compared across the primary secondary interface. More primary students believed in the effectiveness of most actions to reduce global warming and were willing to take those actions.…

This paper presents the findings of the first stage of research on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) at an independent primary school in Western Australia. A longitudinal (20 year) case study is being conducted, utilizing data related to Education for Sustainability (Emfs) at the school from 1990-2009. 2005 was a…

Networks are increasingly recognised as advantageous when creating and embedding cultural change within organisations. This paper explores and problematises ideas around networks for education for sustainability (EfS), specifically in relation to the implementation of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), a national, whole-school…

Local communities and their schools remain key sites for actions tackling issues of sustainability and climate change. A government-funded environmental education initiative, the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), working together with state based Sustainable Schools Programs (SSP), has the ability to support the development of…

Field experiences for young children are an ideal medium for environmental education/education for sustainability because of opportunities for direct experience in nature, integrated learning, and high community involvement. This research documented the development--in 4-5 year old Prep children--of knowledge, attitudes and actions/advocacy in…

Narrative is fundamental to our diverse capacities to remember, to provide an account of self, and to represent our actions, motivations and place in society. The narrative mode is concerned with central aspects of the human condition--commitments and personal agency; motivations and emotions; collective experiences and cultural histories and…

In this paper we suggest that learning about natural history experientially can be thought of as a type of reading, where understanding is developed by using particular skills, processes and content. In our experience, teaching and learning natural history involves the generation of knowledge and understanding through relating direct personal…

Traditionally, environmental education has been aimed at the community or in primary schools and governmental pressure to reduce environmental damage has focussed on large businesses. More recently, the role and importance of small business and how to engage them in the environmental debate has come under scrutiny. Researchers have identified…

The Council of the City of Sydney--like many other councils around Australia--has embarked on a whole-of-council approach to establishing sustainable behaviours amongst its residents. In developing its "Residential Environmental Action Plan"--designed to motivate and bring about real change in resident choices and behaviours--the City sought to…

Professional teaching associations in Australia and abroad have been developing teacher and/or teaching standards and associated professional learning and assessment models in the key discipline areas since the 1990s. In Australia, a specific intent of this approach is to capture and recognise the depth and range of accomplished educators'…

Information communication technologies (ICTs) have the potential to enable intending and in-service teachers in regional, rural and remote regions greater access to tertiary education. This paper describes how a fourth year environmental education subject has been successfully delivered wholly online for several years and how pre-service and…

Increasing attention is being given to the inclusion of Education for Sustainability in pre-service teacher education. However, there is little research to explain why and how early-career teachers include Education for Sustainability in their work, or how teacher education providers can encourage and support them to do this. Through analysis of…

This paper discusses the emerging field of place-based education or place-based pedagogy--an approach that seeks to enhance children's perspective of "place" via school and community related environmental projects. Place-based education is proposed as an approach that enables students to establish a connection to a place, its people, and to the…