Green schools that teach: identifying attributes of whole-school sustainability
Date
2011
Authors
Barr, Stephanie Kay, author
Leigh, Katharine E., advisor
Dunbar, Brian H., committee member
Tremblay, Kenneth R., committee member
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Abstract
The combination of green school design, green organizational behavior, and aligned educational goals sets the stage for the attributes of green schools to become teaching tools. School facilities, whether functioning well or not, serve as powerful pedagogical 'instruments'. If the power of these attributes as "three-dimensional textbooks" was harnessed the impact on learning for the next generation of students would be limitless. This research study focused on five LEED certified green schools promoting sustainability through building design, operations, and curriculum. Participating schools were LEED certified and offered a formal environmental education program. The purpose of the study was to explore the combination of attributes leading to success in developing a methodology for best practices resulting in a model for whole-school sustainability. This model can be used as a tool for those seeking to establish whole school sustainability informing the development of 'green schools that teach' at local, national, and international levels. Participants (N = 77) included school principals and administrators, parents, community members, teachers, and support staff with building professionals responded to an e-survey relevant to sustainability integration: design process approach, organizational behavior, guiding educational philosophies, and the role of the building and grounds in curriculum. Responses provided an illustration of whole school sustainability in action. Shared sustainable values among stakeholders formed a supportive culture informing decisions about facility design and curriculum and guided the whole-school sustainability process. The physical context of participating schools reinforced successful whole-school sustainability through hands-on learning opportunities for students and physical representation of the entity's values. Finally, the alignment of sustainability values within culture, curriculum, and facility operations was found to be critical to the success of whole-school sustainability.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
education for sustainability
environmental education
green school design
LEED certification
LEED for schools
whole-school sustainability