Emancipatory or instrumental? Students' and teachers' perceptions of the implementation of the EcoSchool program. Issue 7 (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cincera, Jan; Boeve-de Pauw, Jelle; Goldman, Daphne; Simonova, Petra
• Is Part Of: Environmental education research. Volume 25:Issue 7(2019)
• Page Start: 1083
• Page End: 1104
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: EcoSchool -- emancipatory pedagogy -- instrumental pedagogy -- empowerment -- satisfaction -- environmental education; Environmental education -- Research -- Periodicals; 333.7207
• DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2018.1506911
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1350-4622

Abstract

Abstract: We present findings of a mixed method evaluation study of the EcoSchool program in the Czech Republic. The innovativeness of this study is its specific focus on implementation strategies rather than learning outcomes. Using data from 148 students and 65 teachers from 54 different schools involved in the program, we investigated perceptions about the nature of the implementation and the impact of the approach on students' and teachers' feelings of ownership of success, loss of meaning of the program, or satisfaction with their participation in the EcoSchool program. The findings support the relevance of the emancipatory approach: students' perceived participation predicts both their satisfaction with the program and perceived ownership of the success of their EcoTeams. Unexpectedly, the study also found that another factor predicting the program's effectiveness is the level of students' control over nonparticipating students.