The Promotion of Sustainability through Schools - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages The promotion of sustainability through schools and other educational sites can be characterized as rather satisfactory; however, additional efforts should be made in order to increase the interest of learners on environment-related issues. The role of teachers in the success of this effort will be decisive. In accordance with the study of Olson's (2007, online article) ‘research shows that teachers matter more to student learning than any other school-related factor; yet the effectiveness of individual teachers varies widely’. In other words, teachers and school administrators are expected to have a central role in the promotion of sustainability in education – including its higher levels. On the other hand, research conducted by Kats in 2006 led to a series of interest findings. This research focuses on the examination of the potential benefits of USA schools in the case that sustainable practices were to be introduced in them. The above research refers to data collected by 30 schools in 10 states across the United States. The research lasted for 5 years (from 2001 up to 2006). It was revealed that ‘the direct and indirect financial savings to the school and the community are about $70 per square foot, 20 times as high as the cost of going green; high-performance schools provide educational opportunities that conventional schools do not. For example, on-site renewable energy generation, water conservation features, and other green technologies create very valuable opportunities for hands-on learning’ (Kats, 2007, online report). In other words, the promotion of sustainability in educational institutes is expected to offer benefits for the environment but also the learners – improvement of their health but also of their performance in school. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More