Lead for EcoJustice: Transforming School Cultures
The Lead for EcoJustice initiative, led by the Network of Education Policy Centers, has just commenced. Eight schools and organizations from Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovenia have joined this effort to address the pressing environmental challenges and the disconnect between people and nature. The Lead for EcoJustice initiative aims to address this by advocating for a more sustainable and eco-justice approach to education.
At the heart of this initiative is a call for a shift in perspective. It encourages the integration of humanistic and ecological values into education, challenging traditional educational practices to include sustainability and social justice principles.
One of the key goals of the Lead for EcoJustice initiative is to transform school culture. This transformation is a powerful way to improve education outcomes and promote eco-justice. It begins with fostering a shared vision, values, and beliefs that guide the actions of students, teachers, and the entire school community.
School leaders play a pivotal role in implementing eco-justice and sustainability initiatives. Their leadership is crucial in engaging both students and staff, ensuring that the school community aligns with the values of eco-justice. Existing professional development programs often focus on administrative management, with insufficient attention given to competencies related to reshaping school culture. The initiative encourages a more comprehensive approach, including distributed leadership involving school leadership teams.
To facilitate this journey, there’s a need for professional development programs specifically focused on school culture, sustainability, social justice, and eco-justice for school leadership teams. The initiative will develop such a professional development program and implement it with leadership teams from twenty schools, equipping the leadership teams with the tools and knowledge needed to guide their schools toward a more sustainable and eco-just future.
Partners:
Croatia
Forum for Freedom in Education
Hungary
European Research Institute, Hungary
Serbia
Slovenia
Educational Research Institute
