Secondary School Hamar

Competence for ESD…

“At our school we are preoccupied with student participation and that the students will go on to a life after their schooling and that the school provides the skills they need to master their lives. The skills that we focus on will prepare students for working life, however also for citizenship. They must participate in society […] and they need skills to become an active citizen”. (school leader)

 

Sustainability is…

“Sustainability for me means the fact that there is rarely a definitive answer. Students must practice and train to take a stand on something that does not give a clear yes or no answer, because whatever they choose or how we do it will have a consequence for someone. Sustainability therefore is much more than what we include in sustainable development as an interdisciplinary topic of thinking about sustainability in the curriculum, it’s about sustainable lives for the individual student. That one must be able to take action and make independent choices based on knowledge and competences, of course. But then it’s about looking locally, nationally, globally and seeing how the world is actually connected and you can help influence in the most sustainable direction”. (school leader)

 

“It is important that students understand the complexity of sustainability. It’s not just about sorting your rubbish, there are other things that are equally important. Take for example the lesson students have followed today, where they start to understand a conflict and why there are conflicts in the world. It is about sustainability, however we are not talking about environmental protection, but how a country can be lifted out of poverty or avoid war and suffering. Students are overwhelmed with environmental protection and sustainability through media and more, but they cannot relate to it. I believe it is the schools role to concretized to a level where students can understand what it means in practice”.  (school teacher)

“And to become engaged with their whole self”. (school teacher)

 

Quality indicators for activities connected to sustainable development…

“If I look at the development of engagement from the student council and how important they experience their voice to be, a lot has happened. It’s a small thing as the student council only represents a small percentage of students in our school. However, when you observe students in the classrooms, you will find many more students that expect to be heard in very many more areas than they did some years ago. Students expect participation. In my opinion, this is a quality indicator because it’s not just about the students learning something, they have learned something about how to take responsibility, and to contribute where they can make a change and that it is important that they are actually heard”. (school leader)