This research addresses conceptual and practical issues in the field of environmental education. Environmental education is a compound and contested field in terms of both environmental and educafional ideologies. Its practice is also influenced by perspectives of context and change. Hence, the operationalisation of environmental education might be expected to vary across different ideologies and contexts. Thus, this research attempts to ore the operationalisation from theory into practice in environmental education. 'he approach of this research derives from those issues in the research context of education lental education that are currently of most concern. That is, policy-makers and I practitioners expect researchers to answer question such as "what works?" because they face the pressure of making decisions, in response, this research attempts to shed light on the nature of environmental education by using an evidence-based approach. However, most lence-based work in education is grounded in a post-positivistic perspective. This research, by contrast, employs evidence drawn from qualitative inquiry that recognises the significance depth contextual understanding. Thus the research sits within the qualitative paradigm and employs case study methodology.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of British Columbia (Canada), 2004. / Adviser: Gaalen Erickson. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

The main aims of the current study are five fold (1) to develop a valid scale for measuring beliefs about education for sustainable development, (2) to adapt the values on sustainable development scale to the context of Turkey, (3) to explore elementary teachers&rsquo / familiarity with and understanding of sustainable development, (4) to determine the elementary teachers&rsquo / values on sustainable development, (5) to investigate their beliefs about education for sustainable development. In addition, the barriers elementary teachers have perceived regarding education for sustainable development, teaching strategies they have used in education for sustainable development and the possible relationship between barriers they have perceived and their beliefs about education for sustainable development was examined. The data of this study obtained from 211 elementary teachers who enrolled in the Green Pack and the Eco-Schools projects via direct administration and web-survey data collection methods in May to September 2012. The results revealed that Turkish elementary teachers lack of sufficient understandings of sustainable development. On the other hand, elementary teachers have favorable beliefs about education for sustainable development and favorable values on sustainable development. In addition, lack of the knowledge about sustainable development and lack of the knowledge about teaching sustainable development were relatively common barriers for these elementary teachers. Lastly, negative correlation between elementary teachers&rsquo / beliefs about education for sustainable development and barriers they have perceived was found.

In this thesis I advocate and evidence ESD through understanding and analysing the ecology of change in educational organisations, in particular Tertiary Education (TE), during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD, 2005-2014). I draw on my portfolio of research that examined various aspects of the efforts to mainstream ESD during this decade. My publications, which are referred to in this thesis, are based on experience of my own practice as lecturer, educational development manager and advocate of ESD at local, national and global level. My research approach is broadly based on action research principles. I argue that, to fully understand this complex change process, it is necessary to appreciate the role of the underpinning, and often conflicting, values in TE and how they influence the adoption of ESD. I further discuss the influence of both ‘top-down’ approaches, that are expressed in policies and frameworks, and ‘bottom-up’ approaches that are instigated by communities and individuals with special interests. The influence of the learning environment itself is also examined. Lastly, I make the case that the employment of appropriate action research methodologies can help with gaining a better understanding of this process as well as play a part in the process itself.

Darbo temos aktualumą lemia tai,kad neformalusis darnaus vystymosi švietimas vieno rajono savivaldybės lygmeniu dar mažai tyrinėtas. Kadangi pokyčiai visose gyvenimo srityse reikalauja atitinkamų išsilavinimo pkyčių, švietimo sistemos institucijos turi siekti naujos tiek formaliojo, tiek neformaliojo ugdymo kokybės.Darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti neformalų ugdymą Mažeikių rajono švietimo institucijose darnaus vystymosi kontekste. Nagrinėjama tema nėra kol kas teoriškai pakankamai pagrįsta: nėra tinkamos tyrimo metodikos, kuri leistų nustatyti neformaliojo ugdymo kokybę ir jo tiekėjų kompetenciją. Darbe bandoma pagrįsti neformaliojo ugdymo uždavinius, stiprybes ir galimybes ekonominio sunkmečio sąlygomis. Galiausiai išryškinamos silpniausios neformaliojo ugdymo sritys ir pabrėžiama, kad daug dalykų būtina pakeisti tam, kad netolimoje ateityje neformalusis švietimas taptų pripažinta visos švietimo sistemos sritimi. / The relevance of the work is determined by the fact that non-formal and proportional development of education has not been explored enough on the level of municipality of only one district. Since the changes in all spheres require variations of appropriate background, education institutions must aspire after new training of both formal and non-formal quality. The goal of the work is to investigate the process of informal education and to reveal the factors that determine its quality and expansion. Unfortunately, the analyzed theme is not motivated enough in the abstract: there are not any appropriate methodology of providing the research that enable to estimate the quality of informal training and the competence of its providers as well. Moreover, according to the circumstances of this economical crisis, the problems, positive sides and potentialities of non-formal training are attempted to validate in brief in this research. Finally, the weak areas of non-formal training are clearly defined and it is emphasized that plenty of things should be changed in purpose to admit that informal education must become an established part of all education system in the nearest future.

Baigiamojo darbo aktualumą lemia tai, kad kiekvienam iš mūsų turi rūpėti kaip mūsų žmonės ir valstybė gyvens ateityje. Tai nusako darnaus vystymosi 3 lygiaverčiai komponentai (aplinkos apsauga, ekonominis bei socialinis vystymasis). Darnaus vystymosi principai bei darnaus vystymosi švietimo idėjos mokykloms visai naujas dalykas. Tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti, kaip darnaus vystymosi švietimo programa suprantama ir įgyvendinama Mažeikių rajono bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose. Darbe atskleisti strateginio planavimo principai, darnaus vystymosi koncepcijos esmė, darnaus švietimo vystymosi idėjos ir įvertinta Mažeikių rajono bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų įtraukimo į darnaus švietimo vystymosi strateginio planavimo procesą svarba. Mokyklų strateginiai planai buvo kuriami dažniausiai taip, kaip kam suprantama, neatsižvelgiant į kokybę ir tikrąją paskirtį. Paskutiniais metais buvo atkreiptas dėmesys į strateginio planavimo kokybę. Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad mokyklos palaipsniui įsijungia į darnaus vystymosi švietimo strateginio planavimo procesą. Mokyklose turi dirbti kompetetingi mokytojai, o mokiniai turi žinoti savo pareigas. Mokytojai mano, kad numatytos darnaus vystymosi švietimo nuostatos iki tikimosi laiko 2015 metų bus iš dalies įgyvendintos. Apibendrinant galima teigti, kad darnaus vystymosi švietimo principai ir konkretūs jų raiškos būdai dar nepakankamai veiksmingi ar tik pradedami taikyti Mažeikių rajono bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų ugdymo procese. / The relevance of this work is determined by the fact that every one of us must be concerned on how our people and state are going to act in the future. It is defined by three sustainable components of equal value (environmental protection, economical and social development). The concepts of sustainable development and educational ideas of sustainable development for schools are totally new for them. The goal of the research is to analyze how the program of sustainable development of education is understood and put in practice at comprehensive schools in Mažeikiai district. The concepts of strategy planning, the core of sustainable development of conception and the ideas of sustainable development of education are discussed in this work. The strategy planning at schools was mostly generated how it was individually understood ignoring its quality and the real purpose. The attention to the quality of strategy planning has recently been made. The results of the research indicate the fact that schools integrate gradually into the process of sustainable development of education of strategy planning. Qualified teachers should work at schools and students must know their obligations well. Teachers consider that the guidelines of sustainable development of education will partly have been realized by 2015. In summary, it is possible to maintain that sustainable development of educational principles and the concrete way of their expression are not effective enough or they are only being... [to full text]