The Institute for Global Studies (IGS) at Claremont High School in Victoria, Canada is a distinctive local example of “transformative education” that features a transdisciplinary, problem-based and globally oriented program within the public secondary school system. Launched in 2012, and arising from earlier pioneering courses in global studies, the IGS has now graduated two cohorts, and has led the founding educators to raise questions about which aspects of the students’ experience were thought to be most important after graduation and what graduates did with the skills they acquired. Part 1 is an extensive description of the background experience of the main founding educator that led to the creation of the original global studies course, and eventually the IGS itself. Part 2, the study itself, includes a review of relevant literature. It draws upon a range of writings about transformative education, including reviews of “whole school approaches to sustainability”. Relatively few systematic evaluations of these programs were found. A recent study from Bangladesh evaluated the effect of a climate change curriculum using a randomized cluster design. It demonstrated significant increases in relevant knowledge gain by students using the government recommended curriculum. The research question in this study was: “What impact has Global Studies/Global Solutions had on students who have taken it and what will they do with the skills they have acquired? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight (8) program graduates, using a set of standard questions as a guide. Study participants were selected from a pool of graduates by an independent researcher, to ensure a range of views, taking into account gender diversity, ethnic diversity, experience with both programs (Global studies and IGS), and post-program experiences. Research findings about program impact included both expected and unexpected results. Expected impacts included the transformative nature of the learning, the positive (hopeful) experience itself, and the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach. Unexpected impacts included the power of collaborative learning, and the value of guest speakers from various backgrounds who served as powerful role models. Regarding how graduates used what they learned, this included the further application of interdisciplinary learning and problem solving at a university level, and increased confidence that they could “make a difference”. The experience also guided career directions--for example, in the choice of university study programs. One graduate is volunteering with a non-government organization at a rural school in a low-income setting. Another graduate, while not going on to tertiary education, is using the experience to guide his work vocation. In summary, the global studies/IGS program has had important impacts on graduates, both expected and unexpected. Graduates use distinctive learning skills in subsequent university studies. For some the experience influenced specific career directions. / Graduate

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:44:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elio_Jacob_Hennrich_Junior.pdf: 1546963 bytes, checksum: ada1a224e13134350482508d56ec433a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This scientific paper investigated the daily rise of the need to adapt to a routine of several environmental problems caused by the capitalist economic model that puts in check the future of the environment. Considering this problem, we sought to establish new paths for more sustainable communities through environmental education in formal educational environments. The research sought to analyze in two distinct stages the social-environmental school context lived through the Environmental Education logic. The first stage was to analyze the wider school sustainability scenario of municipal schools of Marechal Cândido Rondon through a social-environmental mapping and their related actions to the Environmental Education in the scholar management. Moreover, the second stage of the study was directed to a public school of the city, seeking to understand the social and environmental background thereof, and attempting to work to develop a more complex and holistic building of sustainability in the school environment. The data collection was given through two main tools, the first one conduced was a semi-structured interview with a questionnaire, formulated using open and closed questions that allowed a greater freedom and greater wealth in the research survey research data, allowing a more detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis. Eleven schools In total were investigated, aiming to understand the main characteristics that exists in the school's sustainability levels, such as the level of school sustainability, its vulnerabilities, weaknesses and existing potential in different local realities. In the context that was directed to the particular work with the municipal school, it was sought to carry out actions that would help to establish the culture of school sustainability within the community. As a conclusion a general perspective showed that there is still a large estrangement between the ideal setting for school sustainability and what was found in the formal educational spaces that were analyzed in the research. The paper also showed that implementing a new culture of school sustainability may act directly in the implementation of sustainability concepts throughout the school community / O presente trabalho científico investigou a ascensão cotidiana da necessidade de adaptação a uma rotina de vários problemas socioambientais ocasionados pelo modelo econômico capitalista, que coloca em cheque o futuro socioambiental. Tendo em vista essa problemática, buscou-se através da Educação Ambiental em ambientes educacionais formais estabelecer novos caminhos para as comunidades mais sustentáveis. A pesquisa buscou analisar em duas etapas distintas o contexto socioambiental escolar vivido, através da lógica da Educação Ambiental. Na primeira etapa foi analisado em um panorama mais amplo o cenário de sustentabilidade escolar das escolas municipais de Marechal Cândido Rondon através de um mapeamento socioambiental e suas respectivas ações relativas à Educação Ambiental na gestão escolar. Além disso, em uma segunda etapa o estudo foi direcionado para uma escola pública do município, buscando entender o contexto socioambiental da mesma, e tentando atuar para uma construção mais complexa e holística da sustentabilidade no âmbito escolar. A coleta de dados se deu por intermédio de duas principais ferramentas, as entrevistas realizadas de forma semiestruturada e questionários, formulados com perguntas abertas e fechadas que possibilitaram uma maior liberdade e maior riqueza no levantamento dos dados da pesquisa, permitindo análises quali-quantitativas mais detalhadas. Ao todo, foram levantadas onze escolas, investigando quais são as principais características existentes em nível de sustentabilidade escolar, vulnerabilidades, fragilidades e potencialidades existentes nas diferentes realidades locais. E no âmbito que foi direcionado ao trabalho específico com a escola municipal, buscou-se realizar ações que auxiliassem para a construção da cultura de sustentabilidade escolar na comunidade. Como conclusão, uma perspectiva mais geral evidenciou que ainda há um grande distanciamento entre o cenário ideal de sustentabilidade escolar e o que foi encontrado nos espaços de educação formal que foram analisados na pesquisa. O trabalho também mostrou que a implementação de uma nova cultura de sustentabilidade escolar pode atuar diretamente na transformação para implementação de conceitos de sustentabilidade ao longo de toda a comunidade escolar

The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze patterns of institutional strategies and processes that promote the sustainability of laboratory schools housed and managed by institutions of higher education. First, a comprehensive analysis of the development, growth, decline, and current status of the laboratory school movement was conducted by means of a review of relevant literature. Next, an interview with the Director of the International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools (NALS) was conducted to gather information regarding the changing role of laboratory schools in the modern educational landscape of America. Subsequently, a survey of laboratory school directors was conducted to assess the current status of laboratory schools, examine the changing function of laboratory schools, and consider the effects of these changes. Open-ended interviews were conducted with laboratory school administrators whose schools had successfully transformed their mission to better serve the 21st century needs of their parent institutions and communities. Concurrently, document analysis was performed in order to triangulate findings with interview and survey data. The data showed that laboratory schools were originally designed for the purposes of testing educational theories, developing innovative practices, and training teachers. Modern laboratory schools serve those same functions. They are clinical teaching facilities, demonstration facilities, research and development schools, and curriculum development centers. Their current and future challenges are: (1) to find innovative roles or niches that serve the diverse and sometimes divergent needs of their parent institutions and (2) ensure that staff have adequate resources (e.g., training, partnerships, and time) to fulfill those roles. Findings from this study describe schools that have failed and succeeded in undertaking complex change processes to promote sustainability.

Die zunehmend komplexer werdende Welt und die mit dem Klimawandel einhergehenden Problemlagen erfordern ein komplexes Verständnis für ein aktives Handeln. Die Schule als Bildungsinstitution trägt daher eine besondere Verantwortung, an der Lernende neben dem Wissenserwerb Selbstwirksamkeit erfahren können. Zugrunde liegen bildungstheoretische Ansätze der Kulturhistorischen Schule, die auf die Sinnbildung abzielen. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Staatsexamensarbeit ist es, zu klären, durch welche Faktoren Lernende Sinn in einer Tätigkeit während des Lernprozesses erkennen. Dazu wird die folgende Forschungsfrage gestellt: Inwiefern ermöglichen digital gestützte Projektumgebungen Sinnbildungsprozesse bei Lernenden? Zur Beantwortung wurde ein mehrtägiges projekt- und gruppenbasiertes, sowie digital gestütztes Unterrichtskonzept zum Thema ‚Globales Lernen‘ entwickelt und mit 24 Schüler*innen einer zehnten Klasse an einer Oberschule in Sachsen durchgeführt. Als Methodik wurde eine Einzelfallanalyse gewählt. Einerseits dienten Fragebögen mit Freitextfragen vor und nach dem Projekt und andererseits Protokolle mit teilnehmender Beobachtung als Datengrundlage. Die Auswertung erfolgte über eine Inhaltsanalyse. Ein allgemeingültiges Ergebnis konnte nicht festgestellt werden. Die Lernenden haben nicht primär durch die nutzbaren digitalen Anwendungen Sinn in der Lerntätigkeit erfahren, vielmehr konnten vielschichtige förderliche Faktoren, wie Kooperation, eine positive Lernumgebung, Anleitung durch Lehrende und adäquates Vorwissen der Lernenden festgestellt werden. / The world is becoming increasingly complex, and climate change presents significant challenges that require a nuanced understanding to take effective action. As educational institutions, schools have a unique responsibility to not only impart knowledge but also to foster self-efficacy in learners. This is in line with the educational theory of the cultural-historical school, which seeks to create meaning. The purpose of this state examination thesis is to investigate the factors that contribute to learners' recognition of meaning during the learning process. The research question posed is: To what extent do digitally supported project environments facilitate meaning-making processes in learners? A multi-day project and group-based, digitally supported teaching concept on the topic of 'global learning' was developed and implemented with 24 pupils in tenth grade at a secondary school in Saxony. The methodology chosen was an individual case analysis, using questionnaires with free text questions before and after the project, as well as protocols with participant observation. The evaluation was conducted using content analysis. A definitive conclusion could not be reached. The learners did not primarily derive meaning from their learning activities through the use of digital applications. Instead, several contributing factors were identified, including cooperation, a positive learning environment, guidance from teachers, and a positive learning experience.

Unrest has been going on in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo for several years. People live in refugee camps or temporary shelters, and children do not attend school for several years. Now it seems that the situation is calming down, so there could be an opportunity for change. The aim of the work is to design a school for Buleosa village in a cooperation with the local ranger Alain Hamisi Mitondo, with whom I have been communicated during the course. The school project is supported by Buleosa‘s management and locals. Everyone in the community should be involved in the construction, because above all they should benefit from the school. I know that it is not possible to build a European-type building here, but rather to combine knowledge of these two worlds with the use of local materials. The simplicity of such a project is fundamental, because it will involve more different people, even without the slightest experience.