The enSI international NETWORK Environment and School Initiatives is a decentralised international network set up in 1986 under the umbrella of OECD's Centre for Educational Research & Innovation (CERI) For more than 20 years, enSI has supported educational developments that promote environmental understanding, active approaches to teaching and learning, and citizenship education, through research, policy development and the exchange of experiences and knowledge internationally.

enSI partners and members enSI main partners are: Governments committed to improving environmental education and education for sustainable development. Pilot schools with teachers and pupils Researchers and experts Teachers educators and their students Member countries and countries involved in ENSI include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK

enSI aims to foster the democratic participation of students as active citizens in shaping the environmental conditions of their life and work, to promote and facilitate the development of an ecologically sustainable society and related actions within educational systems, to create innovative research networks which link practice in schools and the community with academic educational research and with institutional decision making.

A new Era for enSI An Institutional partnership with UNESCO and a key role in the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development ( ) A driving force in promoting the UNECE strategy document on education for sustainable development ( 2004) New project concepts in the areas of intercultural learning, disabled people and other marginalised groups, vocational training, higher education and informal education

Examples enSI projects to date Teachers education, supports the integration of innovative approaches into teacher education programmes through environmental education. CSCT Curriculum, Sustainable development, Competences, Teacher training. Learnscapes across the globe, involves the school community redesigning its school grounds to enable children, teachers and their communities to interact with their local environment.

Examples enSI projects to date European Council –Engaging youth in sustainable development Comenius networks –SEED School development through Environmental Education Quality Criteria for ESD schools Tools for ESD schools –SUPPORT “Partnership and Participation for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Engaging youth in sustainable development Collection of good practices from 14 countries Learning and Teaching Sustainable Development in Lower Secondary Schools inspire teachers and students to engage towards an ecologic, economic and social improvement of their community.

Quality Criteria for ESD- schools Michela Mayer Finn Mogensen

This kind of schools are increasing in number and improving in quality under different names at European and international level ESD-schools, what is that? Forest schools Green schools Eco-schools Schools for a sustainable future Model schools Outdoor schools

Why focusing on ‘Quality criteria’? The schools use explicit or implicit criteria for reflecting on the processes and for evaluating their achievements More often these criteria are ‘given’ to the school networks by educational authorities or by NGOs Criteria can be used for ‘Quality control’ or for ‘Quality enhancement’

Quality criteria for ESD- schools Aimed at facilitating discussions within the school to clarify the main aims and changes and to develop the school’s own list of quality criteria, adapted to the school’s own situation and the school’s plans for change. 3 groups of criteria: –Quality criteria regarding the quality of teaching and learning processes –Quality criteria regarding the school policy and organisation –Quality criteria regarding the school’s external relations

How they are organised An example The rationale The quality criteria The ….open dots

Future challenges : the use of Quality Criteria for an ESD school development In order to really be a frame of reference and a binding element of a programme or a school, it must be jointly constructed and accepted by all the participants. The SEED-ENSI proposal as a non-exhaustive list of ‘quality criteria’ to be used as a starting point for reflections, debates and further development. Translation to national languages, ENSI offer help to layout the new language versions.

Other challenges Intercultural challenges: –What examples, criteria or rationales are meaningful in our local, regional, national context? Teachers training challenges: –What kind of teachers training we need in order to be consistent with these criteria?

Tools for ESD schools A guide for teachers involved in school partnerships and school networks that are considering the use of exchange and dialogue amongst schools for school development through Environmental Education. It offers methods that help to plann and run a project on Education for Sustainable Development and international partnerships.

SUPPORT Comenius network “Partnership and Participation for a Sustainable Tomorrow”, 31 partner institutions in 14 European Union and EFTA countries, plus 9 other participants from 7 countries. The project will bring concepts and issues of SD into the education system by linking schools, research institutions and communities in a web-based network.

CASALEN CArpathian Sustainability Education LEarning Network –The aim of the network is facilitating social, economical change towards sustainable development in the society through shared learning –CASALEN is a learning network rather than an official or administrative network. In this learning network the participants would like to share their knowledge and would like to learn together what they are uncertain about with a strong focus on practical and experimental approaches

CASALEN -ideas Common web platform Network of ESD commissions in the region Common researches, Common projects

CASALEN –opportunities –UNEP - OMV –Visegrad fund –EU-LLL program – …..