Per Wickenberg

The progressive development of environmental education in Sweden and Denmark

Our paper traces the history and progressive development of environmental education and education for sustainable development (ESD) in Sweden and Denmark. Our main focus is on work in primary and lower secondary schools as part of a search for trends of international interest related to the conceptualisation and practice of environmental education and ESD in both countries, as well as the role and significance of democratic perspectives to their development. Traditionally, Sweden has a more centralised approach to change compared to a more decentralised approach in Denmark. Accordingly, the interplay between the State, the individual and private initiatives has differed over the past half‐century, and this has given rise to interesting effects on the development of environmental education as well as ESD. The discussion of their development in Sweden draws on historical, political and organisational perspectives, while for Denmark, we focus on how these perspectives relate to a series of challenges; for example, the epistemological challenge of the development of environmental education that resulted in ‘the new generation of environmental education’, and the effects of taking an action competence approach to environmental education. In both countries the links between the development of environmental education and ESD and the discourse of environmental protection and democracy are highlighted, as are the interplays between the States agenda on education, the actions of research institutions, and the provision of in‐service teacher training. Sweden has become a world leader in initiatives for ESD promotion and joint efforts to spur innovations and clarification of ESD, while Denmark has mainly put its efforts into developing science education, and in this regard, has sacrificed the development of ESD.

Why and how do universities work for sustainability in higher education (HE)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to open up a discussion about the roles and responsibilities of universities in society.Design/methodology/approach – The vision of the Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) Skane a leading example on how to develop new knowledge about education for sustainable development (ESD) at all levels. The paper poses the question “Why do universities involve in this process?”. Lund University as the old, traditional university and the ten‐year old university of Malmo on the other hand was formed on the bases of a vision about a university for all people.Findings – The paper finds that two universities have been active in creating RCE Skane, together with three political organizations. The vision has developed to include issues like capacity for cross‐boundary action, knowledge‐sharing and civic education, all important parts in learning for a sustainable future.Practical implications – The paper discusses the processes at these universities that led up to working together in RC...

Gender and Water from a Human Rights Perspective: The Role of Context in Translating International Norms into Local Action

Abstract An important area in the discourse on gender and water is water supply where women are seen as the key actors and beneficiaries. A human rights approach to development has been adopted with access to safe water explicitly recognized as a basic human right. This right places a legal obligation upon governments to translate the international norms into practice. But does explicitly acknowledging the human right to water make a practical difference in women’s lives? Using an actor-oriented perspective, this paper analyzes how the international legal norms for realization of the right get reconstructed in local communities where women are the right holders. The empirical data for the analysis will be drawn from a first-hand qualitative study in rural India. The findings of the study show how the socio-cultural matrix provides the environment for implementing the right and determines its equitable and effective exercise by women.

Under One Umbrella : Professional Norms Promoting Education for Sustainable Development at School level

The aim of this chapter is to discuss the link – the professional norms – between legal norms and actions regarding education for sustainable development based on an empirical study. The study has a special interest in the role of school leaders and how the implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) is led, organised and realised. There is also an interest in identifying the kinds of support mechanisms and obstacles to implementation and norm setting exhibited by the school organisations. The theoretical framework follows theories in sociology of law where the relation between law and society is the focus of the research. Education for sustainable development is regulated in the Swedish national curriculum and syllabi, thus constituting legal norms and national goals, which the professionals have to interpret and put into action.

Child Rights, Classroom and School Management: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper provides a systematic review of scholarly literature concerning the enforcement of children’s rights in the classroom context and school management. The literature review is based on a systematic review methodology the authors developed drawing on the methods and guidelines used in the medical sciences over the last 15 years. Forty-two articles published between 1990 and 2014 were selected and analysed. The paper presents both a descriptive analysis and a thematic analysis in order to provide the state-of-art of international literature on child rights, classroom and school management. The descriptive analysis highlights the main characteristics of the articles included, such as type of study and methods used, classification of literature based on the geographical and thematic focus, article citation frequency, and chronological development of the subject in question. The thematic analysis synthesises the main findings extracted from the literature and highlights the main trends and gaps in research.

Change Agents and Change of Norms : International Experiences on Training in UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Schools

Education is usually seen as an instrument for making changes in knowledge, values and norms. Norms are action instructions or imperatives and thus direct actions and changes, which is the essence of norms. If one knows more about norms – guiding actions – one understands more about changes. It is well-known in sociology of law that there is an important, complex interplay between social norms and legal norms. The aim of this article isto reflect upon empirically based results on international training on implementation of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) – the legal norms – in schools and educational organisations. The article is ended by concrete examples and applications of changes taken from schools and educational areas in the state of Kerala in southern India. The overarching idea is to study some change processes where the change of norms is taking place following the new legal norms stemming from the CRC. If legal and the social norms are congruent, one of the conclusions is that the implementation of new norms will be sustainable. (Less)