How can children be active agents of change?

University of the West of England
Barry Percy-Smith and Danny Burns

With this project, we wanted to understand the role children and young people could play in promoting sustainable development.

Key points

• Children have the potential to be active agents of change to promote sustainability lifestyle changes
• They can have an influence in the home and in the wider community
• However, their influence is limited to issues like recycling, energy and water saving, composting and food
• Learning needs to be practical and based around ‘real-life’ experience
• Schools can act as a focal point for sustainability issues in their communities.

Our research took us to six schools in England where we saw first-hand how education around sustainable development might be delivered.

In recent years, the Government has wanted schools to play a greater part in encouraging the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles (more recycling, saving energy and water etc). The Department for Children, Schools and Families’ 2006 Sustainable Schools Strategy set out a plan for ensuring schools delivered Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). All schools are now expected to have an element of ESD in their curriculum by 2020, and should aim to become sustainability role models – not just to pupils and parents but to the wider community.

Against this background, our research explored the potential for children and young people to become active agents of change around sustainability. We set ourselves a number of questions. To what extent could learning bring about positive change in children’s homes and communities? Which sustainability lifestyle changes might they be able to influence? What barriers might prevent this from happening? What needs to happen to ensure it can happen?

We also wanted to assess how learning might involve children in all aspects of inquiry, analysis, planning, decision-making, taking action and evaluation. In other words how it could treat children as active participants – not just passive learners.

Conclusions

When it comes to sustainability lifestyle changes children can do more than just educate their parents or initiate small changes in behaviour in the home. They can also be active agents of change in their wider communities.

Schools too can provide leadership and promote the idea of sustainable lifestyle changes in their communities. To be most effective this needs to happen at the whole school level – involving all staff and students. Schools also have the potential to be learning and development centres – role modelling and sharing good practice, providing information and supporting innovation.

Learning around sustainability issues needs to emphasise more than just acquiring knowledge. Children need to be given opportunities to take on leadership roles and they need to be actively encouraged and supported by adults who recognise their capabilities.

Learning should also be practical and based around real-life experience. It should encourage active inquiry among participants and develop skills such as critical thinking, creative problem solving, social entrepreneurship and leadership.

For more information view the programmme website at http://gs.strath.ac.uk/suscoms