EESD in Schools and Colleges
The Ministry of Education, Youth & Culture

The School-based Project

 

This project is an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Youth & Culture and the National Environmental Education Committee conceived in 1999.

 

The purpose of project is:

To enhance through action research in five schools, school-based capacity development to deliver EESD and the dissemination of the lessons learned from this initiative throughout the MOEYC network

 

The goals of the project are for these five schools to develop and test an EESD model that:

  • Meets school-based needs

  • Documents examples of good practice and methodology

  • Serves as a model for other schools.

The project was developed by Principals, Teachers, Education Officers, and the NEEC Secretariat and included a needs assessment conducted within the pilot schools. The five schools, selected by the Regional Directors, were:

  • Lottery All-Age School

  • Manchester High School

  • Ruseas High School

  • St. Catherine Primary School

  • Treadlight Primary [treadlight.doc] (NB: A formal case study is being prepared on Treadlight because of its exemplary performance under this project.)

Funding was provided by the CIDA/GOJ ENACT Programme [www.enact.org.jm]

 

Activities were undertaken in the areas of: curriculum, training and co-curricular initiatives as follows:

 

Curriculum
Educating the school and the wider community on the importance of maintaining a viable environment
Providing enhanced resources to schools, including information and communication technology
Facilitating broad- based participation
Increasing the knowledge of EESD, both content and methodology.

 

Training
Providing group and one-on-one sessions for principals, teachers, school administrators and other staff to increase sensitivity and knowledge about EESD issues to provide the motivation to bring about the change in attitude and behaviour among students and the wider community.

 

Co-curricular approach
Promoting a project approach to EESD to create and maintain links between the school and local communities through form periods, clubs, special projects, special events and celebration of special days, etc.

 

In March 2002, an end-of-project seminar was held, attended by project school principals and teachers, Education Officers, NEEC Secretariat where the schools presented accomplishments, received Certificates of Participation and made suggestions for how the model could be spread to other schools in the country.

 

 

[Ms. Donna Reid, teacher of Manchester High School (center) receives certificate from Mrs. Smith-Morris. Looking on are Ms. Novlette Douglas (left) of the NEEC Secretariat, Ms Suzanne Anderson-Moore of MHS (second right) and Ms. Valise Sommerville (right), Education Officer with supervisory responsibility for Manchester High School]

 

Overall Project Successes include:

  • Excellent leadership of some principals

  • The centralization of EESD within the schools' development plans

  • Teachers who were willing to take risks, use new resources, putting new learning into practice.

  • The extension of the project outside the schools into PTAs and into communities
    Infusion of EESD into subject areas

  • Seeing tangible results in students' attitudes regarding care of the environment

  • Visioning workshops which motivated staff

  • Documenting of the process (journals) by teachers, causing them to think more carefully about planning and conserving

  • Publication of draft handbooks for principals and teachers: "Handbook for Leadership Development in Environmental Education for Sustainable Development"; and "Teaching and Learning Activities for Environmental Education for Sustainable Development"

Achievements by individual schools (as reported by the schools):

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