<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Energy education has become a priority in light of the aims and tasks of the second half of UNESCO Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. This paper focuses on the case of inspiring teachers for energy education in the Latvian context, implemented within the COMENIUS project Inspire School Education by Non-formal Learning. The structure and content aspects of the in-service teacher training course are provided after the introduction to the theme. The methodological approach used in this study is integration of illustrative case study with the elements of programme implementation and programme effects case study. The data were collected by survey, focus group and questionnaire to obtain the teachers' feedback on the training course, its materials and to receive the teachers' self-evaluation on the implementation of the lesson units at their schools. It was concluded that the course had been very successful both from the point of view of the teachers and the course leaders. The described case study could serve as an example for those who would be interested in the design and implementation of similar courses in other contexts and circumstances.</abstract>

Inspiring Teachers for Energy Education: An Illustrative Case Study in the Latvian Context

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This research paper investigates the views of the teachers of elementary and secondary schools in Greece with regard to who bears the responsibility for the state of the environment, as well as who should bear the cost of its protection. The research was carried out at the Environmental Education Centre of Kissavos-Mavrovounio. The research subjects were 144 teachers undergoing training in environmental education. The teachers believe that today the quality of both the natural and the urban environments worsens with those most responsible, in order of importance, being the industrialists and businesses, public administration and control mechanisms, politicians and laws, the citizens as consumers, judges and the judicial system and the farmers as producers. According to the respondents, the parties less responsible are the journalists and the mass media, researchers and scientists and, finally, teachers and the educational system in general. With regard to who should bear the cost of environmental protection, the vast majority think that the government should be the one to pay. The ideas of indirect and direct taxation, the adoption of a lower standard of living are much less accepted.</abstract>

Environmental Responsibility: Teachers' Views

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">There are a number of studies addressing the possible benefits of teachers being engaged in research, but there is little research that explores what teachers themselves think about their role as researchers and how they evaluate themselves as researchers. The aim of this study is to present a small scale investigation into teachersí self-perception of doing research in mainstream schools. By doing research, teachers express their voice; teachers' voice is an expression of their frames of reference. This is also a way of making their perspective public. In Latvia, teachers do not have an active voice in the educational theory and research. This research indicates that research initiated by teachers provides a framework for strengthening teachers' voice. The research data present an analysis of teachers' self-evaluation of their research competency, ability to organize their own research activity and that of their children. The study highlights the factors that determine teachers' willingness to engage in doing research, as well as their expertise to organize and motivate children's research. The data from group interviews and questionnaires show a genuine degree of agreement on a number of main issues, such as teachers' motivation in doing research, their expertise to motivate children in doing their research, as well as teachers' openness to creative and imaginative insights brought about by the primary school children in their research projects. This study highlights several significant correlations between teachers' ability to carry out their own research and their ability to engage children in a meaningful research.</abstract>

Teachers as Researchers: Bringing Teachers' Voice to the Educational Landscape

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">A decade has passed since the equal right of all children to quality education regardless of their mental or physical abilities was declared by the Education Law (Izglītības likums, 1998). During that interlude, the Latvian educational system went through a period of tremendous change from total segregation of children with special needs in special schools to so-called "correction" classes in general schools, then to the special classes in general schools and finally to inclusion of special needs children in regular classrooms. Thus, the idea of inclusive education has been developed and implemented in various forms, which causes people to have a different understanding of what inclusive education means and impedes children with special needs from learning together with their peers in general classrooms. This article reflects on the findings of a qualitative study that was designed and conducted to investigate different perceptions of pre-school and primary school teachers on the preconditions for inclusive education.</abstract>

Teachers' Perceptions on What Inclusion Needs

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This study explores pre-service teachers' views on the features and causes of social exclusion in the context of educational unsustainability. The data from expert questionnaires, assessment of research participants' personal experience with social exclusion in educational setting, their current understanding of the problem and individual suggestions for solving it were analysed qualitatively. The results indicate that, in teachers' opinion, social exclusion in education can be caused by subjective and objective factors – pupils' personal characteristics, school climate, parental influence and social causes. The research participants particularly emphasise teacher's role in reducing pupils' social exclusion by adhering to values, such as fairness, equality, empathy, cooperation and respect. The research results highlight the need for addressing the issue of social exclusion in teacher education programmes by raising future teachers' awareness of the problem and their responsibility to overcome it.</abstract>

2010

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Secondary education plays a key role in developing sustainable leadership skills in students. This research analyses the characteristics of sustainable leadership of students at 2 secondary schools in Madeira Island (Portugal) in order to determine whether the type of school or gender of the students affect eight distinct domains: 1) self management; 2) interpersonal relations; 3) problem solving/decision making; 4) cognitive critical development/analysis; 5) organization and planning; 6) self-confidence; 7) diversity awareness; 8) technology. The Student Leadership Outcomes Inventory (SLOI) (Vann, 2000) was used to measure the leadership experiences of 158 senior students in these eight areas. Participants revealed moderate levels of sustainable leadership in the eight sub-scales. The findings show that students of Madeira Island who finish secondary education possess several well-developed sustainable leadership skills.</abstract>

University of Madeira (CIE-UMa), Portugal

Mountain Research Centre – Polytechnical Institute of Bragança, Portugal

Sustainable Leadership of Senior Students: The Case Study of Madeira

<abstract xml:lang="en" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The purpose of the paper is to share the findings of an action research project aimed at exploring the impact of transformative pedagogies on pre-service teachers following an environmental education programme (EEP), offered by the University of Malta. Assessment and evaluation practices of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable education (ESD) programmes tend to cater just for knowledge content and skills, usually failing to target the development of attitudes and values that promote sustainable lifestyles. The EEP was specifically designed to target the development of pro-environmental values by actively involving students in their learning mainly and providing opportunities for reflection and self-evaluation. The paper analyses qualitative research data obtained from evaluation questionnaires about every study unit in the programme; reflective questionnaires drawing upon the students' reflective journals; a focus group interview and in depth one-to-one interviews with individual students. The paper provides students' evaluations about the course design and effectiveness that should provide insights for course developers and evaluators seeking to develop EE/ESD programmes that address individual needs through learner centred pedagogies.</abstract>

Self-Evaluation as a Tool in Developing Environmental Responsibility

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Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability

  High quality articles by researchers from Baltic region and other countries, original articles authored by researchers who appreciate our fast, fair and constructive peer review. The Journal publishes research or project reports, teacher education programme evaluation, case studies of practice, action research reports, reports on teaching practice or techniques, etc. Fast growing journal on the most topical issues of contemporary teacher education. One of few international peer-reviewed journals focused on the issue of sustainability in education.  Why subscribe and read   High quality articles by researchers from Baltic region and other countries, original articles authored by researchers who appreciate our fast, fair and constructive peer review;  The Journal publishes research or project reports, TE program evaluation, case studies of practice, action research reports, reports on teaching practice or techniques, etc.;  Fast growing journal on the most topical issues of contemporary teacher education;  One of few international peer-reviewed journals focused on the issue of sustainability in education.   Why submit   Fast, fair and constructive peer review; fast publication both online and in printed form;  Editorial help;  Articles abstracted by online indexing services.   Rejection Rate   About 30%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 