es the malta experience
TRANSCRIPT
The EkoSkola
Programme
The EkoSkola
Programme
The Malta experience eight years on…
2003: MRRA sponsors EkoSkola
2005: HSBC joins in as main sponsor
2006: Wasteserv Malta Ltd joins in to assist in the country’s FEE participation fee
2007: MEDC appoints 5 EkoSkola Teachers
The sponsors
Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs
Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport
Running EkoSkola costs €120,000 annually
launched during the scholastic year 2002-2003 as a pilot project aimed to:
– assess the resources needed to set up the organisational framework required to run the programme on a national basis,
– assess the impact of the programme on the curriculum and identify specific curricular needs, and
– promote the programme with other schools.
The beginning …
efforts aimed to support the EkoSkola process in schools by:
— the production of support material for schools,
— offer schools the support needed to initiate/maintain the EkoSkola process
— the organisation of in-school staff development programmes, and
— the promotion of the programme with other schools.
During the following years …
The schools … 1
6
2229
43
54
76
95100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2002 - 03 2003 - 04 2004 - 05 2005 - 06 2006 - 07 2007 - 08 2008 - 09 2009 - 10
Scholastic Year
Schools participating in the EkoSkola Programme (to date)
Total No. of Green flags
The schools … 2
55.9
60.6
56.9
56.8
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0
Local Councils
Schools
Teachers
Children
Relation to National Numbers (to date)
The schools … 3
63
287
1 1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Primary Secondary Prim/Sec Special Needs Post Sec
School by Level (to date)
The schools … 4
86
140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Malta Gozo
Schools by Region (to date)
The schools … 5
72
28
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
State Non State
Schools by Sector (to date)
Progress in Schools
11
10
3
0123456789
1011
No
. of
sc
ho
ols
re
ce
ivin
g
aw
ard
Green Flags Silver Awards Bronze Awards
EkoSkola Awards (to date)
the National EkoSkola Co-ordinator
regional EkoSkola Officers offering:o support re the 7-steps process
o professional development seminars promoting a whole school approach
o SDP planning sessions to introduce ES and/or integrate the Action Plan
nationally based in-service course: “The EkoSkola Programme: a whole school approach to environmental education”
‘Trends’: “Promoting School Development through Environmental Education”
Support given
resource sheets offering support leading schools through the ES process
enviromental education curriculum packs
networking services with local/foreign schools
electronic local EkoSkola newsletter
electronic international bimonthly newsletter: http:// www.eco-schools.org/new/newsletters.html
local website: http://www.ekoskolamalta.com
international website: http:// www.eco-schools.org/
Support given
Centralized management structures are hard to overcome:
at all levels: • teacher – students; • headteacher – school; • educational authorities – schools
a general belief that children are too young to participate in decision-making fora
‘adult’ imposition and token participation are still visible in certain schools
Main issues to deal with
EkoSkola is not ‘product’ based but ‘process’ based:
Green Flag award is not dependent on how many environmental activities the school does but on whether ALL the 7 Steps of the EkoSkola Process are followed
trying to fit the EkoSkola process onto old structures will not work
Main issues to deal with
Networking between schools is still weak:
schools still work in isolation
tendency to view activities as opportunities to show off and ‘beat the others at it’
Main issues to deal with
EkoSkola teachers’ role is to support schools NOT to run the programme
“EkoSkola” is protected by copyright
Main concern of school should be providing students with a learning experience NOT getting the Green Flag
Main issues to deal with
The programme will surely change the way your school currently functions ...
... but it will be worth it!