Many schools in Sweden are certified by the eco-school green flag certification in their work to implement education for sustainable development (ESD). The keep Sweden tidy foundation administers the eco-school certificate and offer programs attuned to the Swedish school system (The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation, 2016). In Sweden there have been a few small-scale studies investigating eco-school outcomes at student level (e.g. Manni et al. 2013) and practices at teacher level (e.g. Stagell et al. 2014). However, in comparison to international evaluations of eco-school programs (e.g Boeve-de Pauw & Van Petegem, 2011) there is a lack of a Swedish national evaluation strategy for certifications, including eco-school certification and their impact. Therefore, our research project aims at investigating the effects eco-schools and ESD have had on student outcomes regarding their knowingness, attitudes and behavior in relation to the three dimensions of sustainable development (SD), i.e. the ecological, social and environmental dimensions. A Likert-scale questionnaire instrument based on the UNESCO-definition of SD was developed in order to investigate the effects of ESD on students’ sustainability consciousness (SC). A large scale nationwide study was designed in which two cohorts of schools were selected, where one group consisted of green-flag certified schools with an explicit approach to ESD and one group of comparable not certified schools without such explicit ESD approach. Totally 1773 students aged 12-13 and 15-16 from all over Sweden participated by answering the questionnaire (see Olsson, Gericke, & Chang Rundgren, 2015). Among the younger students the results reveal eco-schools to have small positive effect on students’ SC in comparison to non-certified schools, while an eco-school certification has a negative effect on students SC among the adolescent age group. The adolescents also display a decrease in their SC in comparison to the younger age group and this decrease is amplified among students attending to certified schools. Furthermore, in comparison to students in non-certified schools students in certified schools display a larger gender gap in which girls report stronger SC than boys. In another recent study in our group it was shown that schools practicing ESD have effect on students’ self-reported sustainability behavior and knowingness (Boeve-de Pauw et al. 2015). Based on our findings and these other studies we conclude that certified eco-schools seems not to practicing ESD teaching approaches in the way ESD literature prescribes (e.g. Vare and Scott, 2007), which is important findings for future efforts and development of eco-school programs.

Boeve-de Pauw, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2011). The effect of Flemish eco-schools on students environmental knowledge, attitudes, and affect. International Journal of Science Education, 33(11), 1513-1538 Boeve‐de Pauw, J. Gericke, N., Olsson, D., & Berglund, T. (2015). The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 7, 15693-15717. Manni, A., Sporre, K, & Ottander, C. (2013). “Mapping What Young Students Understand and Value regarding the Issue of Sustainable Development.” International ElectronicJournal of Environmental Education 3 (1): 17–34. Olsson, D., Gericke, N., & Chang-Rundgren, S-N. (2015). The effect of implementation of education for sustainable development in Swedish compulsory schools - assessing pupils’ sustainability consciousness. Environmental Education Research. doi: 10.1080/13504622.2015.1005057 Stagell, U., Almers, E., Askerlund, P., & Apelqvist, M. (2014). What Kind of Actions are Appropriate? Eco-School Teachers' and Instructors' Ranking of Sustainability-Promoting Actions as Content in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education, 4(2). The Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation (2016). The Green Flag Certification. Retrieved 05/01, 2016, from http://www.hsr.se/det-har-gor-vi/skola-forskola/hall-sverige-rents-gron-flagg Vare, P., & Scott, W. (2007). Learning for a Change: Exploring the Relationship between Education and Sustainable Development. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 1(2), 191-198.