The Austrian ECOLOG programme and network as an example of a nation-wide school network in the field of education for sustainable development was developed on the basis of ENSI[1] approach in 1996 and includes more than 540 schools (Primary School, Secondary Schools and Vocational Schools) in 2019.  ECOLOG is a national support system which aims to promote and integrate an ecological approach into the development of schools and to establish a sustainable school culture. In order to provide support, a network structure at three levels and between these levels has been developed: (1) the coordination by the Institute of Instructional and School Development at the University of Klagenfurt in partnership with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, (2) ECOLOG regional teams in the nine Austrian provinces in collaboration with educational authorities and environmental authorities, University Colleges of Teacher Education and various organizations of environmental education,  and (3) ECOLOG coordinators and teams in all ECOLOG schools. Based upon an action research approach, ECOLOG schools analyse the ecological, technical, and social conditions of their environment and define objectives, concrete activities and quality criteria, to be implemented and evaluated, within a framework of different working areas (e.g. saving resources, reduction of emissions, mobility and traffic, experience of nature, health promotion, school spaces, culture of learning, collaboration with the environment). Pupils as well as the other groups of school’s comunity should be involved in a participatory way, and collaboration with the local authority, local and regional businesses, environmental organizations, national or nature parks, cultural and educational institutions and other interested parties is encouraged (Rauch 2016, Rauch, Pfaffenwimmer & Dulle 2016).

Embedded in the OECD-Project „Environment and School Initiatives”, the ecologization of schools in Austria was conceptualized as comprehensive school development concept according to quality criteria such as action-orientated and reflective forms of open learning or project instruction, where pupils learn actively (e.g. by generating local knowledge) and take over responsibility for creative processes, and constructive relationships with the local community or neighbourhood (Rauch 2000). The opening of the school to the outside world and the collaboration with the school environment play an important role in the activities of Austrian ECOLOG schools (Ziener 2017, Rauch & Dulle 2012, Loparics 2017). After parents and family, the community, partly represented through the mayor, is the second most partner of ECOLOG schools, especially in Primary Schools und New Secondary Schools (NMS) (Ziener 2017, based on annual reports of ECOLOG schools 2010/11 to 2014/15). The areas of collaboration range from financial support for school projects to visits of communal water supply and cooperation with nursery school. Some partnerships are limited to joint projects, others are characterized by recurring joint action (Ziener 2017, Fleiß 2016). In order to promote cooperation between schools and their surrounding communities, including public organisations, firms and associations, in the context of the ENSI project and multinational network “School and Community Collaboration for Sustainable Development” (CoDeS) the Topical Priority of ECOLOG “School Meets Community” (2012-2014) was defined. The objective of these enhanced cooperation with a focus on sustainability are, above all, the following: Exploiting the school environment as a learning environment, supporting a practical and sustainable form of learning that is linked to the daily lives of the pupils, and development of a “local situational knowledge” (Posch & Pfaffenwimmer 2018, Affolter & Mathar 2016, ENSI Secretariat: ENSI: CoDeS, IUS: ÖKOLOG: Welcome! and Schule trifft Gemeinde).

[1] ENSI – Environment and School Initiatives

The investigations are based on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods of empirical social research. The annual reports of ECOLOG schools as well as semi-structured interviews in ECOLOG schools (Rauch & Dulle 2012, Fleiß 2016, Ziener 2017, Loparics 2017) and with members of ECOLOG regional teams (Ziener 2017) are the main sources of information. These interviews were transcribed and analysed according to the model of content analysis (Mayring 2002). The ECOLOG schools included in interviews represent all school types such as primary schools, secondary schools, higher secondary schools, as well as vocational schools and higher vocational schools. Furthermore, additional material produced by the schools (e.g. school website, teaching materials, press releases, and school folders) is included. The preliminary results were presented and discussed in the context of a workshop with representatives of the schools interviewed and other ECOLOG schools (Rauch & Dulle 2012), or the case studies were sent to the interviewee in order to confirm, revise or complete the analysis (feedback loop, Ziener 2017, Fleiß 2016). In their annual ECOLOG reports schools describe one activity or project in detail. This include information about the topic and main working areas, on the one hand, and the external relations resp. cooperations, on the other hand. However it should be noted that sometimes only general information about the cooperation partners is given (e.g. other schools, firms, various associations, sponsors). From a quantitative perspective this information can be thought of as examples for the relations of the schools to their surroundings because many schools realise more than one ECOLOG activities per year (annual reports of ECOLOG schools). The intensity, complexity and development of collaboration and partnerships can be gathered through qualitative interviews in ECOLOG schools in the context of case studies (Rauch & Dulle 2012, Fleiß 2016, Ziener 2017).

Communication within the school and with external partners is a key precondition for learning by all members of the school community. The involvement of non-school actors promotes the anchoring of ESD and school development processes. Cooperations increase the assertiveness of environmentally relevant socially and economically sustainable concerns. Participation in ECOLOG has strengthened cooperation between schools and school external partners, but it is not the only factor (Rauch & Dulle 2012, Fleiß 2016, Ziener 2017). In the context of ECOLOG-projects students share and work together with other students, experts, local authorities and other interested parties. However, the cooperation with the school environment depends strongly on the school management and the teachers and is quite diverse among ÖKOLOG schools. In Primary Schools and many Secondary Schools regular collaboration is related with the main topics of the school, such as National Park, healthy and regional food (farms, health education), movement and sport, water supply and renewable energy (wind, water, bioenergy). In Academic Secondary Schools and Vocational Schools ECOLOG activities are realised in form of regional, national or international projects with different partners from regional businesses; institutions or organisations active in the areas of nature, environment and culture; regional authorities or universities (Ziener 2017). Head teachers play an important role through their “official” support of the project shown through actions such as putting sustainability on the agenda of teachers’ conferences, and by repeated statements of support in the public arena. In addition, heads maintaining contacts outside the school through public relations and the media and by providing incentives, through for example, negotiating financial support with the body responsible for maintaining and financing schools (Rauch & Pfaffenwimmer 2014, Ziener 2017).

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