GATE // Teachers Quiz

Área IV: Acting for Sustainability

Feedback and Tips

Basic Level

Description

You are beginning to recognise how your teaching practices, behaviours and interactions can support sustainability. You understand that individual and collective action both matter, and you show willingness to reflect on your own habits and classroom routines. You are developing awareness of relevant stakeholders inside and outside the school and may be starting to explore opportunities for shared initiatives with support from others. You show openness to supporting student participation, encouraging resource-efficient behaviour and contributing to a culture where sustainability is discussed and valued.

TIPS to raise your level

Advanced Level

Description

You are steadily developing your capacity to act for sustainability through your teaching, collaboration and participation in school initiatives. You engage with colleagues, students and community partners to address sustainability challenges and contribute to shared school initiatives. You model responsible behaviour, support democratic decision-making in the classroom and help students act promptly and responsibly when facing uncertainty. You recognise how school routines, policies and partnerships shape sustainability practices and contribute to discussions and actions aimed at improving them. Your actions show confidence in applying principles such as reducing resource use, reusing materials and engaging students in real-world problem-solving.

TIPS to raise your level

Expert Level

Description

You demonstrate strong professional leadership in acting for sustainability. You understand how school policies, governance and local partnerships influence change, and you actively contribute to shaping them. You build and support collaborative processes across subjects and teams, empower students to become agents of change and create opportunities for joint action with families and community organisations. You can mobilise networks of stakeholders, identify strengths within your school community and help design and sustain long-term strategies for sustainable development. Your commitment, influence and capacity to propose and guide new pathways for sustainability are evident throughout your practice.

TIPS to raise your level

Tips to raise your level

level basic TIPS

To strengthen this Area, you might consider:

Connect sustainability topics to simple collective class actions

At Escola Secundária de Estarreja  (Portugal), the project “My School Without Plastic” focuses on reducing single-use plastic through joint student action. Students collaborate in the Eco-Council, promote tap water use and organise school-wide awareness campaigns. By acting together, they experience how coordinated efforts can change everyday practices at school. You can create similar learning situations by linking classroom discussions to small collective actions, such as class-led sustainability campaigns or shared behavioural agreements.

Try this: co-design with students a short “plasticfree week” for your class, assigning shared roles (communication, monitoring, reflection) so everyone contributes to the collective effort. Begin with basic information on plastic use reduction.

Use local sustainability issues to introduce political agency

At Escola Secundária D. Manuel Martins  (Portugal), students participate in projects linked to the Manteigadas Environmental Interpretation Center. Through guided tours and environmental awareness activities, learners engage with sustainability topics connected to local institutions and municipal actors. This helps students recognise that sustainability goals are shaped by political and administrative decisions beyond the classroom. You can support this competence by connecting lesson topics to local sustainability policies and discussing who decides and how citizens can engage.

Try this: As a concrete step, invite students to draft two or three questions they would ask a local official about a nearby environmental issue and discuss possible citizen responses in class.

Encourage individual responsibility through small sustainability projects

At Escola Secundária Alves Martins (Portugal), the project “100 Days Without Plastic” encourages students to reflect on and change their personal consumption habits. Learners take part in plastic-reduction challenges, awareness activities and simple monitoring tasks. These experiences show students that individual actions contribute to broader sustainability goals. You can foster similar learning by encouraging students to experiment with small behaviour changes and reflect on their effects.

Try this: Ask each student to choose one “green habit” to try for a week, then share a short reflection on what helped or blocked their effort, evaluate the impact of that new green habit and its co2 reduction result.

Build a classroom culture where acting for sustainability is valued

At Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg  (Germany), sustainability is supported through school-wide environmental activities and cooperation with external partners. Students are involved in practical sustainability measures and are encouraged to contribute ideas for improving school practices. This helps normalise acting for sustainability as part of daily school life. You can achieve this by consistently valuing sustainable behaviour, inviting student contributions and making sustainability a shared responsibility in your classroom.

Try this: Co-create a visible “sustainability wall” where students log class actions and suggestions for improving daily routines. promote the use of recycled paper used in both sides. Promote plastic free snacks.

Use community-based activities to introduce collective action

At Junior High School of Gera (Greece), students participate in local environmental activities connected to community needs. Teachers support simple group actions such as clean-up activities and awareness events. Students learn that acting together with others can improve their local environment. You can apply this by linking lesson topics to small, community-based group actions that students can easily join.

Try this: Plan one lowthreshold class activity (e.g. a short local cleanup or awareness poster campaign) and debrief with students what they achieved together. Establish a walk to class day and calculate the co2 reduction of such a habbit.

Encourage reflection on individual responsibility through everyday practices

At Hämeenkylä School  (Finland), sustainability is addressed through daily routines and classroom practices. Teachers encourage students to reflect on energy use, waste reduction and respectful use of resources. These repeated actions help students see how individual behaviour contributes to sustainability. You can foster similar learning by embedding reflection on daily habits into regular classroom activities.

Try this: Include a brief weekly “sustainability checkin” where students note one responsible action they took and one they want to improve next week. Upscale to class and even to school.

Advanced basic TIPS

To strengthen this Area, you might consider:

Use participatory simulations to strengthen political agency

At Escola Secundária D. Manuel Martins  (Portugal), sustainability learning is linked to activities connected with the Manteigadas Environmental Interpretation Center and student-led citizenship projects. Students take active roles in guided interpretation activities and awareness actions that reflect real local governance and environmental priorities. By engaging with institutions and structured roles, learners practice expressing views and understanding how decisions are shaped. You can replicate this by using simulations (e.g. council meetings or hearings) and by linking classroom work to real local sustainability actors.

Try this: stage a short mock townhall meeting on a local issue, assigning students roles as citizens, experts and decisionmakers to explore different perspectives.

Accompany long-term sustainability projects that build collective action

At Escola Secundária de Estarreja  (Portugal), the Eco-Patio Project and “My School Without Plastic” are implemented over several weeks through the Eco-Escolas programme. Students plan activities, coordinate roles and monitor progress together, supported by teachers and local partners and the municipality. This long-term cooperation helps learners experience how collective effort leads to structural change at school level. You can foster similar learning by accompanying student projects over longer periods and embedding reflection on teamwork and shared responsibility.

Try this: Set clear intermediate milestones with students (e.g. monthly goals) and hold short reflection moments on how collaboration is working and what needs adjustment.

Support student initiative through real-world problem solving

At Escola Secundária Alves Martins (Portugal), initiatives such as “100 Days Without Plastic” and the MAPEAR environmental monitoring programme place students in active problem-solving roles. Learners collect data, design awareness materials and propose improvements based on their findings. This empowers students to take ownership of sustainability challenges and act with confidence despite uncertainty. You can develop similar situations by designing projects where students analyse real problems and propose feasible solutions.

Try this: Ask students to identify one concrete problem in the school environment, gather simple evidence and present two realistic improvement proposals to the class or school leadership.

Collaborate across subjects and with external partners

At Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg  (Germany), sustainability is addressed through cross-subject cooperation and partnerships with regional actors. Teachers collaborate to integrate sustainability into vocational learning, while students engage with external stakeholders and practical sustainability challenges. This shows learners how coordinated action across systems strengthens impact. You can apply this by co-designing sustainability modules with colleagues and involving local partners in authentic learning tasks.

Try this: Begin with one small joint project between two subjects and invite at least one external partner (e.g. local business or NGO) to contribute a concrete task or input.

Use interdisciplinary projects to strengthen collective action

At IES Ana Carmona “Veleta” (Spain), sustainability projects are implemented through interdisciplinary teaching approaches. Teachers work together to design projects that combine environmental, social and civic perspectives. Students collaborate across classes and subjects to address real sustainability challenges. You can replicate this by co-planning interdisciplinary projects that require coordinated student action.

Try this: Agree with colleagues on a shared sustainability theme for a term and design tasks where mixed groups must bring insights from different subjects together to propose an action.

Strengthen political agency through real-world civic engagement

At Viikin normaalikoulu  (Finland), students engage in sustainability projects linked to local and national education initiatives. Teachers guide learners in analysing policies and discussing alternative actions. This supports students in understanding how decisions are made and how they can respond responsibly. You can do this by linking sustainability topics to civic structures and encouraging informed discussion and action.

Try this: Invite students to research one existing local sustainability initiative and draft a brief class statement or suggestion they would send to its organisers or decisionmakers.

Expert basic TIPS

To strengthen this Area, you might consider:

Embed sustainability into school governance and decision-making

At Carl-Severing-Berufskolleg (Germany), sustainability is integrated into school development processes and cooperation with regional partners. Teachers initiate participation structures that involve students in shaping school routines and sustainability priorities. Students experience how governance, policies and partnerships can be influenced through structured participation. You can foster similar learning by embedding sustainability goals into school committees, development plans and formal decision-making processes.

Try this: Propose adding student sustainability representatives to an existing school committee and support them in preparing issues and suggestions to bring forward.

Build long-term partnerships to enable collective action beyond school

At Escola Secundária de Estarreja  (Portugal), long-term cooperation with the municipality supports projects such as Eco-Escolas and “My School Without Plastic”. Teachers coordinate partnerships that allow students to work with local authorities and public utilities. Students learn how collective action across organisations leads to structural and lasting change. You can develop similar approaches by building stable partnerships with local actors and aligning school projects with community sustainability strategies.

Try this: Start by mapping potential partners with students and co-developing one joint project idea that clearly serves both school and community goals.

Empower students as change agents in whole-school sustainability

At Escola Secundária Alves Martins  (Portugal), initiatives such as MAPEAR and “100 Days Without Plastic” position students as leaders of sustainability action. Teachers support students in designing projects, coordinating peers and communicating results to the wider school community. This strengthens students’ confidence to act independently and influence others. You can replicate this by creating roles for students as sustainability ambassadors or project leaders within your school.

Try this: Offer training or coaching sessions for these student leaders and agree together on clear responsibilities and ways to share progress with the school.

Support and mentor colleagues to scale acting for sustainability

At Escola Secundária D. Manuel Martins  (Portugal), sustainability is sustained through teacher collaboration, student-led clubs and partnerships with institutions such as the Manteigadas Environmental Interpretation Center. Experienced teachers introduce sustainability into conferences, school planning and shared practices. This enables students to encounter consistent opportunities for acting for sustainability across subjects and projects. You can do this by mentoring colleagues, sharing materials and embedding sustainability into whole-school professional development.

Try this: Consider setting up a small peer-support group where interested teachers co-plan one sustainability-rich unit and reflect together on the experience.

Empower students to lead sustainability initiatives across the school

At Istituto Comprensivo “Giorgio Perlasca” (Italy), students take leading roles in sustainability initiatives supported by teachers. Teachers mentor students in planning, coordinating and evaluating school-wide actions. This helps learners develop confidence as change agents. You can foster similar development by giving students leadership roles in sustainability projects and supporting peer-to-peer learning.

Try this: Invite student representatives to organise short workshops or peer sessions where they share their projects with small scale measurable results and motivate other classes to join.

Build networks to support collective and political action beyond the classroom

At Wrocław International School  (Poland), sustainability projects involve cooperation with local and international partners. Teachers coordinate partnerships that allow students to engage in broader sustainability discussions and actions. Students experience acting for sustainability as part of a larger social system. You can replicate this by building networks with external partners and integrating them into learning projects. 

Try this: As a practical starting point, join or create a simple school network activity (e.g. a shared online campaign or challenge) where your students can collaborate with peers from other schools on a common sustainability goal.

Support and mentor colleagues to scale acting for sustainability

Try this: Consider setting up a small peer-support group where interested teachers co-plan one sustainability-rich unit and reflect together on the experience.

Empower students to lead sustainability initiatives across the school

Try this: Invite student representatives to organise short workshops or peer sessions where they share their projects with small scale measurable results and motivate other classes to join.

Build networks to support collective and political action beyond the classroom

Empower students to lead sustainability initiatives across the school

Try this: Invite student representatives to organise short workshops or peer sessions where they share their projects with small scale measurable results and motivate other classes to join.

Build networks to support collective and political action beyond the classroom