Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Augustenborg Elementary School caters for Students from grades 1-9 and incorporates a number of sustainable elements within its construction. The school teaches 700 pupils in 7 buildings that make up the built complex. In keeping with the theme of involving residents in the design and cohesion of sustainable practice, the school thoughtfully referred to ideas of the children for designing the leisure area, which is focussed centrally between the schools 7 buildings. Our group revisited Augustenborg and were lucky to secure an interview with Edith Petersen, grade 1 teacher, who was able to tell us about some of the sustainable and environmental functions of the eco-building facility: Heating for the building is provided from the district source. Ground level heating was experimented with but eventually ditched. Wooden flooring oiled with locally sourced Linseed oil provides good insulation. The Eco-building can be easily disassembled, moved or augmented depending on changing requirements for the building that might be affected by such things as pupil numbers for example. But unfortunately this factor detracts slightly from the buildings ability to insulate. Hot water for the whole school is provided exclusively by polycrystalline silicon panels attached to the roof of the eco-building which cater for hot water demands throughout the year. The advantage of these are that they are cheap, require no maintenance and can last over 25 years Lights in the school will turn off automatically when they sense a lack of movement to save energy. The eco-building is also home to the schools processing facility for human waste. Urine is separated from faeces, which is put into a drum containing worms which process the waste reducing it to only 30% its original size. The remaining material known as humus soil is distributed round the site as compost. Before having been added to the soil however, the humus soil was already sprouting plants from seeds the children had eaten. Edith told us that at one time tomatoes were growing from it! Of the 7 buildings which make up the complex, three are fitted with green roofs, which have the ability to purify water which can then go back into the system. This saves money for the school as they can avoid paying for treatment and bigger pipes. The roofs also act as effective insulation and attract a variety of birds, lending a boost to biodiversity and providing the pupils with the opportunity to study local wildlife.

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Observation
All these physical features of the school, would outwardly suggest a conscientious drive towards sustainability and a concern for the environment, but I wanted to find out about awareness of global issues such as sustainability, urban sustainability and the environment amongst children. I believe that education concerning such matters is crucial in regard to the future custodians of our world, and so was eager to gauge the awareness and interest regarding such matters amongst the children.

Experiment
To do this I felt that the best approach would be to talk directly to pupils and teachers of the school. Therefore I designed a list of interview questions for both teachers and children alike. To achieve a more conclusive assessment of awareness at Augustenborg School and obtain a comparison study, I decided to carry out the same test at a school outside Augustenborg, for which I chose Bergaskolan in Limhamn. I wanted to record verbal responses from the children and the teachers as I thought that this method would elicit a richer level of detail as to the attitudes of the teachers and pupils at both schools. However, I was also interested in gaining some quantitative data for the purpose of comparison and reliability, for this I used an interval / ratio variable which means that the variable has more than two categories, which can be ranked in order and that the distance between each variable is equal. I devised a list of 5 questions for verbal responses which I posed to 3 average pupils from grade six in each school and two questions which I posed to each teacher. I then augmented and simplified the 5 questions to the pupils so that they could be responded to on a scale from 1>10. These questions were posed to the whole class by their respective teachers. I also asked each teacher to rate their satisfaction with the current system from 1>10. I have placed all questions in the results section so that they can be easily referred to.
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Hypothesis
Based on the location of each school, and each ones outward appearance, I would hypothesise that the satisfaction in learning, interest and knowledge surrounding sustainability, urban sustainability and environmentalism would all be of a higher level in Augustenborg School than in Bergaskolan. I also hypothesise that the teacher at Augustenborg School will be more satisfied with the system of education regarding these matters than the teacher at Bergaskolan.

Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, Quantitative Data Analysis, p.323

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Results section Questions designed for a verbal response, posed to three average children from the 6th grade from each school:
1. How often do you learn about the sustainability (including urban sustainability) and the environment at school? 2. Do you think learning about sustainability/ the environment is fun/ enjoyable? And why? 3. Has school taught you a lot about the environment/ sustainability/ urban sustainability and can you give one or more examples of something you've learnt? 4. What do the words' sustainability' urban sustainability and 'environment' mean to you? 5. Do you think that you might be involved in working in sustainability/ the environment when you are older and how do you think that decision has been affected by what you've learnt at school?

Answers from Augustenborg School children (Nourhan, Hannes and Lindi) to questions designed for a verbal response: Nourhans answers : Answer 1:Not that often, I think we need more. Answer 2:I dont enjoy learning about this sort of thing Answer 3:I have learnt an average amount about the environment, recently weve learnt about nature. Answer 4: We are a part of the environment; therefore it is within our own interest to protect it. Answer 5: I dont think I would like to work in this area. I want to be a judge. Hannes answers : Answer 1:Not so often, we need to learn more about that sort of thing I think Answer 2:Yes I enjoy it I like all aspects of those subjects that we learn about. Answer 3:We learn an average amount. Recently weve learnt about animals and biodiversity. Answer 4:I think that trees, plants and animals have the same right to live. Answer 5: No I dont think Ill work on that kind of thing Lindis answers : Answer 1: Not enough, we need to learn more. Answer 2: Yes, its fun, I like to learn about animals and care about their welfare.
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Nourhan, Grade 6 pupil, Augustenborg School Hannes Grade 6 pupil, Augustenborg school 4 Lindi Grade 6 pupil, Augustenbourg School

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Answer 3: Its only taught me a little bit. Weve been learning about the environment of animals recently. Answer 4: The environment is important. We need all the plants and animals to survive. Answer 5: No I dont think I would like to work in this area, I want to become a footballer.

Answers from Bergaskolan Children (Philippe, Artina and Erik) to questions designed for a verbal response: Philippes answers : Answer 1: All the time, because you always have to think about the environment. We usually learn about this kind of thing in Science. Recently we have been learning a lot about nature Answer 2: Kind of, Im interested in animals and plants. They are important. We learnt about Venus fly traps recently Answer 3: Yea quite a bit, I learnt that its not expensive or complicated to use solar power Answer 4: I know its very important to keep nature as it is or some day we might not have any left, also its important to look after our cities so that they will be good places to live when we grow up. Answer 5: Yes I think I would like to work as an environmental lawyer or energy, but not because of school, more because of TV Artenas answers : Answer 1: We learn every day about some aspect of the environment Answer 2: I think it is good to learn about these things because it is important to protect the environment Answer 3 Yes, we learnt about energy, animals and trees Answer 4: no comment Answer 5: No I dont think I will Eriks answers : Answer 1: In the first week (of this academic year) we learnt the most about this sort of thing. Mostly we learnt about the rainforest. We learnt about trees and their importance to the global environment. Answer 2: I think its fun to learn a lot about nature as I think its important to protect nature Answer 3: We learnt about Asia (nature, rivers, seas and their importance.) Also, we learnt about different trees and the life they support. Answer 4: It means keeping things clean and the air balanced Answer 5: I think I will work with energy or nature, but I dont think it will be because of school
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Philippe, Grade 6 pupil, Bergaskolan Artena, Grade 6 pupil, Bergaskolan 7 Erik, Grade 6 pupil, Bergaskolan

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Questions posed to the whole 6 grade class from each school, designed for a numerical response: 1. How often do you learn about the sustainability (including urban sustainability) and the environment at school? (1(never)>10(very often)) 2. Do you think learning about sustainability/ the environment is fun/ enjoyable? (1(unenjoyable)>10(very enjoyable)) 3. Has school taught you a lot about the environment/ sustainability/ urban sustainability? (1(nothing)>10(a lot)) 4. How important are the concepts of 'sustainability' urban sustainability and 'environment' to you? (1(not important)>10(very important)) 5. Do you think that you might be involved in working in sustainability/ the environment when you are older? (1(very unlikely)>10(very likely)) Average responses to questions from Augustenborg School children (20 total) to the nearest decimal place: Answer 1: 4.2 Answer 2: 6.1 Answer 3: 5.2 Answer 4: 5.3 Answer 5: 3.2 Average responses to questions from Bergaskolan children (24 total) to the nearest decimal place: Answer 1: 5 Answer 2: 6.2 Answer 3: 5.8 Answer 4: 8.5 Answer 5: 4.3
th

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Below I have plotted the results of the questionnaires for both schools. The x-axis represents the score whilst the y-axis represents the 5 questions as mentioned above. Please see figure 1.1 9 8 7 6 5 Augustenborg School 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Figure 1.1 Bergaskolan

Questions for teachers of Grade six classes in both schools (Mats Nillson, Bergaskolan and Patrick Afsen, Augustenborg School) Question 1: Are you satisfied with the level of awareness of sustainable, urban and environmental issues instilled in the kids at your school? Could you also please award your level of satisfaction out of 10, 1 representing being completely unsatisfied, through to 10 representing complete satisfaction? Question 2: What, if anything would you change about the system regarding these issues?

Answers from Mats Nillson, Bergaskolan Answer 1: The level of awareness can never be too high. The environmental questions concern the future and the future is what we are handing over to the generations to come. At Bergaskolan among the pupils- these questions are not of high priority, mainly because the children are pushed from many directions to achieve high grades, to enable them to get an education which will lead them to high profile employment and the chance of earning a good amount of money. We the teachers put in a LOT of effort to make the students aware of the problems and of course its included in their everyday work.
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Mats Nillson, Grade 6 teacher, Bergaskolan

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Satisfaction rating: 6/10 Answer 2: There are many things to work with and change. Mainly I think its an attitude question. To see the impact of human actions, for me is one angle of approach which is fairly easy to show and get them to understand. Films from so called newly industrialised countries are one way. Im thinking of a 20-25 minute long film called Vi handler men vem betalar? (We do the shopping but whos paying?) The reactions among the pupils are often very strong when they see what the effects of acid, glue, dye and other chemicals have on the human body and the environment. When they see the price of cheap shoes and clothes is compared to the cost at the other end, I often find them engaged and interested. However, I would like to see more time on the time table allocated to the issues you mention.
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Answers from Patrick Afsen Answer 1: I think its important that the whole school has the same goal. Perhaps we could focus on environmentalism and sustainability as a theme for a short period or as the new curriculum says: that it should permeate our organisation and education, but they do not provide specific guidelines to carry this out. Personally I try to discuss sustainability with my pupils during the 5th and 6th grade as much as possible, however a recent review from an education authority said we were lacking in mathematics and advised that we detract time from subjects like the environment to improve on it. Although I have been to a course at Malmo Hgskola about sustainability, I find it difficult to teach the pupils about these subjects, because I have to do it from material that I must to devise myself.
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Satisfaction rating: 6/10 Answer 2: Weve got a new curriculum this year, and a lot of our work now consists of trying to figure out what the authors mean, and how to get pupils to achieve good grades. We have a new grading system as well. The new grading system means that the pupils get assessed from the age of 12 and every year till they leave secondary school. Sustainability is supposed to be one of many foundations when you plan your lessons, but this change in assessment has meant a stronger focus on core subjects for now. I think, these issues should be assigned more importance and that direction should be given to teachers on to teach it. Hopefully in time well get there.
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Conclusion
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Mats Nillson, Grade 6 teacher, Bergaskolan Patrick Afsen , Grade 6 teacher, Augustenborg School 11 Patrick Afsen , Grade 6 teacher, Augustenborg School
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Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

Ill start with analysis from the verbal answers the children gave. Firstly, all three of the children from Bergaskolan seemed to be more enthusiastic about the concepts of sustainability, urban sustainability and the environment than all three of the children from Augustenborg School. All Bergaskolan children testify to learning about the environment regularly, whereas all three children from Augustenburg suggest that learning about the three concepts is limited and needs to be improved. All children expressed an interest and enjoyment in learning about the concepts mentioned, except for Nourham, even though she was conscientious enough to concede that she felt she needed to learn more about them. The children from Augustenbourg were vague about what they learnt from the three areas, although Hannes did mention biodiversity, which was impressive for a child of his age. Otherwise all three children mentioned nature. All children from Bergaskolan claimed to have learnt a lot and even provided varying examples what theyd learnt. For example, Erik mentions the importance of rivers and seas. Out of all children interviewed only Philippe (Bergaskolan) mentioned solar panels and the importance of sustaining cities for the future. All three Augustenborg children advocated the importance of taking care of nature, but didnt seem to differentiate between the environment and the other two concepts. Aside from Artena who failed to comment the other two children from Bergaskolan were able to produce more detailed answers to what the three concepts meant to them with Philippe elaborating on the importance of nature by claiming that one day there may not be any left and Eric citing the importance of cleanliness of the environment and atmospheric balance. Surprisingly none of the children of Augustenborg from the verbal interviews claimed that they had any intention of working in some capacity in urban sustainability, sustainability or the environment. In contrast two out of three children from Bergaskolan claimed that they wanted to work with nature to improve the environment, but interestingly, insisted that school was not the main effect on this decision. The quantitative data mimicked the information gotten from the verbal responses with only one major difference: Question 4 produced widely varied responses from the two schools with an average score of only 5.3/10 for Augustenborg and a much higher score of 8.5/10 for Bergaskolan. Otherwise, the numerical results from both schools mimic each other, with the only difference being that Augustenborg scores consistently (but only marginally) lower than Bergaskolan. Even down to the responses of the teachers Bergaskolan appears to be better placed to raise awareness on the three issues. Whilst Patrick (Augustenbourg) appears to bemoan the necessity for him to produce his own material, Mats (Bergaskolan) demonstrates a greater initiative by mentioning a film about the discrepancy of wage packages and benefits between consumers and third world producers of goods that he wants to show his children. Both teachers demonstrate a strong concern for the issues however and share a satisfaction rating for the efficiency of the school system in this regard of 6/10. From the information attained it is quite clear that the hypothesis must be rejected. But were there any extraneous variables at work that may have adversely affected the results? I think that there were at least two: i) The socio-economic backgrounds of the students were higher in Limhamn where properties are more expensive. Richer parents often have a better education themselves

Augustenbourg Case A Individual Project 2011

which will transmit to their children who are then inclined to understand the concepts discussed to a better extent. Also richer parents often have more time to devote to the development of their children. ii) The children from each school were interviewed at different times of the day. Kids from Augustenborg were interviewed just after lunch recess when they were excited and possibly less able to produce considered answers than their counterparts at Bergaskolan, who were interviewed in the morning.

Improvements
1. I think the experiment could have been improved if the interviewer could speak Swedish in order to better communicate with the children perhaps they had other things to say that they werent confident of expressing in English. 2. I think that the answers of each child would have been more individual if they had been interviewed separately in order to not be prompted by their class-mates answer. As it was there wasnt enough time available to the teachers to permit this level of disruption. 3. Perhaps it would be of use to interview children of an older age, for as we can deduce from the childrens answers, the children in the sixth grade dont seem to learn a lot about urban sustainability. Also, in a follow up question to that I posed to both teachers, I asked how often concepts of urban sustainability were communicated to the children. I received an answer from Mats Nillson who confirmed that beyond issues of energy and recycling he had no plans to delve any deeper into that area for his year six class and that urban sustainability is something thats further addressed later in education. A reply from Patrick Afsen is still forthcoming. 4. Timing of the interview is also important. Augustenborg children were interviewed just after lunch when they had returned from recess, whereas children from Bergaskolan were interviewed in the morning. From my experience as an assistant teacher in the UK, I would say that immediately after recess children are more excitable and less serious, which could have affected their answers. 5. Obviously, increasing sample size always improves the reliability of results