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Education project for teachers
Project of the European Social Fund:
Environmental education for teachers of
secondary schools, Comenius University in
Bratislava (2005-2006)
Summer school for students
Project realised by the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (2007)
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE SLOVAK HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: Concepts, Innovations and Examples of Good Practice
The questionnaire was elaborated in October 2008 at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava. Subsequently in November 2008 it passed through a public discussion within the HEI community and responsible employees of the Slovak Ministry of
Education expressed their opinions on the matter.
220 questionnaires were distributed by the Slovak Ministry of Education in cooperation with Comenius University in Bratislava, by post and electronic post from December 2008 until February 2009 to all HEI. In case they are divided into faculties we sent also questionnaires to their
faculties. On the date March 2, 2009 together 112 questionnaires were received from the respondents from 31 HEI (only one private HEI did not send back the questionnaire).
The questionnaire had three parts:Part A – Questionnaire survey on fulfilling the Action Plan for 2007-20081.What attention is being paid to the issue of SD at your workplace?2.Which SD topics does your workplace prefer to focus on within its research projects and study programs?3.Does your workplace have separate subjects focused on the SD issue
or is this issue integrated in relevant subjects?4.What inovative methods are mostly used at your workplace?5.Which subjects on the national, regional and local level does yourworkplace cooperates with in projects supporting SD?
6.Does your workplace have an elaborated approach to SD principlesimplementation?7.Does your workplace have awards for excellent student projects regarding SD issues?8.What actual research and educational projects regarding SD issue are
being done at your workplace?9.In what ways are initiative activities focused on research and ESD being supported at your workplace?10.Who are post-gradual educational programs related to ESD and carried out at your workplaces designed for?
Part B – Action Plan tasks Proposal for 2009-2010. In this part the respondents were to express themselves to the proposal of tasks for next two years (e.g. whether they sufficiently express real needs and present
problems in the field of ESD)
Part C – Commentaries and annexes. In this part the respondents were to add their actual experience, suggestions or recommendations within
five pillars (subplans) of ESD.
Acknowledgement: We would like to thank the universities’ employees for sending back filled in questionnaires for the research of the current state of the Action Plan tasks for the years 2007-2008, and for their comments on the plan for the years 2009-2010. Elaboration of this contribution was financially
supported by the means of KEGA č. 3/5149/07 project: Interuniversity contextual integration of study programs aimed at landscape planning.
Mária Kozová, Viera ChrenščováComenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mlynská dolina B2, 842 15 Bratislava 4
Slovak Republic, Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY AT THE HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND ITS RESULTSCenters of the higher educational institutions (public, state, private)
In Slovakia and indication of key public universities
ABSTRACTThe Slovak Republic committed itself in the year 2005 to implement the UN
Strategy for education for sustainable development into the educational
process on all levels. This Strategy was implemented into the Action Plan of
education for sustainable development in the Slovak Republic, which Slovak
Ministry of Education passed in December of 2006.
Poster presents an overview of the results and experience achieved in
implementing process of the Action Plan for Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) at the Slovak higher educational institutions (HEI). To
prepare representative overview an informative questionnaire was elaborated
with the aim to obtain actual information directly from HEI.
Questionnaire survey was realised from December 2008 to February 2009 in
the frame of all Slovak HEI (20 public, 3 state and 10 private). The
questionnaire was focused on education and research for SD, on
management and capacity building of partnerships with other types of schools,
scientific institutions and local communities.
Obtained results were evaluated following five principal sub-plans, designed
for HEI: 1) Capacity development; 2) Education and training; 3) Research 4)
Institutional efficiency and 5) Communication, coordination and collaboration.
The results of the questionnaire survey will serve as a base for updating and
re-formulating of vision, activities, networking and better integrating principles,
values and practices of sustainable development into education and learning
process in Slovakia for the second half of the UN Decade of ESD.
UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development – Moving
into the second half of the UN Decade, 31 March – 2 April 2009, Bonn, Germany
MILESTONES OF IMPLEMENTING EDS IN
SLOVAKIA
Key national documents and conferences
supporting environmental education and ESD
• Policy of environmental education in Slovakia (1997)
• National Strategy for SD for Slovakia (2001)
• Action Plan for SD in Slovakia for 2005-2010 (2005)
• Action Plan for ESD (2006)
• National Conferences on Environ. Education and ESD
•1995 (Comenius University in Bratislava)
•1998 (Technical University in Zvolen)
•2001 (P.J. Šafarik University in Košice)
•2004 (Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra)
•2009 (University of Matej Bell in Banská Bystrica)
ACTION PLAN FOR ESD IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLICElaborated by the Joint Working Commission and approved by the
Ministry of Education and Ministry of the Environment in Dec 2006
SlovakRepublic
Population: 5,4 mil.
Area: 49 035 km2
Population density:109 inhabitants per km2
Ethnicity of population:
Slovak (85,6%),
Hungarian (9,7%),
Romany (1,7%),
Czech (0,8%),
Rusyn, Ukrainian,
Polish
and others (2 %)
Action Plan for Education
for Sustainable Development in
the Slovak Republic
(Ministry of Education, 12/2006)
Institutional
capacities
(to finishbuilding
of neededcapacities)
Institutional
efficiency
(based on participatory
management)
Communication,coordination,collaboration
(with otherhigh education
institutions, regional / local
communities etc.)
Research
(supportingcooperation of
all relevantinstitutions)
Education
and training
(improvingintegration for
ESD)
Action Plan (2006) includes five pillars for highereducational institutions
Q3: Does your workplace have separate subjects focused on the SD issueor is this issue integrated in relevant subjects?
Q4: What inovative methods are mostly used at your workplace?
1. Project education 6. Simulation games2. Field work and exercises 7. Summer schools3. Interactive discussions 8. Alternative scenarios4. Brainstorming 9. other form of practical and interactive5. Experimental methods form of education
Q2. Which SD topics does your workplace prefer to focus on within its
research projects and study programs?
1. SD of town and countryside 11. Human rights
2. Renewable sources of energy 12. Civic society and partnership
3. Life styles, sustainable consumption 13. Globalisation and SD
4. Biodiversity and ecological principles 14. Poverty, foreign aid
5. Cultural biodiversity 15. Economics and SD
6. Water as a base of life 16. Climate change
7. Landscape management 17. Gender
8. Natural hazards and risks 18. Solution of conflict situations
9. Health issues 19. Other topics
10. Democracy and governance
Measures proposal in the field of education and training at the higher educational institutions:1. To elaborate basic complex electronic textbook for ESD, which would be available for all HEI (e.g. within grant projects)
2. To pay more attention at HEI also to social, cultural and economic topics – the SD issue is still being connected mainly with ecological and environmental aspects3. To introduce awarding of the best student’s final thesis at all HEI, which innovatively handles an issue related to SD 4. To perceive the SD issue not only as an educational activity at all HEI, but also as a part of management and administration of a workplace
Measures proposal to support research in SD, capacity development, institutional efficiency and management of HEI:5. We recommend to include themes regarding SD teaching from time to time within national grant agencies and also to support more interdisciplinary projects related to SD 6. To create a database of grants, competitions, conferences and other activities supporting education and research in the field of SD at HEI
7. To prepare and put into practice (HEI together with the Slovak Ministry of Education) motivation measures, so that gradually all HEI and external education institutions would pay adequate attention to all areas of SD (education, research and management)8. To create Councils for SD at HEI, to embrace the SD issue also in strategic documents, to introduce SD indicators in annual reports.
Communication and cooperation, active involvement of students and improving partnerships on the local and regional levels:9. To support foundation of students’ organizations at HEI dedicated to the SD issue and to involve students as much as possible in the activities and works of the HEI Councils for SD.10. To raise awareness of students, teachers, leading workers, as well as general public, about the importance of SD.11. To extend and strengthen partnerships on local and regional levels with the aim of enforcing the SD principles in all areas of social life.
Best practice examples (transdisciplinary approaches)
cooperation with practice
Example of cooperation with self-governance:
Project „Distance Education for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Regional and Local
development in Slovakia (2005-2007), supported by the German Federal Foundation for Environment.University of Luneburg and Comenius Universities
co-operated with the Slovak Association of Town and Municipalities,.
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Q1: What attention is being paid to the issue of SD at your workplace?
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MEASURES PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN OF ESD AT UNIVERSITIES IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, WHICH ARE DUE TO BE
GRADUALLY EXECUTED IN THE YEARS 2009-2014
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