The Death and Life of a School-Based Environmental Education and Communication Program in Brazil: Rethinking Educational Leadership and Ecological Learning

Abstract

This article presents an exploratory case study of the sustainability of an environmental education and communication (EEC) project at an elementary public school in Brazil. Our analysis shows that a narrow view of institutional educational leadership and ecological learning negatively affected the resilience of that particular EEC development. We conclude our study by suggesting that the idea of distributed leadership be expanded into the field of environmental education and communication as a potential solution to the unsustainability of similar projects. It is hoped that our discussion will assist those interested in making decisions that will have the longest positive influence on the social, physical, and natural environments of schools.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The University of Ottawa's Faculty of Education supported the research project described here both financially and administratively.

We would like to express our gratitude to the following research team members in Brazil: Juliana Reis, Leonardo Meireles, Fernanda Lobo, and Fabiano Amaral da Silveira. Lastly, we would like to thank Alishia Valeri for her assistance in editing the manuscript.

Notes

Pseudonyms are used throughout the text to preserve the anonymity of participants.

Leadership is different than management in that is fundamentally consensual, with followers agreeing to do what was asked, and involves change, both of which do not apply necessarily to managing (Firestone & Robinson, 2010). However, in the case reported here, the two seem to converge in the role played by Mr. F.

An issue here concerns the relationship between leadership and management. Although conceptually distinct, we consider that one is an essential part of the other in this context (see Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond [2001, 2004] for a more extensive discussion on this topic).