A Case Study of "Sustainability High School": Barriers Faced in Converting to a Sustainable School and How School and District Leadership Overcame Those Barriers

Autor/in	Santorello, Jennifer A.
Titel	A Case Study of "Sustainability High School": Barriers Faced in Converting to a Sustainable School and How School and District Leadership Overcame Those Barriers
Quelle	(2019), (194 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ed.D. Dissertation, Hofstra University
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-1-3921-1177-2
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Sustainability; High Schools; Barriers; School Administration; School Buildings; Student Welfare; Conservation (Environment); Stakeholders; Program Implementation; Leadership Effectiveness; Change Strategies; Administrator Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes; Student Attitudes; School Districts; Massachusetts + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Nachhaltigkeit; High school; Oberschule; School building; Schulgebäude; Studentenseelsorge; Conservation; Environment; Konservierung; Bewahung; Umwelt; Führungseffizienz; Lösungsstrategie; Lehrerverhalten; Schülerverhalten; School district; Schulbezirk; Master-Studiengang
Abstract	In order to upgrade school buildings and make them healthier for students and staff, a recent trend has been to build environmentally sustainable schools, which benefit the environment and offer improved learning experiences for students. This qualitative case study examined Sustainability High School, a school in Massachusetts that successfully launched several sustainability initiatives. This study addressed three research questions: 1) What were the barriers and challenges faced by stakeholders of Sustainability High School when it proposed and implemented sustainability initiatives?; 2) How did school leadership overcome those barriers and challenges?; and 3) What were project stakeholders' perceptions about school leadership's effectiveness of addressing those challenges? Interviews with stakeholders were conducted, including school and district leadership, teaching staff, former students, and others. In addition, a tour and site visit of the sustainable school building was completed and documents reflecting the sustainability initiatives were analyzed. After researching Sustainability High School, the following five barriers and challenges emerged: knowledge of stakeholders, resistance to change, teaching staff disruptions, logistics, and cost. Further analysis revealed eight main themes on how leadership overcame the challenges and barriers: supportive and dedicated leadership, changing the mindset of stakeholders, organizing with students and stakeholders, finding support from stakeholders, incentivizing students, reduced-cost initiatives, volunteer basis, and integration of sustainability within the curriculum. Although all of this study's participants perceived success in implementing the initiatives, the success was characterized in two distinctive ways: the initiatives would have never happened without support from school leadership, and the initiatives were successful but it is not enough to continue to make an impact on the school. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01