Developing a school focused approach to continuing professional development in sustainability education

This article has two aims. Its first is to describe how findings from a questionnaire survey of 96 UK primary schools influenced the theory of action adopted in the SEEPS Project, (Sustainability Education in European Primary Schools, 1997) funded by DGXI and DGXXII of the European Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage. SEEPS is a continuing professional development (CPD) project developed by representatives from 11 European educational systems. The first section of the article outlines how the Project came to adopt a school focused theory of action in CPD, in preference to a centralised or school-based approach. School focused CPD trains trainers and provides them with adaptable materials that can support individualised CPD programmes decided in and by the school and its staff. The second aim is to outline and analyse some of the more interesting inter and intra-regional relationships, correlations and differences which emerged from the survey. We have only included those findings that illuminate CPD provision in sustainability education. This article seeks to share data with others working in environmental education and sustainability education and to stimulate a debate about the relevance of school focused approaches in international discussions about CPD in environmental and sustainability education.