Katrine Dahl Madsen’s research while affiliated with Aarhus University and other places

The article aims to explore the following question: ‘How is education for sustainable development and health education in schools approached and contextualized at a municipal level, and what contradictions and tensions might local structures imply for sustainable health promoting school development?’ Based on interviews with key agents at the municipal level in Denmark and drawing on a knowledge exchange network, the article identifies and discusses the following three themes across education for sustainable development and health education: (i) autonomy, engagement and ownership; (ii) open frameworks and invitations to ‘run with the ball’; and (iii) ad hoc professional development. A main conclusion in the article is that local approaches are largely based on plurality and voluntarism, and are formed around enthusiasts. There is a risk that this framework becomes so flexible that it ‘falls apart’ in the balance between rigidity and flexibility.

This chapter addresses the relationship between international and national policies regarding sustainability and health promotion which have the potential to affect school-based health education/promotion and education for sustainable development in Denmark. Based on policy mapping and analysis, the focus is on the transformation processes that occur during the transition from international policy frameworks to the national context. The chapter considers the consequences of these transformation processes for educational practices within schools in light of the current major reform of basic general education in Denmark with its aims of ensuring overall school improvement, increasing pupil wellbeing and improving academic outcomes. Analysis of international policy documents, as well as of research literature shows that school-based health education (HE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) share a number of features. These include a whole-school approach, cross-disciplinarity, participatory approaches, cultivating social imagination, and developing critical competences related to working with ‘real life’ health and sustainability issues. The discussion in this chapter focuses on the common tendency that when health and sustainability education in schools are framed in national action plans, certain critical educational aspects are lost by narrowing the concepts of health and sustainability to fit particular school subjects (e.g. physical education or science), and defining outcomes solely in terms of individual lifestyle factors. This neglects the importance of working with broader social values and the complexity of the interplay between individual and society in relation to both health and sustainability.

This article discusses the findings from a study mapping out the priorities, policies and practices of local authorities concerning health promotion (HP) and health education (HE) in primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark. The aim of the study was to identify the gaps, tensions and possibilities associated with the demand to increase the quality and effectiveness of HP in schools. The recent national school reform, which emphasizes the importance of health and well-being while simultaneously increasing the focus on performance and accountability in terms of subject proficiency and narrowly defined academic attainment, provides the broader political context for the study. Data were generated through a structured online survey administered to all 98 Danish municipalities. Respondents were educational consultants or others representing the administrative units responsible for the municipality's schools. The findings were discussed within the conceptual framework of Health Promoting Schools. The study points to a potential tension between the health and education sectors, despite evidence of intersectoral collaboration. While there is a strong policy focus on health and well-being in schools, it is disconnected from the utilization of the HE curriculum by the municipal consultants. The study also points to a lack of professional development opportunities for teachers in the field of HP in schools. On the basis of these findings and theoretical perspectives used, we argue that HP in schools needs to (re)connect with the core task of the school, education, and to integrate both health and education goals in local priorities, policies and practices. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

This chapter begins with a brief history of ESD in Danish schools. With a firmly established tradition for a multi–dimensional and action–oriented approach to environmental education, Denmark was well placed to take a leading role in adopting the principles of the UN Decade of ESD. However, the 2009 adoption of a national strategy for the Decade can be considered too little, too late. Despite the apparent political lethargy, there are more encouraging signs of local initiatives at the practice level. Three such cases are presented here. While by no means representative, these cases can be considered examples of promising practices, suggesting three very different approaches to and perspectives on ESD in Danish schools. The three cases also clearly demonstrate many of the challenges in introducing ESD in schools–challenges which must be tackled if ESD in Denmark is to go beyond a few largely isolated local initiatives and enter mainstream teaching, curricula and educational policy.

This article’s primary objective is to unfold how teachers translate education for sustainable development (ESD) in a school context. The article argues that exploring tensions, ruptures and openings apparent in this meeting is crucial for the development of existing teaching practices in relation to ESD. The article draws on doctoral research involving interviews with researchers and teachers who have collaborated in ESD research and development projects at primary and secondary schools in two different countries, Denmark and Ireland. It is the teachers’ perspectives on the projects which form the analytical foundation; thus, it is the practices as seen from the ‘inside’. Furthermore, ESD practices are considered in a broader societal perspective, pointing to the critical power of the practice lens.