Abstract:

As the inclusion of the principles of sustainable development in Romania’s strategy has been accelerated since its integration in the European Community, several steps have been made in the direction of education as well. Romania participated at the United Nations Decade for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) from 2005 to 2014, but no country report was released to show the progress made at a national level. Empirical studies reveal inconsistent practices and significant differences between the public sector and the private education. In order to illustrate the good practices for including the sustainable development principles at a school level, we analyzed the case of a Finnish private school in Romania. The analysis was conducted at a multi-criteria level: firstly, based on the Sustainable Development principles as defined by the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe); secondly, according to the Eco-School Criteria proposed by the Comenius-SEED Network. The good practices found at a school-unit level are difficult to be transposed in the public primary schools, however, we identified several recommendations that can easily be adopted, with the respect of the legislation restrictions. Their further inclusion in the schools depend mostly on the implication of the local decisional actors and the support of NGOs.

Keywords:

Sustainable development, educational management, UNDESD, sustainable management.