Collaboration of Schools and Communities for Sustainable Development (EU-Comenius multilateral network)

CoDeS project is a Comenius multilateral Network funded by the Life-long Learning Program from EU that focuses on school community collaboration addressing sustainability. CoDeS is a COMENIUS multilateral Network funded by the Lifelong Learning Program from EU that focuses on school community collaboration addressing sustainability. The activities of the network aim at providing an European perspective on the processes of learning, models, values and tools for successful collaboration. Based on partners’ wide range of experience and background in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the network will produce, publish and disseminate a range of products useful for school and community stakeholders to engage into successful practice such as case study reports, tool box, travelling guide, and different types of workshops.

CoDeS activities aimed to provide a fresh perspective for inquiry based science learning and improve students’ motivation, deepen knowledge in science and develop civic competencies. Successful implementation is challenging: it requires special skills from teachers and sophisticated communication techniques on all sides. CoDeS work was conducted in three complementing strands: Research on keystones for successful school-community collaborations, based on existing case studies. Publications. “Keystones on school-community collaboration” and the “CoDeS selected cases of school-community collaboration” Link: • Practice oriented tools for cooperation partners, supporting their work in collaborations. Publications: “Travelling guide” for the reflective practitioner and also the “Toolbox for school-community collaboration”. E-tools: “Digital handbook for local authorities” an interactive website for schools and communities (http://www.miljolare.no/en/codes/). All outcomes are translated in several languages. Link • A new research topic on how collaboration projects could contribute to the integration of isolated communities was launched in CoDeS also and is carried over the end of projects lifespan. Publication: “Profiles of isolated communities and ways into integration” Link CoDeS itself was a ‘learning organisation’(Senge 1990) and has been reflecting on own developments, challenges and success factors over its full lifespan. Internal and external evaluation, conducted by independent evaluators played a crucial role for the reflection on learning processes, on differing working traditions and own values. CoDeS understood itself as prototype of community learning as indicated in the heart of the networks activities.