The influence of secondary school students’ voices and participation in Maltese EkoSkola programs.

This research study focused on the extent to which EkoSkola programs give secondary school students opportunities to express their opinions and participate in decision-making. Using Mitra's theory of voice and participation as a framework, the main goals of the research were: to understand how well students’ voices within EkoSkola committees are heard; to identify the essential personal qualities needed by EkoSkola committee members to participate in and lead their peers in ESD programs; to evaluate how effectively the strategies used by the EkoSkola committees helped implement the projects; and to analyse the leadership styles employed by heads of schools that encouraged students’ voices and participation.
This study involved eleven semi-structured interviews and five focus groups with the heads of schools, link teachers, EkoSkola teachers, and EkoSkola committee members from four Maltese Green Flag secondary schools. Four themes emerged: i) Leadership, focusing on leadership styles adopted by the HOSs to empower EkoSkola committee members to speak up and participate in decision-making; ii) Personal qualities and attributes shared by EkoSkola committee members while implementing their projects; iii) Challenges, barriers, and support (or lack thereof) received by committees during project implementation at their schools; and iv) Promotion and community outreach efforts to encourage the entire school community (including educators, non-teaching staff, and parents) to participate and actively engage in pro-sustainability initiatives.
Several recommendations are offered for policymakers, educators, and everyone involved in supporting students as they implement the EkoSkola programs. These include establishing an official ESD policy in Maltese schools, ensuring that committee members act as decision-makers rather than consultants, scheduling committee meetings at specific times (not during breaks) so students can research and work on the program, and encouraging partnerships between local councils and the EkoSkola committees to promote ESD initiatives within local communities.