Learning for Sustainability: young people and practitioner perspectives

2. Methodology

2.1 Research aims and objectives

The research aims to inform the Scottish Government about current LfS understanding and implementation within CLD and school settings for young people aged 14+ and practitioners working with this age group. The research objectives are as follows.

1. further the understanding of how LfS is understood and implemented by schools and CLD workforce

2. learn from LfS 'best practice' taking place around the system

3. allow the voices of young people and practitioners to feed directly into LfS policy and the 'refresh' of the Action Plan

4. understand the successes and challenges LfS has faced since 2019

5. consider the impact of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) on LfS

2.2 Research ethics

The research required informed consent from all participants, with active consent from parents/carers for young people. This was sought through an introductory letter explaining the research aims, process and outputs, alongside consent forms for parent/carers, young people, and staff to sign. Verbal consent and 'opt-out' was sought at the start of each fieldwork site visit, and all participants were notified of the process and deadline for requesting withdrawal from the research. Informed consent follows all duty of care 'do no harm' expectations and ethical guidelines as stated in the 'Social Research Ethics Guidance', Scottish Educational Research Association (2005) and British Education Research Association (2018) ethical guidelines. All research assistants and team members held a Protecting Vulnerable Groups disclosure to meet safeguarding requirements.

Confidentiality and anonymity were assured through all audio recordings and images being securely saved and password protected on University of Dundee systems. Audio recordings and images will be deleted after six months and saved transcripts omit any personal names or identifying comments about participants. The transcripts will be securely held for the required timeframe of 10 years and lodged with Scottish Government. Ethical approval was agreed through the University of Dundee ethics committee therefore meeting UK, Scottish and University policies and guidance. Ethical permission was additionally sought by the Scottish Government's Education Analytical Services Division through an 'opt-out' process for each Education Director of the eight participating local authorities.

2.3 Research design and sampling

Mixed methodology was employed through an online quantitative scoping survey and fieldwork visits to eight local authorities sampled to ensure a representative demographic snapshot of young people and practitioners' perspectives from across Scotland.

The scoping survey had five sections: using Likert scale responses from practitioners it sought practitioner perspectives on LfS being a way of life and ethos within Scottish society, their setting as well as individual implementation of LfS.

The World Café and 3 Horizons focus group was designed to offer a range of options: Young People's World Café (one-hour session); Practitioner World Café (one-hour session); Practitioner World Café & 3 Horizons (1.5 hour session). This was to accommodate the potential constraints of timetabling and participant availability and the challenges of setting up sessions with young people and practitioners at short notice. Questions for the World Café were designed with reference to the Scottish Government tender objectives and scoping guidance.

The World Café (Brown & Isaacs, 2005) method increases participation whilst benefiting participants as it 'facilitates dialogue and mutual learning, thus motivating their participation and responses' (Löhr, Weinhardt & Saber 2020, p.1). Originally conceived and implemented in 1995, World Café methodology has become a globally adopted practice for group table conversations initiating generative feedback and creative thinking. In addition, 3 Horizons is a simple and intuitive framework for thinking about the future. Employed in a focus group, it offers a way to engage multiple stakeholders in constructive conversations about transformational change (Sharpe, 2013).

The scoping survey had been piloted for research at the University of Dundee and was adapted for the LfS study. The World Café and 3 Horizons approach was piloted at the University of Dundee with students aged 19 to 25 from within the education studies and teacher education courses.

To achieve a geographical spread of participants across Scotland, a sample of six schools and two CLD settings was constructed in eight local authorities across the six Regional Improvement Collaboratives. Purposive sampling – drawing on SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) data – was used to ensure representative demographics of schools/CLD settings, including one Gaelic-medium setting.

2.4 Recruitment process

The Scottish Government Education Analytical Services Division made introductory contact with the eight local authority Education Directors offering an 'opt-out' should they not wish to participate in the research. With consent from all eight Education Directors the University of Dundee embarked upon recruitment for fieldwork visits and dissemination of the scoping survey through local authorities. This included engagement with LfS leads; Secondary School leads; Quality Improvement leads; CLD leads; Headteachers; and Learning for Sustainability leads in schools.

The scoping survey was disseminated through the local authorities. Reminder emails were sent where participation was absent or low and a second reminder was sent prior to the survey end date. Fieldwork settings were contacted individually and checked against other Scottish Government research projects. Where first option settings were unable to participate, second and third options were approached. The intention was to ensure all settings remained as close as possible to the original purposive SIMD-based sampling criteria, and varied only where chosen schools were unable to participate and alternative local authority suggestions were considered.

2.5 Conducting the research

Fieldwork was predominantly undertaken by two research assistants accompanied by an academic member of the research team. A range of complexities (venue arrangements, catering, participant numbers, and timing of participant availability) had to be adapted to whilst maintaining consistency through the World Café format and question structure. Data collection methods included audio recordings, sheet notes, still images and post-it notes. Audio recordings and images were captured and securely uploaded after each site visit, alongside notes typed up from sheets and post-its. In total 80 individual transcripts were generated and shared across the research team for analysis.

2.6 Analysis

The data were analysed in NVivo, using Braun and Clarke's (2012; 2019) six-phase reflexive thematic analysis approach, which adopts a context-aware, thoughtful approach to systemic coding and critical researcher engagement with the codes to generate nodes and themes. Multiple sources of data from the focus group conversations and participant notes were analysed for relevant deductive and inductive nodes/topics.

Themes were then developed to collate findings and data visualisations of young people and practitioners' experiences and perspectives of LfS within their educational and community settings. World Café questions were then synthesised, extrapolating the main themes and findings into the five strategic priorities framework of the 2012 LfS Report to make recommendations.

2.7 Participant demographics

The research design facilitated participation by a sample reflecting the demographics of the whole of Scotland, encompassing participation from: across the north/south/east/west of the country; the Islands; rural and urban areas; and Gaelic-medium settings. The purposive sample identified using the SIMD, enhanced representation of findings across the eight participating local authority areas.

2.8 Strengths and limitations of the research

A snapshot, mixed methods research (MMR) approach with small purposive sample presents strengths and limitations. MMR has benefits of greater reliability through the triangulation between methods that can evidence theme and pattern regularity across quantitative and qualitative data findings. There is capacity for replication through the methods adopted and credibility provided through experienced researchers analysing the data following a rigorous and tested analysis process. The validity of any conclusions may be weaker due to the small sample sizes for the scoping survey, yet the triangulation across all data sources does strengthen inferences and the World Café design helps provide defensible and credible findings across the synthesised data. Rigorous sampling was undertaken to ensure representative demographics was achieved from across Scotland even with a small sample size (Cohen et al., 2018). While findings are not generalisable for all LfS experiences of young people or practitioners across school and CLD settings, they do represent a range of views and have qualitative trustworthiness (Tracy, 2010).

The fieldwork recruitment process was successful in the majority of the eight local authority areas where predominantly first option schools agreed to participate in the fieldwork. Purposive sampling was achieved in all but one local authority area. Some flexibility was required due to time constraints on completing the fieldwork, and the lead-in time schools require for research visits. The smaller than expected samples of participants is a limitation of the research but demographic representation from across Scotland was achieved.

Participant numbers were lower than expected, meaning the scoping survey, fieldwork analysis and findings will not be as representative of practitioners' perspectives on LfS as originally designed. This is especially true for the practitioner scoping survey (46 respondents from 6 local authorities). This may indicate a biased cohort as the small number of respondents may be those who have a particular interest in LfS. Overall reliability and validity is upheld through the use of complimentary methodologies and the cross-referencing of findings to limit potential bias and representativeness from the small sample sizes.