Learning for sustainability: are Amsterdam secondary schools embracing circularity?

The Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025 outlines how the City of Amsterdam aims to achieve its ambition to become 50% circular by 2030 and to achieve a fully circular city by 2050 by using the so-called Doughnut economics model. Within this commitment certain facets of the society are being analysed and put into assessment for transition to a circular setting. Health, employment, food, education, justice, culture, community are some of the social parameters to look into in combination with the ecological ones on water, pollution, etc. Education sits in a critical position in this shift as it holds the ability to bring systemic change from bottom up and in a more holistic way. The aim of this study is to perform exploratory research and critically analyze the implementation of CE in secondary education within the region of Amsterdam. The research focused on the challenges that schools face in embracing circularity in their learning environments, the familiarity with the notion of CE and the elements of the Doughnut framework that are in need of improvement. These topics were examined from a critical perspective by means of a thorough literature review, content analysis of the Dutch educational system, with educational stakeholders’ interviews. Additionally, educational and sustainable frameworks of public and private bodies, publications, and reports were reviewed whilst active participations to workshops and groups related to the subject took place. After a systematic data collection process and analysis, and based on the revised documentation, it is possible to state that CE is undergoing a moderate and slow paced implementation in the secondary system in Amsterdam. In the discussion section, plausible reasons that explain these findings are provided, complemented with critical reflections regarding the concept of CE in education. Further analysis is presented to support this part of the research and render the results more concrete and inclusive