"Deeds and Words": how environmental education in Australia is active citizenship

What is environmental citizenship? How do we define an environmental citizen? These and other questions frame this article based on a review of findings from program evaluation projects conducted from 2003 to 2011 of environmental education programs associated with implementation of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI). This article will discuss how AuSSI has integrated active citizenship education into education for sustainability (EfS) in order to build student capability towards environmental citizenship. Educational reforms such as Productive Pedagogies enabled environmental educators to finally achieve a more holistic curriculum integration of EfS and gain credibility for their work. There is some discussion of the use of program theory to inform how AuSSI achieves its holistic model of EfS. Data from successive evaluations is presented as evidence of insights regarding critical success factors in environmental citizenship education. This includes examples of two core elements of AuSSI, the ecological footprint and student ownership of activities which develop leadership. Future directions in research include: incorporating student voice and insights; longitudinal follow-up research of student environmental leaders; and relationships between wellbeing and EfS. Systemic support for expanding EfS implementation including teacher pre-service and in-service professional development is recommended