Education for sustainable development and global citizenship: Leadership, collaboration, and networking in primary schools

The interaction of leadership, collaboration, and networking in the development of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC) is examined in five north Wales primary schools noted for their ESDGC development. Strong leadership and considerable, but varying, forms of distributed leadership were found in each of the schools. All schools had extensive external networks with a wide range of visitors and community links. However, participation in these networks and in external professional development was largely confined to key ESDGC players. Some schools had designed effective ways of sharing the knowledge, skills, and understanding of key players with their fellow teachers. Where internal collaboration and networking were frequent, the staff appeared to be more knowledgeable about and committed to ESDGC.