Abstract

PERALES-PALACIOS, Francisco Javier; BURGOS-PEREDO, Óscar  and  GUTIERREZ-PEREZ, José. The Eco-Schools program: A critical evaluation of strengths and weaknesses. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2014, vol.36, n.145, pp.98-119. ISSN 0185-2698.

This paper focuses on the educational figure of eco-schools within the context of Latin American countries. The aim is to obtain a critical review of their role in present-day society, resorting to a revision of the literature and the novel -simultaneous- use of two methodologies: documentary meta-analysis, and SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats); to carry out a review of the state of the empirical work related to the weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities of eco-schools, together with the strategic actions mentioned in the empirical literature on those points. Subsequently, a qualitative meta-analysis was conducted regarding the Spanish-speaking community using several documentary sources (manuals, guides, websites, books, articles, theses and papers). Both these processes involve a methodological integration which we call Meta-SWOT. The results have been grouped with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the participant agents: students, teachers, school and town hall, as well as the strategic lines of action these centers have to face as environmentally committed subsystems.

Keywords : Eco-school; Meta-analysis; Methodology SWOT (Strengths - Weaknesses -Opportunities - Threats); Environmental education; Environmental awareness; Agenda 21; School agenda 21.