Galapagos Conservancy believes that the extent to which Galapagos remains the world’s most environmentally-intact oceanic archipelago depends largely on how well those who live in Galapagos understand and embrace their pivotal role in shaping a sustainable society. High-quality Education for Sustainability can help lay the foundation for such a society.

The concept of Education for Sustainability (EfS) has become commonplace in public and private education in the US and other countries, both at the K-12 level and in higher education. Definitions vary, but at its core, EfS helps young people to understand the inter-connectedness of the social, environmental, political, and economic issues affecting their communities and the world beyond. It also increases the connection students feel with the natural environment and brings relevance to their daily lives. But beyond developing knowledge and understanding, EfS prepares young people to act on their knowledge to make a positive difference in their communities.

Program Need

Historically, Galapagos education has faced chronic challenges: due to the isolation of the islands, teachers received little training in effective pedagogical practices or the content of areas they teach; instruction relied heavily on rote memorization; and past curricula failed to develop competencies required in the local work place or for university study. National standardized tests confirm that the performance of Galapagos students across is below that of their counterparts on the mainland, across all subject areas and in the areas of verbal, reasoning, and abstract thinking skills.

Our Multi-Pronged approach

GC is working to transform education in Galapagos through two inter-connected areas of activity: 1) Intensive teacher professional development for every preK-12th grade teacher in Galapagos (325+) in research-based education strategies related to EfS, and 2) establishing the Tomás de Berlanga School as a demonstration site of best practices in action and a teacher training center for all Galapagos educators.

Our Partners

GC main partners in this work include: Ecuador’s Ministry of Education, the Galapagos Governing Council, the Galapagos-based Fundación Scalesia, educators from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development (Southern Methodist University) and Teachers to Teachers Global.