The challenge of Educational Innovation in Environmental Education in the Greek Secondary School

The purpose of this study, as a part of a larger research, is the investigation of secondary education teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of Environmental Education (EE) with respect to the innovations that it entrained to the Greek Educational System. For the research purpose, 7 secondary teachers (“old" teachers) who implemented EE before its institutionalization and 13 secondary teachers ("new" teachers) who implemented EE during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) were interviewed. A semi-structured interview has been used as a research tool for data collection according to the interview guide. Data analysis process have been done by following Grounded Theory approach. The analysis of the data revealed how participants conceptualized the innovation of EE. This article discusses the pedagogical goals, teaching approaches and content of EE, the scalability of innovation, administrative innovation and socio-emotional relationships between students and teachers.