Environmental sustainability implementation in primary and secondary schools: evidence from the UAE

This paper examines environmental sustainability (ES) implementation in United Arab Emirates (UAE) primary and secondary schools. Our objectives were to examine to which extent ES was 1) considered a strategic initiative and was integrated into their 2) human resource management, 3) operations, and 4) curricular and extra-curricular practices. We adopted a quantitative, descriptive research approach using a self-administrated questionnaire from 85 school teachers and staff representing 52 UAE schools. The majority of our responding schools include ES in their vision, mission, and strategic objectives, but only 38% of the schools had a formal ES management plan. More than 50% of schools implemented sustainable transportation, waste separation, or waste reduction practices into their daily operations, and integrated ES into their basic courses and offered relevant extra-curricular activities. However, the majority of schools did not integrate ES in their human resources management practices. This paper highlights the progress that has been made in integrating ES into UAE schools and suggests areas for improvement. It contributes to a gap in literature on sustainability and EaS implementation in schools and discuss the limitations of this study and possible future avenues of research.