Open schooling landscape education and geography: a new paradigm for secondary education in Greece

This article presents an open schooling landscape education paradigm implemented in secondary education in Greece. Although Geography is the core subject addressing Environment and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the national curriculum, it remains significantly marginalized within the educational system. The article identifies and discusses the key dimensions of this systemic marginalization in order to inform the international academic community. Likewise, ESE as a whole is undervalued and insufficiently integrated into educational practice, a condition that is largely attributable to the diminished status of Geography itself. The paper argues that Geography matters and that it can be revitalized through landscape-based open schooling. Within this framework, landscape is introduced as a central geographical concept that enables a holistic, experiential, and applied understanding of space and environment. Twenty-eight students participated in this participatory qualitative research, employing methods including brainstorming, flipped classroom, collaborative group work, and project-based learning. Students were actively engaged both in classroom dialogue and as “young researchers” in the field, generating proposals for sustainable rural landscape management. Building on this framework, the study explores how open schooling landscape education, can cultivate scientific literacy, enhance environmental awareness, and strenthen student’s engagement with sustainability through experiential, place-based, and problem-oriented learning. The landscape concept served as a multidisciplinary entry point, bridging geography, science, and education. Findings show that the approach promotes both theoretical and practical learning, nurtures key skills and attitudes, strengthens collaboration among schools and communities, and supports the science capital and spatial awareness. It further lays the groundwork for active citizenship and more responsible human–landscape relations. Integrating open schooling landscape education into the formal curriculum is strongly advocated.