1.5 MAX

Professional Benefits of 1.5 MAX for Scottish Teachers

Teachers in Scotland can benefit professionally from 1.5 MAX in a myriad of ways. More than anything, it allows us to meet our obligations to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD for 2030).

Below are just a few examples of prominent legislation which calls for teachers facilitating pupils' leadership of learning in the school and the community, as well as prominence given to climate change and sustainability as part of a whole school approach:

National Performance Framework:

• "Young people's participation [in their education]"
• "Children's voice [are heard]"
• "We value, enjoy, protect and enhance our environment"

GTCS Professional Standards for Registration:

• "Learning for sustainability has been embedded within the Standards for Registration to support teachers in actively embracing and promoting principles and practices of sustainability in all aspects of their work."

Professional values:

• "Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations."

Professional actions:

• "...to develop realistic and coherent interdisciplinary contexts for learning, particularly in relation to sustainability"

Kenneth Muir Report: Putting Learners at the Centre:

• "The current generation of learners see climate change as one of the most significant issues facing their futures and, as such, must be recognised as a key driver influencing the future of our education system."

How Good is Our School (HGIOS4):

• "To what extent does our school team have a shared understanding of interdisciplinary learning and how to develop it as an important context for learning?"
• "[Learners] take ownership of their own learning and thinking. [...] They can ask questions, make connections across disciplines, envisage what might be possible and not possible, explore ideas, identify problems and seek and justify solutions"
• "Staff work collaboratively to strengthen their understanding and implementation of key national policies including […] Learning for Sustainability"
• "The development of our curriculum is underpinned by a coherent whole school approach to learning for sustainability."
• "Is the entitlement of learners to Learning for Sustainability being met?"

Related Resources

• Professor Ken Muir: Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education (Scottish Government, March 2022)
• Education Scotland: Learning For Sustainability (Policy)
• UNESCO: ESD for 2030 toolbox (Resource)
• HGIOS4: How Good Is Our School? (Resource)
• Scottish Government: Children's Rights (Policy)
• YouGov/Oxfam/SOS report: Climate Change Education (Poll, 2019, PDF)
• IPSOS MORI: 84 percent of Scots are concerned about climate change (Poll, 2020)

More Information

• Summit Activities
• Benefits of 1.5 MAX Summits for Teachers and Pupils
• Preparation in Advance of a Summit
• 1.5 MAX 2021 teacher survey
• 1.5 MAX 2021 pupils survey

Become part of 1.5 MAX

Are you a local education authority or teacher interested in the upcoming 1.5 MAX Global Schools' Climate Summits? Whether your a climate-concerned head or teacher, or interested in developing climate and sustainability education resources, we invite you to for more information, or register your interest with the link below.

Register Now!