Sustainable School Transformation Through Action Research for Transformation: An Example from Turkey

Sustainable School Transformation Through Action Research for Transformation: An Example from Turkey | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sustainable School Transformation Through Action Research for Transformation: An Example from Turkey Veysel Şenyiğit, Hasan Basri Memduhoğlu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9094139/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Education plays a pivotal role in global sustainability efforts, yet traditional school practices often fall short of catalyzing the necessary transformative change. This study investigates the implementation of a participatory whole-school approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in a Turkish middle school through Action Research for Transformation (ART). Moving beyond a focus on mere environmental management, this research distinguishes between the "school organization" (structures and policies) and the "school community" (relationships and culture), examining how structural changes can foster a sustainable community ethos.The research aimed to examine how the school community perceives the changes initiated, the challenges and successes encountered during this process, and the outcomes of integrating sustainability into the school’s culture. A longitudinal design (2018–2020) was employed, utilizing a consensus coding strategy to ensure qualitative rigor. Multiple data sources, including semi-structured focus group interviews with 22 teachers and 24 students, visual documentation of school activities, and interim progress reports—were triangulated. The results indicate that the WSA fostered significant positive changes. Participants reported increased ecological awareness, stronger global citizenship values, and the development of a more sustainable school culture. Students expressed a heightened sense of being valued and more responsible behavior, while teachers observed reductions in negative behaviors and greater collaboration. These findings highlight the value of collaborative, context-sensitive educational initiatives in advancing sustainability within centralized education systems. Sustainable school whole-school approach learning environments semiotic Action Research Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9094139","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":604428606,"identity":"7f860024-3fbf-4bc4-8fae-1ba268633cb6","order_by":0,"name":"Veysel Şenyiğit","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABBElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACxgMgko2BsYHhYwNYoPEAIT0wLY2NMxsYJIBaGojTAjK9mResBSGCFRjcSH9w8EfFncQ+/sXtj2132NTpth8G2lJjE41bS47BYZ4zzxLbJB42NueeSZMwO5MI1HIsLbcBhxbJGTkMhxnbDgO1HARqaTssYXYAqIWx4TAeLUCH/fwH1WIJ0nL+IX4t/BIJBgd4G4Ba+BsbmxlBWm4QsIWf5w3QL8cOG7dJMDbO7G1Lk9x2A2hLAh6/sLGnP3z4o+aw7Pz+4w8+/Gyz4Tc7n/7wwYcaG5xaGAQSwJRjg0QCkmgCFpUIlx0AU/YwxigYBaNgFIwCDAAA7RpuYhIAoYIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8004-6433","institution":"Siirt University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Veysel","middleName":"","lastName":"Şenyiğit","suffix":""},{"id":604429443,"identity":"dca9f310-6e68-4851-a159-4d744e77fe69","order_by":1,"name":"Hasan Basri Memduhoğlu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Siirt University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hasan","middleName":"Basri","lastName":"Memduhoğlu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-11 12:35:56","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":true,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9094139/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9094139/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104781043,"identity":"577b0b44-445b-44c8-b4b9-d0c3ef3e1884","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-17 07:54:33","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1062049,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ENVID2402162R3.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9094139/v1_covered_9a454c64-f163-4b15-abf5-330cffbdc46b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eSustainable School Transformation Through Action Research for Transformation: An Example from Turkey\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sustainable school, whole-school approach, learning environments, semiotic, Action Research","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9094139/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9094139/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEducation plays a pivotal role in global sustainability efforts, yet traditional school practices often fall short of catalyzing the necessary transformative change. This study investigates the implementation of a participatory whole-school approach to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in a Turkish middle school through Action Research for Transformation (ART). Moving beyond a focus on mere environmental management, this research distinguishes between the \"school organization\" (structures and policies) and the \"school community\" (relationships and culture), examining how structural changes can foster a sustainable community ethos.The research aimed to examine how the school community perceives the changes initiated, the challenges and successes encountered during this process, and the outcomes of integrating sustainability into the school’s culture. A longitudinal design (2018–2020) was employed, utilizing a consensus coding strategy to ensure qualitative rigor. 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