Changes through small and medium scale educational programmes in cooperation with LRAs and leading authorities
Working with Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) and leading authorities can be a good alternative when changes at the central level are hard to implement. We can see examples of this in Hungary and the Netherlands.
In Hungary, teachers and local communities have the freedom to organise or take part in environmental education programmes, and many local governments support these small-scale initiatives. The best way to introduce new content this way is to approach schools and offer them materials, lesson plans, training and workshops. Other good places to start are churches and private schools, which are often the main places for pedagogical innovation in Hungary.
In addition to the curriculum, schools in the Netherlands offer a variety of programmes that are delivered outside of the curriculum. These programmes can be offered by the school itself, by external organisations, or by a combination of both. The content of these programmes can vary a lot, but they often focus on topics like entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, or social-emotional learning. The process of introducing new content into these programmes is similar to the process of introducing new content into the curriculum. However, it is important to note that these programmes are not subject to the same level of regulation as the curriculum. This means that schools have more flexibility in terms of the content and the methods that they use.