Review

School Principals' Support for the Implementation of Sustainable Education: A Case of Climate Change Education

Babalwa Kafu-Quvane 1, Mzuyanda Percival Mavuso 1, Kayode Babatunde Olawumi 1 *
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1 Faculty of Education, Universitu of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Social Sciences and Artistic Innovations, 6(1), 2026, 16-24, https://doi.org/10.35745/ijssai2026v06.01.0002
Submitted: 19 July 2025, Published: 30 March 2026
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ABSTRACT

This paper examines the kinds of school leadership support that promote sustainable education in primary and secondary schools. The paper focuses on climate change, another critical aspect of education for sustainable development. The impact of climate change on the environment has become increasingly alarming, and governments worldwide have sought long-term solutions. World leaders, including other critical stakeholders that focus on environmental sustainability, have conducted discussions and conferences on several platforms to debate the negative impact of climate change and how to address the problems. Despite all these, teachers are not adequately supported by school leadership to teach climate change in their teaching. Twenty-eight articles were selected through predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria and the PRISMA flow model. Therefore, the qualitative literature review approach was utilized to establish how school leaders support implementing climate change education in their schools. This approach entails thoroughly reading articles selected for the paper, analyzing and sorting them to identify relevant materials. However, the literature suggests that school leaders must make adequate efforts to support the implementation of climate change in schools. The literature revealed that for schools to implement sustainable education, they must be led by sustainable leaders who encourage a culture of participation and collaboration. This paper, therefore, recommends that education departments capacitate their school leaders along the lines of sustainable leadership theory.
Keywords: School leaders, Climate change education, Education for sustainable development, Sustainable school, Environmental education

CITATION (APA)

Kafu-Quvane, B., Mavuso, M. P., & Olawumi, K. B. (2026). School Principals' Support for the Implementation of Sustainable Education: A Case of Climate Change Education. International Journal of Social Sciences and Artistic Innovations, 6(1), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.35745/ijssai2026v06.01.0002

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