Education for environmental sustainability : policies and approaches in European Union Member States : final report.
Date: 2022-01-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: EU Member State, behavioural sciences, comparative analysis, degradation of the environment, environmental education, environmental policy, green economy, professional qualifications, report, sustainable development

Education for environmental 
sustainability: policies and approaches 
in European Union Member States 

Final Report 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 
Directorate B: Youth, Education and Erasmus+ 
Unit B.2 - Schools and multilingualism 

E-mail:  EAC-UNITE-B2@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Education for environmental 
sustainability: policies and 
approaches in European Union 
Member States 

Final Report 

 Edited by Iselin Mulvik (PPMI), Kristupas Pribuišis (PPMI), Hanna Siarova 
(PPMI), Justė Vežikauskaitė (PPMI), Eigirdas Sabaliauskas (PPMI), Evita 
Tasiopoulou (EUN), Agueda Gras-Velazquez (EUN), Martyna Bajorinaitė 
(EUN), Noëlle Billon (EUN), Verdiana Fronza (EUN), Antje Disterheft 
(CENSE, NOVA) and Ann Finlayson (SEED) 

2021 

Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture 
Education and Training 

3 
EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Acknowledgements:  The  authors  would  like  to  thank  PPMI  colleagues  Loes  van  der  Graaf  and 
Radvilė Bankauskaitė, core experts Antje Disterheft (CENSE, NOVA) and Ann Finlayson (SEED), and 
language editor James Nixon for their contributions and peer review of the report. The authors would 
like to thank the following experts from the respective countries for their work on national reports: 
Franz Rauch and Mira Dulle (AT), Wim Lambrechts (BE), Anna Lalkovska (BG), Aravella Zachariou 
(CY), Jan Činčera (CZ), Lukas Scherak (DE), Jonas Andreasen Lysgaard and Mathilda W. Brückner 
(DK), Imbi Henno (EE), Constantina Skanavis (EL), Olaya Álvarez-García and Jaume Sureda-Negre 
(ES), Jyrki Reunamo (FI), Angela Barthes (FR), Barbare Sladonja (HR), Attila Varga, Álmos Levente 
Szócs and Bence Nagy (HU), Helen Foley (IE), Michela Mayer (IT), Kristupas Pribuišis (LT), Thomas 
Lenz  and  Susanne  Backes  (LU),  Inga  Belousa  (LV),  Paul  Pace  (MT),  Helen  Kopnina  (NL),  Cezacy 
Koscielniak (PL), Antje Disterheft, Alexandra Silva and Rita Fouto (PT), Daniela Dumitru and Alina 
Voiculeţ (RO), Per Kornhall (SE), Tatjana Resnik Planic (SI) and Anna Mravcova (SK). The authors 
would like to thank the following experts for their work on the case studies: Franz Rauch, Mira Dulle, 
Jan Činčera, Alexandra Silva, Rita Fouto, Antje Disterheft, Michela Mayer and Wim Lambrechts. 

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1. Table of contents 

1.  Introduction ............................................................................................. 6 

1.2. 

Methodological approach .........................................................................12 
Analytical framework .........................................................................13 

1.1.1. 

1.1.2. 

Challenges and limitations of the study ................................................15 

2.  The  need  for  a  transformative  vision  for  education  with  a  focus  on 
sustainability ................................................................................................ 16 

2.1. 
2.2. 

Rationale for education for environmental sustainability ..............................16 
Competences associated with a sustainability mindset .................................19 

3.  Supporting education for environmental sustainability across systems . 27 

3.1. 
3.2. 
3.3. 
3.4. 
3.5. 
3.6. 

Policy vision and strategy for sustainability ................................................27 
Comprehensive curriculum frameworks .....................................................38 
Training and capacity building among education personnel ..........................45 
Assessment frameworks ..........................................................................56 
Monitoring and evaluation ........................................................................62 
Cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration .............................................69 
4.  Integrating  education  for  environmental  sustainability  at  institutional  level

74 

4.1. 
4.2. 
4.3. 
4.4. 
4.5. 

Transformative practices and vision ..........................................................75 
Professional learning communities ............................................................83 
Partnerships ...........................................................................................85 
Student engagement and student-led change.............................................90 
Transformative pedagogies and organisational practices ..............................92 
4.5.1. 
Teaching  methods  that  enhance  and  assist  education  for  environmental 
sustainability. .................................................................................................93 

4.5.2. 

Pedagogies specific to education for environmental sustainability ............97 

5.  The road to transformation .................................................................. 101 

5.1. 
5.2. 
5.3. 
5.4. 

Achieving a ‘whole-institution’ approach .................................................. 103 
Engaging communities and students for sustainability ............................... 105 
Fostering action competences ................................................................ 107 
Supporting and preparing education personnel ......................................... 109 

6.  Conclusions and recommendations ...................................................... 110 

6.1. 

Key findings ......................................................................................... 112 
6.1.1. 
for  environmental 
for  mainstreaming  holistic  education 
sustainability across systems .......................................................................... 112 

Conditions 

6.1.2. 

Drivers of change at institutions ........................................................ 115 

6.2. 

Policy implications ................................................................................ 118 

7.  Annexe ................................................................................................. 123 

7.1. 

Note on the concept and understanding of natural sciences ....................... 126 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1. Introduction  

The European Green Deal1 and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight that 
education,  including  re-/up-skilling,  is  crucial  in  order  to  transition  to  environmental 
sustainability. Education has an essential role to play by supporting citizens in developing 
the  competences  needed  to  live  responsibly,  change  consumption  models,  design 
solutions, transform society and shape a green economy. In the context of the EU’s efforts 
to promote a sustainable and green Europe, the purpose of this study is to map EU Member 
States’ national and institutional practices, processes, tools and strategies in education for 
environmental  sustainability  (EES)  at  various  levels  and  in  different  forms  of  education. 
The study will help inform the actions of the European Commission with regard to education 
for  environmental  sustainability  and  policy  for  the  implementation  of  the  European 
Education Area2 and the European ‘Green Deal’.3 

To  date,  no  such  comprehensive  comparative  analysis  has  yet  been  carried  out  on  the 
delivery of education for environmental sustainability in the EU. The ‘Evaluation report on 
the  implementation  of  the  UN’s  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  (UNECE)  Strategy  for 
Education  for  Sustainable  Development  from  2005  to  2015’4  and  the  ‘Fourth  evaluation 
report of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development’5 provide some 
information  on  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  (ESD)  initiatives.  These  UNECE 
reports have a wider focus, however, and lack complete coverage of the Member States 
during different reporting periods. This study6 contributes to closing this evidence gap by 
providing a more comprehensive overview of what is happening in the EU. 

The specific purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive mapping of the national 
and  institutional  practices,  processes,  tools  and  strategies  in  education  for 
environmental  sustainability.  It  covers  multiple  levels  and  types  of  education.  More 
specifically, the study aims to look at:  

―  Existing competence frameworks and thematic dimensions of EES; 
―  Policies, curriculum developments and innovations around EES; 
―  Assessment, teacher training and multi-stakeholder partnerships; 
―  Enablers of and barriers to the mainstreaming of existing innovative 

approaches. 

1 The Council of the European Union (2019).’Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 

Council, the European Economic and Social committee and the Committee of the Regions: The European Green Deal COM/2019/640 final’. 

11.12.2019. Brussels. 

2 The Council of the European Union (2019). Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training 

towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) (2021/C 66/01). 26.2.2021. Brussels. 

3 The Council of the European Union (2019).’Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the 

Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: The European Green Deal COM/2019/640 final’. 

11.12.2019. Brussels. 

4 UNECE, ‘Ten years of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development: Evaluation report on the implementation of the 

UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2015’. UN: Europe. 

5 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2 Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward. Fourth evaluation 

report of the UNECE Strategy for ESD. Available at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thmeetsc/Informal%20Documents/phaseiiprogressreport_IP.8.pdf 

6  This  study  was  a  joint  effort  by  the  Public  Policy  Management  Institute  (PPMI),  www.ppmi.lt,  and  European  Schoolnet  (EUN), 

http://www.eun.org  

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1.1. 

Understanding key terms and concepts 

Education  for  environmental  sustainability  can  be  understood  as  education  that 
makes students aware of, sensitive to, and knowledgeable about the environment and its 
interconnectedness to  social and economic  systems, while encouraging them  to develop 
attitudes  of  concern  and  motivation,  as  well  as  practical,  complex  systems  and  critical 
thinking skills to identify and solve environmental problems. Education for environmental 
sustainability 
is  closely  related  to  environmental  education,  education  for 
sustainability,  sustainability  education,  ecological  education,  global  citizenship 
education, to the thematically narrower climate change education, and to the broader 
concept  of  education for  sustainable development (ESD).  ESD  has  been  integrated 
into most education systems in Europe and is understood as a tool to empower students 
to  become  thoughtful  about  and  responsible  for  their  actions  and  impact  on  the 
environment,  economy  and  society.  This  involves  considering  not  only  the  present 
consequences,  but  also  those  for  future  generations7.  In  this  study,  the  concepts  of 
education  for  environmental  sustainability  and  ESD  are  used  interchangeably,  as  the 
environment is central to all social and economic life. 

While understandings of and practices concerning ESD may vary, most definitions rely 
on a common understanding and acceptance of the term ‘sustainable development’. The 
most widely used definition of sustainable development (SD) is the one developed in 
the Brundtland report ‘Our Common Future’. According to this, SD is “development that 
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations 
to meet their own needs”. (Our Common Future, 1987, 43).   

Like  ESD,  education  for  environmental  sustainability  is  strongly  linked  not  only  to 
the environmental, but also to the economic and social dimensions of sustainability. This 
study focuses to a greater extent on the environment, viewing it in the social and economic 
context, and considering the holistic competences necessary for sustainable development. 

Thematically, education for environmental sustainability covers a broad range of topics and 
themes  (which  include  environmental  concepts,  topics  and  issues).  These  range  from 
climate change; biodiversity; habitats and homes; ecosystems; water, air and soil 
quality;  and  forests,  to  sustainable  consumption  and  production;  renewable 
energy; disaster risk reduction; food and other related themes.  

From  the  themes  indicated  above,  education  on  climate  change  and  biodiversity  is 
already well established as a research object in academic works. Climate change education 
aims to explain the consequences, causes of and solutions to global warming. It promotes 
attitudes  and  behaviours  that  help  people  to  adapt  and  be  resilient,  using  various 
adaptation  and  mitigation  approaches.8  Climate  change  education  focuses  on  improving 
climate literacy among young people through innovative teaching approaches to changes 
in  average  climatic  conditions  both  locally  and  globally  through  formal,  non-formal  and 
media education. Biological diversity or ‘biodiversity’ is another key topic in education 

7 UNESCO Education Sector, ‘Education for Sustainable Development Goals – Learning Objectives’. 

8  Mochizuki  Y,  Bryan  A.  (2015).  Climate  Change  Education  in  the  Context  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development:  Rationale  and 

Principles. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 9(1):4-26. doi:10.1177/0973408215569109  

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
for environmental sustainability. It is defined as the diversity of all living forms at different 
levels of complexity: genes, species, ecosystems, landscapes and seascapes9.  

production 

clean  water 

Other  noteworthy  thematic  areas 
within  education  for  environmental 
sustainability  are  issues  such  as 
and 
sustainable 
renewable 
consumption; 
energy; 
and 
sanitation, and sustainable cities 
and  lifestyles.  The  first  of  these 
aligns  closely  with  the  concept  of 
sustainability,  but  focuses  on  the 
circular  economy,  the  consumer 
society and global value chains. This 
is  essential  to  ensure  that  young 
people  become  responsible  citizens 
and  consumers.  The  last  of  these 
inseparable  components  of  environmental 

thematic  areas  also 
sustainability, but from the perspective of urban planning and energy. 

focuses  on  the 

While  these  are  some  of  the  prominent  topics  with  education  for  environmental 
sustainability, the concept goes beyond the specific thematic areas with which it may be 
identified.    Research  suggests  that  sustainability  should  not  be  viewed  as  a  topical 
subject exclusively, but an inter-disciplinary issue. As such, it should be less defined 
by the themes it addresses than by the styles of thinking, knowledge, values and attitudes 
it embraces10. This study, therefore, recognises that all topics and sustainability goals are 
important and interconnected. It emphasises that they should be approached holistically, 
not simply as individual environmental concepts and sustainability goals, but by regarding 
sustainable development as an overarching and holistic concept. 

for 

education 

Given  its  intersecting  and  inter-disciplinary 
environmental 
nature, 
sustainability  relates  to  all  SDGs.  Just  like  the 
SDGs, EES is linked to environmental, economic and 
social sustainability dimensions. While it has natural 
links  with  the  SDGs  that  focus  on  environmental 
aspects  of  sustainability  (SDG  12,  ‘Responsible 
consumption  and  production’;  SDG  13,  ‘Climate 
action’;  SDG  14,  ‘Life  below  water’;  and  SDG  15, 
‘Life  on 
for  environmental 
sustainability is just as closely related to other goals 
– for example, SDG 6, ‘Clean water and sanitation’; 
SDG 7, ‘Affordable and clean energy’; and SDG 11, 

land’)  education 

9  European  Commission.  Mapping  and  Assessment  of  Ecosystems  and  their  Services  in  the  European  Union  (MAES).  2014,  Publication 

Office of the European Union. doi:10.2779/77667. 

10  Redman,  E.,  Wiek,  A.  &  Redman,  A.  (2018).  Continuing  Professional  Development  in  Sustainability  Education  for  K-12  Educators: 

Principles, 

Programme,  Applications,  Outlook. 

Journal 

of 

Education 

for  Sustainable  Development  12(1),  59–80. 

Doi:10.1177/2455133318777182 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
‘Sustainable  cities  and  communities’.  In  addition,  EES  is  connected  with  the  SDGs  that 
focus on economic or social sustainability, such as SDG 2, ‘No hunger’; SDG 3, ‘Good health 
and well-being’; and SDG 8, ‘Decent work and economic growth’. Of particular importance 
is the link between EES and SDG 4, ‘Quality education’ – particularly target 4.7: “Ensuring 
that  all  learners  acquire  the  knowledge  and  skills  needed  to  promote  sustainable 
development”.  

that  education 

Recognising the importance of intersecting and 
interconnected  issues  and  holistic  approaches, 
for 
this  study  highlights 
environmental  sustainability  should  be  a 
comprehensive  education  that  closely  follows 
learners  through  all  phases  and  stages  of 
education  and  takes  place  in  a  supportive 
environment  and  culture  for  learning.  This  is 
particularly 
for 
environmental  sustainability  should  build  a 
critical  way  of  thinking  in  which  knowledge  is 
only  one  of  the  components,  and  comes 
together  with  the  attitudes,  values  and  skills 
needed  for  sustainable  change,  as  well  as 
promoting sustainability competences. School/institution culture is just as important to 
successful education for environmental sustainability as comprehensive and contextualised 
learning content.  

important,  as  education 

Lastly, pedagogy (designing teaching in a way that it enables exploratory, action-oriented 
and transformative learning) and  learning environments (designing lessons physically 
or online that inspire learners to be committed to, and act for, sustainability) matter too. 
In addition to content (learning ‘about’), learning should occur ‘in’ the environment studied, 
‘through’  a  supportive  culture,  and  should  foster  behaviours  ‘for’  environmental 
sustainability11.  This  requires  learning  to  occur  along  three  dimensions:  cognitive 
(relating to knowledge, understanding and critical thinking); socio-emotional (relating to a 
sense of common humanity, values and responsibilities, empathy, solidarity and respect); 
and  behavioural  (relating  to  skills  development).  This  should  occur  in  a  supportive 
institutional environment and culture, in which students learn what they live.  

To achieve these aims, education for sustainability involves various actors and cross-
curricular approaches rather than traditional discipline-based education, to encourage 
for 
collaboration  and  creative  real-world  problem-solving.  Successful  education 
environmental sustainability entails the involvement and leadership of institution staff. It 
requires  the  quality  professional  training  of  educators  and  school  leaders,  as  well  as 
opportunities for continuous professional development. Infrastructure plays an important 
role:  sustainable  campus  management,  green  spaces,  as  well  as  the  incorporation  of 
innovative  practices  and  teaching  facilities,  are  all  part  of  education  for  sustainability. 
Lastly, education for sustainability promotes the collaboration of early childhood education 
and care (ECEC), schools and higher education institutions (HEIs) with communities and 

11  UNESCO.  (2020).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  A  Roadmap.  #ESD  for  2030.  Paris,  UNESCO.  (Available  at 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802) 

9 

 
 
 
 
                                           
businesses.  Taken  together,  these  components  create  a  whole-institution  approach 
that is vital to the comprehensive delivery of education for environmental sustainability. 

Figure 1. The four dimensions of learning in education for environmental sustainability. 

Source: PPMI, Inspired by Delors, J (1996). Learning, the Treasure Within: Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education 
for the Twenty-First Century. Paris: UNESCO 

Education for environmental sustainability from a lifelong learning perspective 

All  educational  institutions  –  from  early  childhood  education  to  tertiary  and  adult 
education  –  have  a  role  in  fostering  the  development  of  sustainability  competences. 
Formal education can play a particularly strong role in mitigating climate change, as well 
as responding to its impact. Schools, training institutions and universities are well placed 
to engage with pupils, parents and the wider community with regard to the changes needed 
for a successful transition12.  

Evidence suggests that promoting sustainability competences and behaviour should start 
from a child’s very early years. The benefit of starting early is confirmed by research that 
shows how the foundations for knowledge construction, as well as for attitudes and values, 
are  established in the early years13. Childhood nature  experiences and  exposure to pro-
environmental  social  norms  from  an  early  age  have  been  proven  to  be  related  to  the 
adulthood development of a connectedness with nature, ultimately influencing sustainable 
choices in future14. Preschool offers a wealth of opportunities to actively engage children 
and parents in a process of wonder, paying close attention to the living world around us, 
and developing the capacity to care for it15. To ensure the continuity of education, and to 
strengthen the learning foundations acquired at ECEC level, students should continue  to 
develop sustainability competences in schools and VET. At primary and secondary school, 
the formation of children’s values and habits can still be positively influenced for life. For 
example,  research  finds  that  in  schools  in  which  learning  around  sustainability 

12 The European Green Deal. 

13 Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2011). Why We Should Begin Early with ESD: The Role of Early Childhood Education. International Journal of 

Early Childhood, 43(2), 103–118. doi:10.1007/s13158-011-0034-x 

14 Molinario, E. et al. (2020). From childhood nature experiences to adult pro-environmental behaviors: An explanatory model of sustainable 

food consumption. Environmental Education Research, 26(8),  1137–1163. doi:10.1080/13504622.2020.1784851 

15 Sobel, D. (2020). Foreword. In: Meier, D.R. and Sisk-Hilton, S. (Eds.), Nature Education with Young children integrating inquiry and 

practice (pp. xiii-xvi; 2nd edn). New York: Routledge 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
competences is prioritised and integrated into the way of life at the school (e.g. through 
the environment being used actively for learning), children develop both applied knowledge 
and  intrinsic  motivation  to  protect  the  environment16.  VET  can  take  on  the  role  of 
developing these skills, leading to students choosing work in the green economy, or simply 
teaching  them  a  preference  for  using  materials  in  construction  and  life  that  are  more 
natural and sustainable. School and VET can also teach students practical skills in relation 
to sustainability – be it forest preservation, making sustainable life choices, or approaching 
policymakers. These are crucial to developing the action competences that sit at the heart 
of sustainability. In group work, students have further chances to develop skills  that are 
strongly linked to sustainability competences, such as collaboration, problem-solving and 
critical thinking, especially if these are approached inclusively by the teacher and school.  

Higher education plays an essential role in conducting research to find solutions to complex 
problems. It can also support and engage with local communities, create initiatives that 
make  campuses  more  sustainable  and,  importantly,  offer  pre-service  teacher  training17. 
HEIs are thus well positioned to drive education for environmental sustainability and create 
societal impact through their education, research and operational functions. By advancing 
research and producing evidence as to what works, as well as acting as knowledge brokers 
in sharing and disseminating research within their network, HEIs can become crucial hubs 
for innovations that bring together different disciplines and stakeholders across the formal 
and non-formal education divide. This last point is of particular importance, as education 
for environmental sustainability should not be limited to formal education, and calls 
for close cooperation among different stakeholders18.  

A recent study published by the JRC on sustainability competences, identified significant 
gaps  in  research  on  EES  in  terms  of  different  levels  of  education,  stating  that  “there  is 
limited  research  on  sustainability  education  beyond  higher  education,  including  early 
childhood,  primary  and  secondary  school,  vocational  education,  adult  education,  and  so 
forth. Equally, research should address how to convey sustainability competences through 
online  education.”19  In  addition,  research20  shows  that  when  providing  education  for 
environmental  sustainability,  there  is  insufficient  integration  of  learning  dimensions:  for 
instance,  primary  education  tends  to  focus  on  social  and  emotional  skills,  while  higher 
levels of education tend to focus on cognitive learning and knowledge. Such fragmentation 
does  not  always  result  in  a  holistic  and  continuous  learning  approach  to  education  for 
environmental sustainability. 

16 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017): Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics and 

nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

17 International Association of Universities, ‘IAU 2nd Global Survey Report on Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development’. 

Available at:  https://www.iau-aiu.net/IMG/pdf/iau_hesd_survey_report_final_jan2020.pdf  

18 Mehling, S. and Kolleck, N. (2019). Cross-Sector Collaboration in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): A Critical Analysis of an Urban 

Sustainability Development Program. Sustainability, 11, 4982. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11184982  

19 Bianchi, G. (2020). Sustainability competences, EUR 30555 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, ISBN 978-92-

76-28408-6, doi:10.2760/200956, JRC123624. 

20 UNESCO Education Sector, ‘Educational content up close – Examining the learning dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development 

and Global Citizenship’.  

11 

 
 
 
 
                                           
1.2. 

Methodological approach 

The  study  employed  a mixed-methods approach,  featuring  different  methods  of  data 
collection and analysis, and ensuring data triangulation throughout the implementation 
of the project. Below, we present the main elements of our methodology, data collection 
methods, and their objectives. Following this, we will proceed with presenting the analytical 
framework and research questions that guided our analysis of the information gathered, 
as  well  as  the  preparations  made  for  data  collection  in  order  to  achieve  the  research 
objectives.  

―  Literature review: PPMI conducted a general literature review to feed, as well 
as complement, the national-level research and data collection. This step aimed 
to help systematically analyse the existing evidence on competences relating to 
the  successful 
environmental  sustainability, 
implementation  of  education  for  environmental  sustainability  at  policy  and 
institutional levels, and the challenges associated with this.  

the  key  conditions 

for 

―  National  and  policy  research  mapping:  National  experts  reviewed  the 
national policies and strategies in their respective countries. The mapping task 
focused  on  mapping  the  current  state  of  the  art  in  the  provision  and 
mainstreaming of education for environmental sustainability in the 27 Member 
States.  This  task  also  aimed  to  identify  the  key  barriers  to  and  enablers  of 
comprehensive  education  for  environmental  sustainability,  as  documented  by 
existing research evidence. In addition, each national expert identified up to five 
for 
transformative  policy  and/or 
environmental sustainability, which fed into an inventory of good policy and/or 
institutional approaches.  

institutional  approaches 

to  education 

―  Review  of  school  curricula:  EUN  carried  out  a  thorough  review  of  general 
school education curricula from each of the 27 EU Member States, together with 
insights from representatives of each country’s ministry of education. This step 
aimed to gather more specific insights into the integration into school education 
plans  of  education  for  environmental  sustainability-related  topics  across  the 
Member States. It also aimed to identify key trends in EES teaching in schools, 
such  as  whether  it  takes  place  in  a  cross-curricular/transversal  way  or  is 
associated with specific subjects/disciplines.  

―  Survey of educators: EUN surveyed the practices of schools and educators on 
education  for  environmental  sustainability  through  an  online  survey  targeting 
their  teacher  network.  The  findings  complemented  the  list  of  initiatives 
suggested  by  national  experts  and  fed  into  the  inventory  of  good  practice 
examples, providing information on educators’ approaches to, and experiences 
with,  teaching  education  for  environmental  sustainability.  The  survey  received 
140 responses from across the EU. 

―  Case  study  programme:  The  core  research  team  and  DG  EAC  selected  five 
initiatives from the inventory as case studies to explore transformative practices 
and processes and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approaches selected, 
as  ways  of  overcoming  the  obstacles  to  the  implementation  of  EES.  The  draft 
case study fiches are annexed to the main study report. The purpose of the case 
study programme was to provide illustrative examples of effective EES initiatives 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
that serve as important foundations for mainstreaming on a national scale, and 
to learn lessons as to how it can be achieved in different contexts.  

―  Expert  focus  group  meeting:  The  expert  focus  group  meeting  aimed  to 
validate the preliminary study results and to gain additional insights on the key 
barriers  to  and  enablers  of  the  upscaling  of  EES  in  national  and  cross-border 
contexts.  The  expert  focus  group  discussed  and  analysed  specific  conditions 
relating to EES, covering examples such as time span, planning, the nature and 
process of change (including challenges), effective tools, and the evaluation of 
measures and outcomes. 

1.1.1.  Analytical framework 

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the European Green Deal reflects the 
urgency  of  embedding  the  principles  of  environmental  sustainability  into  all  levels  of 
education. EES aims to develop competences that empower individuals to reflect on their 
own  actions,  taking  into  account  their  current  and  future  social,  cultural,  economic  and 
environmental impacts from both a local and a global perspective. As members of society, 
individuals should be empowered to act in a sustainable manner in complex situations. This 
may require them to strike out in new directions and participate in socio-political processes 
that  require  every  member  of  society  to  acquire  a  ‘sustainability  mindset’  and 
environmental literacy. 

For such transformations to take place holistically and comprehensively, action is needed 
both  vertically  (from  individual  to  institutional  and  systemic  changes)  and 
horizontally,  with  all  stakeholders  acting  in  synergy  to  promote  environmental 
sustainability.  This  study  considers  both  system-level  and  institutional-level 
approaches,  and  practices  and  interlinkages  between  them.  The  system-level 
approach includes developing a long-term vision and coherent policy for the integration of 
EES  into  education  at  national,  regional  and  local  levels,  including  the  development  of 
adequate  delivery  systems  –  including  comprehensive  curricula,  educator  education, 
assessment  and  quality  assurance  among  other  elements.  Because  students  spend  a 
significant amount of time in the classroom, schools and universities are increasingly being 
called upon to act as role models and to engage with teaching content and methodology, 
and with campus and facilities management, as well as cooperating with partners and with 
broader  communities.21  Such  institution-level  practices  are  therefore  also  an  important 
dimension of the effective delivery of EES.22  

A  critical  outcome  of  EES,  in  addition  to  specific  behavioural  changes,  is  an  ongoing 
capacity  among  citizens  to  effectively  respond  to  future  challenges.  Successful 
sustainability  education  depends  heavily  on  the  learning  and  reflection  that  comes  from 
active  involvement  in  processes  for  change.  Definitions  often,  therefore,  include  an 

21 Farnell, T. (2020). ‘Community engagement in higher education: trends, practices and policies’, NESET report, Luxembourg: Publications 

Office of the European Union. doi: 10.2766/64207.  

22 Affolter, C. and Varga, A. (2018). Environment and school initiatives lessons from the ENSI Network – Past, present and future. Vienna, 

Austria/Budapest, 

Hungary: 

ENSI/Eszterhazy 

Karoly 

University. 

Retrieved 

October 

18, 

2018, 

from 

http://ofi.hu/sites/default/files/attachments/lessons_from_the_ensi_network-book_web_0905.pdf 

13 

 
 
 
 
                                           
objective or pre-condition of “opportunities for every citizen to become involved” or “must 
involve active participation”23. 

In  such  a  context, education for  environmental sustainability  must be  understood as an 
integral part of quality education and lifelong learning. EES is therefore seen as a form 
of holistic and transformational education. This implies:  

―  Policy and vision for sustainability – integrating visions for sustainability into key 
long-term  educational  strategies  that  shape  the  education  delivery  system: 
training and capacity building among educators and educators; quality assurance 
and monitoring frameworks; platforms for collaboration and synergies between 
different actors, etc.   

  Learning  content  and  outcomes  –  integrating  critical  issues  such  as  climate 
change,  biodiversity,  disaster  risk  reduction  and  sustainable  consumption  into 
the  curriculum  and  stimulating  the  promotion  of  core  competences,  skills  and 
behaviours  such  as  critical  and  systems  thinking,  a  responsibility  mindset, 
collaborative decision-making, future orientation, etc.  

  Pedagogy and the learning environment – creating interactive, learner-centred 
teaching and learning settings and designing an action-oriented, transformative 
pedagogy  that  supports  self-directed  learning,  participation  and  collaboration, 
problem-orientation, inter- and trans-disciplinary, and the linking of formal and 
informal learning to the development of key sustainability competences. It also 
requires adequate assessment tools and monitoring processes to document the 
impacts of new policies and programmes relating to EES, as well as the rethinking 
of learning environments – physical as well as virtual – that can inspire learners 
to act for environmental sustainability.  

This understanding is depicted in our analytical framework, presented below, which guided 
and informed the study’s data collection and analysis.  

23 Hocking, C., Ray, S. and Day, T. (2006). What does professional development and learning for environmental sustainability facilitators 

look like? Available at: http://www.regional.org.au/au/apen/2006/refereed/6/2936_hockingcg.htm  

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Figure 2. Analytical framework 

Source: compiled by PPMI.  

1.1.2.  Challenges and limitations of the study 

Due  to  the  scope  and  short  timeframe  of  the  study,  several  limitations  of  the  proposed 
methodology  and  collected  data  must  be  acknowledged  and  taken  into  account  when 
reading the findings presented in this report.  

is  exploratory  and 

This study is largely qualitative in nature. While it provides a comprehensive mapping of 
national-level  policies  on  education  for  environmental  sustainability,  its  mapping  of 
therefore  cannot  be  considered 
institutional  approaches 
representative  of  all  localities  in  all  EU  Member  States.  The  survey  of  teachers 
conducted  by  the  research  team  aimed  to  collect  examples  of  the  different  practices 
employed by teachers, as well as the challenges they face in implementing EES, with the 
aim  of  bringing  the  voices  of  teachers  directly  into  the  study.  The  sampling  approach 
(purposeful, non-random and snowballing) is a non-representative approach, which means 
that while the survey serves the purpose of retrieving experiences that can shed light on 
the situation of certain teachers in Europe, its findings cannot generalised across the entire 
teacher population. 

While  the  national  mapping  demonstrates  many  promising  and  innovative  local  and 
regional initiatives and approaches to EES, many of these are still at the pilot stage or have 
not  yet  been  evaluated,  which  limits  the  ability  of  the  study  to  draw  comprehensive 
conclusions with regard to the effectiveness of existing and emerging policies and their real 
vs  intended  impact  on  the  long-term  development  of  a  sustainability  mindset.  In  such 
cases, some of the analysis relies on the perceptions of stakeholders and beneficiaries of 
these initiatives. This is also the case with the curricula review. This was developed on the 
basis  of  self-reporting  by  the  ministries  of  education,  and  hence  paints  a  more  positive 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
picture of the state of play in terms of curriculum development than was reported by the 
national experts.  

The core research team realised that caution needs to be taken in analysing good practices 
as being transferrable and scalable across socio-economical and national contexts, since 
environmental practices need to be grounded in the local environment. It is a challenge to 
highlight practices that are inspiring for other contexts, while also avoiding the counter-
productive adoption of foreign initiatives in contexts to which they are not well suited. The 
research team has therefore done its best to solve this challenge by selecting case studies 
that make use of local adaptations, and to clearly emphasise in the case study reports the 
limitations and opportunities for transferring such initiatives.  

2. The need for a transformative vision for education with 

a focus on sustainability 

Much  of  the  modern  discourse  about  formal  education  focuses  on  the  mechanics  of  it  – 
that is, finding solutions to improve teaching and learning – without questioning what we 
are educating ‘for’. The vision of education’s purpose as being to prepare for a sustainable 
future  is  not  yet  common  across  national  education  policies,  though  it  has  been  an 
important focus of expert debate over recent years24. The demand for sustainability as a 
new purpose of education requires intensified efforts to address the socio-emotional and 
affective  dimensions  of  learning,  beyond  the  mere  cognitive  focus.  From  such  a 
perspective, education is not solely limited to acting as an instrument to achieve specific, 
formal individual needs and levels, but to serve as the integrated process and operating 
mode for a sustainable path of life.  

What knowledge, skills, values and attitudes will be necessary for young people to play an 
active role in this sustainable life path? What role should ECEC, schools and HEIs play in 
developing these? How should – and how can – education and learning be rethought and 
reconfigured to make a significant and central contribution to achieving a more sustainable 
and just world? These are some of the questions that this chapter attempts to answer.  

2.1. 

Rationale for education for environmental sustainability 

The severe decline in biodiversity, environmental degradation and risks posed by 
climate change in the EU’s Member States, requires urgent and systemic action 
from  policy  makers  and  citizens  alike.  Education  for  environmental  sustainability  is 
necessary to ensure that citizens develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be 
a part of a positive solution, and to drive more transformative change.  

In  2015,  countries  around  the  world  signed  the  2030  Agenda  for  Sustainable 
Development, which include the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the 
core of this agenda is the development of societies and economies that meets the needs 
of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their 

24 Hopkins, C.A., Michelsen, G., Salite, I., Sigmund, A., Wagner, D.A., Yokoi, A., Fischer, D., Kohl, K., Abdul Razak, D. and Tillezec, K. 

(2020).  Sustainability  as  a  Purpose  on  the  New  Path  of  Learning  for  the  Future.  In:  UNESCO  (Ed.),  Humanistic  Futures  of  Learning. 

Perspectives from UNESCO Chairs and Unitwin Networks. Paris: UNESCO Education Sector; Cook, J.W. (Ed.). (2019). Sustainability, Human 

Well-Being, and the Future of Education. Helsinki: Palgrave Macmillan. 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
own needs. A life within the planet's limits, and reconciling economic efficiency, social 
inclusion and environmental responsibility, is the essence of sustainable development.  

The 17 SDGs cover global challenges that are crucial for the survival of humanity. They set 
environmental  limits  and  critical  thresholds  for  the  use  of  natural  resources.  The  goals 
recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies to build economic and 
environmental  development.  They  address  a  range  of  social  needs  including  education, 
health, social protection and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and ensuring 
environmental protection.  

The EU’s commitment to the implementation of the SDGs places sustainable development 
at the very heart of its political agenda. Having ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, and 
under its wider 2030 climate and energy framework, the European Union is committed to 
achieving a cut of at least 40% in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, as part of the 
European  Green Deal, Europe aims to be a  climate-neutral continent by 2050.  This is 
also in the process of being made a legally binding obligation under the European Climate 
Law, which is currently in preparation. Recent proposals by the European Commission and 
European Parliament  have  called for a more ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gas 
emissions by 55-60% by 2030, instead of 40%. These are in line with the notion of a ‘green 
recovery’ from the COVID-19 crisis. 

Achieving  the  sustainable  development  goals  will  require  a  profound 
transformation in the way we think. To create a more sustainable world, and to engage 
with  sustainability-related  issues  as  described  in  the  Sustainable  Development  Goals 
(SDGs),  individuals  must  become  sustainability  change-makers25.  In  such  a  context, 
education  should  enable  people  to  understand  the  causes  and  consequences  of  climate 
change, to make informed decisions, and to take appropriate actions to address it. To do 
this, they require the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to empower them 
to  contribute  to  sustainable  development.  Learning  about  environmental  sustainability 
from  an  early  age  is  particularly  helpful  in  the  development  of  healthy  and  sustainable 
habits in adult life26.  

Education  is  therefore  important  in  increasing  people’s  knowledge  about  the 
influence their lifestyles have on the Earth’s ecosystems and climate, and what 
they can do to achieve more sustainable development. However, the key question is 
how  should  –  and  how  can  –  education  and  learning  be  re-thought  and  reconfigured  to 
make a central and significant contribution to achieving a more sustainable and just world? 
A great deal of learning, both everyday and through formal education, makes no positive 
difference to a more sustainable future. Overall, the net effect of such education is likely 
to exacerbate unsustainable systemic conditions27. 

25 

UNESCO, 

‘Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development 

Goals: 

Learning 

Objectives’, 

2017. 

Available 

at: 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000247444. 

26 Spiteri, J. (2020). Early Childhood Education for Sustainability. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P. and Wall, T. (Eds.) 

Quality Education. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69902-

8_114-1. Also, Molinario, E., et al. (2020). From childhood nature experiences to adult pro-environmental behaviors: An explanatory model 

of sustainable food consumption. Environmental Education Research, 26(8), p. 1137–1163. doi:10.1080/13504622.2020.1784851  

27  Sterling,  S.  (2019),  ‘Becoming  ‘learner  drivers’  for  the  future:  re-thinking  learning  and  education  in  a  troubled  world’,  Routledge 

Sustainable Development Pages, May 2019. 

17 

 
 
 
 
                                           
This is in line with scarce data from international assessments of awareness about global 
issues such as climate change. For instance, the PISA 2018 Global competence assessment 
revealed  a  high  level  of  awareness  among  15-year-olds  in  OECD  countries  regarding 
climate change and the need  for action to address it (79%).  In addition, the challenges 
facing the environment are seen by young people as not just urgent, but as personal and 
inspiring.  However,  when  students  were  asked  whether  they  could  do  something  about 
global  problems  such  as  climate  change,  this  figure  dropped  to  an  average  of  57%.  In 
Germany,  the  Slovak  Republic,  Romania,  Hungary,  Latvia,  Moldova,  Russia,  Austria, 
Switzerland,  Malaysia, Slovenia,  Serbia,  Belarus  and  Estonia,  the  percentage  fell  to less 
than half. When asked whether they thought their behaviour could impact people in other 
countries, the average dropped still further, to 44%28. So, while students show a high level 
of awareness and interest in the future of the planet and take responsibility for this in their 
daily lives, they do not currently feel a sense of empowerment and agency to make a real 
difference. Education for a sustainable future should help young people to develop a sense 
of agency and responsibility.   

Education for environmental sustainability, has by now become familiar as a concept within 
many education institutions29. The promotion of EES at international and European levels 
has, for example, resulted in the increasing integration of sustainability goals into curricula 
and  learning  outcomes  at  educational  institutions  ranging  from  ECEC  to  universities30. 
Alongside the ESD/EES approach, there are also other concepts that emphasise the role of 
education as a key lever for sustainable transformation, such as transformative education. 
Transformative education places the focus on a shift in consciousness and an altered state 
of  being  in  the  world31,  enabling  an  “understanding  of  different  options  for  action  and 
solution approaches”, and describing individuals as “change agents” who play a pivotal role 
in launching and shaping change processes32. 

EES  is  not  without  its  critics,  however.  The  concept  has  been  questioned  for  frequently 
adopting a top-down approach to implementation that does not allow for the challenging 
of existing economic models33. As a result, most of the solutions implemented have been 
found to be more “symptomatic than causal”, with insufficient attention given to growth-
critical and postcolonial perspectives.34 The concept of transformative education raises the 
issue of whether education can and should be learning for societal change or Bildung (self-
cultivation)35. One potentially problematic aspect here is that strong doctrinal opinions  – 

28 Schleicher, A. (2021), ‘Green at fifteen – what schools can do to support the climate’, OECD Education and Skills Today.  

29  Singer-Brodowski,  M. 

(2016). 

Transformative  Bildung 

durch 

transformatives 

Lernen.  Zur  Notwendigkeit 

der 

erziehungswissenschaftlichen  Fundierung  einer  neuen 

Idee.  ZEP:  Zeitschrift  Für 

Internationale  Bildungsforschung  Und 

Entwicklungspädagogik, 39(1), 13–17. 

30 Brock, A., de Haan, G., Etzkorn, N., & Singer-Brodowski, M. (2018). Wegmarken zur Transformation: Nationales Monitoring von Bildung 

für Nachhaltige Entwicklung in Deutschland. Verlag Barbara Budrich. 

31 O’Sullivan, E., Morrell, A. (eds) 2002. Expanding the Boundaries of Transformative Learning: Essays on Theory and Praxis. New York: 

Palgrave Press, p. 18. 
32 WBGU - German Advisory Council on Global Change. (2011). World in Transition – A Social Contract for Sustainability. WBGU. 

33  Getzin,  S.  and  Singer-Brodowski,  M.  (2016).  Transformatives  Lernen  in  einer  Degrowth-Gesellschaft.  Socience:  Journal  of  Science-

Society Interfaces, 1(1), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.5167/UZH-135963 

34 Selby, D. and Kagawa, F. (2018). Teetering on the brink: Subversive and restorative learning in times of climate turmoil and disaster. 

Journal of Transformative Education, 16(4), 302–322. 

35 de Haan, G. (2019). Transformative Methoden einer zukunftsorientierten Bildung / BNE. Reallabore, Citizen Science, Service Learning 

&  Co.  –  Transformative  Bildung  für  eine  Nachhaltige  Entwicklung,  Berlin.  https://www.transformative-innovation-lab.de/wp-

content/uploads/2019/02/3_de-Haan_zukunftsorientierte_Bildung.pdf 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
in the area of sustainability, as elsewhere – can constitute indoctrination and subjectively 
overwhelm students’ ability to form their own political and social judgements36. 

The alternative concept of transformative learning is well-established in education science, 
and is operationalised both educationally and methodologically. It encompasses two broad 
directions:  “the  approaches  of  transformative  learning  as  a  change  in  individual 
perspectives  of  meaning  and  the  concepts  of  transformative  learning  as  collective 
processes of awareness development and emancipation”37. In the transformative learning 
process, experiences of failure result in the questioning of basic understandings and the 
creation of new realities, and therefore lead beyond the mere acquisition of knowledge and 
abilities to trigger changes in basic behaviour, feelings and thoughts.  

Transformative learning should focus on the process of building awareness of, questioning 
and  further  developing  the  individual’s  own  perspectives.  This  can  take  place  through 
innovative  approaches  to  learning  such  as  project-oriented  formats,  collective  practices 
that can be incorporated into everyday life, and through critical discussion. Other methods 
that  can  be  used  to  foster  these  processes  include  the  use  of  diaries,  role-playing, 
perspective exercises, social simulation, ‘living statistics’ or systemic constellations to gain 
a  better  understanding of  the  complexity  of  interrelationships.  The  conceptual  approach 
taken by transformative learning – in contrast to transformative education – includes the 
discussion of growth-critical and ideology-critical perspectives. In addition, the approach 
helps  to  identify  structural  possibilities  for  transformation  towards  sustainability  that  go 
beyond what people can do at the individual level (Ibid). 

Schneidewind emphasises that transformative learning can be regarded as an “interplay of 
knowledge,  mindsets  and  skills”38.  These  mindsets  must  be  underpinned  by  a  guiding 
sustainable  vision  and  desire  for  change.  Changing  individual  or  collective  behaviour 
requires  abilities,  a  perceived  sense  of  potency  or  ability  to  act,  and  certain  key 
competencies.  The  key  competences  that  enable  students  to  contribute  to  sustainable 
development as change agents are the subject of discussion in the upcoming sections. 

2.2. 

Competences associated with a sustainability mindset 

Numerous  efforts  have  been  made  to  define  specific  competences  for  sustainability39  in 
academia. Vare et. al40 presented the first initiatives and early developments to define and 
categorise competences for sustainability and sustainable development. In 2020, the JRC 
published  a  comprehensive  literature  review  of  existing  research  on  sustainability 

36  Singer-Brodowski,  M. 

(2016). 

Transformative  Bildung 

durch 

transformatives 

Lernen.  Zur  Notwendigkeit 

der 

erziehungswissenschaftlichen  Fundierung  einer  neuen 

Idee.  ZEP:  Zeitschrift  Für 

Internationale  Bildungsforschung  Und 

Entwicklungspädagogik, 39(1), 13–17 

37  Singer-Brodowski,  M. 

(2016). 

Transformative  Bildung 

durch 

transformatives 

Lernen.  Zur  Notwendigkeit 

der 

erziehungswissenschaftlichen  Fundierung  einer  neuen 

Idee.  ZEP:  Zeitschrift  Für 

Internationale  Bildungsforschung  Und 

Entwicklungspädagogik, 39(1), 13–17. Quotation Pg. 15 

38 Schneidewind, U. (2018). Die große Transformation: eine Einführung in die Kunst gesellschaftlichen Wandels (Originalausgabe). Fischer 

Taschenbuch. 

39  Waltner,  E.,  Rieß,  W.  and  Mischo,  C.  (2019).  “Development  and  Validation  of  an  Instrument  for  Measuring  Student  Sustainability 

Competencies”, Sustainability, 11(6), 1717. Available at: <https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061717. 

40 Vare, P. et al. (2019). Devising a Competence-Based Training Programme for Educators of Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned. 

Sustainability, 11(7), 18-90. doi:10.3390/su11071890 

19 

 
 
 
 
                                           
education, including competences for sustainability41. The report highlighted the need to 
develop a more comprehensive system to identify and update the necessary sustainability 
competences, linking them to the performance of sustainability-related jobs and other jobs 
to be performed in a sustainable manner.  

However, the discussion concerning a sustainability mindset is intertwined with reflection 
on worldviews, and how these impact values, attitudes and (educational) approaches42. It 
thus  needs  to  go  beyond  merely  linking  competences  to  sustainability-related  jobs. 
Sustainability competences are relevant to all learners and citizens. Exploring worldviews 
is therefore an important step in developing sustainability competences and can be seen 
as part of a transformative learning process, as it allows an awareness of personal values 
and  beliefs  and  of  all  the  potential  situations,  future  job-related  or  personal,  in  which 
sustainability skills will be fruitful. 

Through  their  different  nuances  in  the  terminology  used,  most  existing  frameworks 
emphasise  the  related  knowledge  and  skills  required  to  grasp,  analyse  and  act  upon 
sustainability issues. Bearing in mind the complexity of environmental issues spread across 
various domains, people need to be enabled to think in a systemic way. They also require 
good  analytical  skills  and  critical  thinking  to  be  able  to  assess  the  current  state,  past 
developments  and  future  trajectories  of  the  environment,  as  well  as  to  identify  false 
information. To visualise a sustainable future and be able to adjust that image over time, 
an  anticipatory  or  future-thinking  competence  is  also  required.  Clearly,  a  sustainability 
mindset based on normative values, which fosters individual as well as community action 
in an ecological and fair manner, is inseparable from this approach.  

Lastly,  people  need  competences  to  initiate  action;  to  take  leadership  in  promoting 
sustainability; to engage, cooperate and effectively communicate with others; as well as 
to  enable  others  to  act.  All  of  these  call  for  strong  interpersonal  competences.  To  allow 
students  to  acquire  such  competences,  education  should  focus  on  the  cognitive  and 
affective (emotional) dimensions of learning, which are interconnected, in order to assure 
a whole-person learning that can be seen as a pre-requisite for transformative education.43   

Importantly, it is necessary to highlight that many  of the competences discussed  so  far 
and defined as EES competences (see Table 2) are transversal skills that need to be seen 
as integral to EES, but not necessarily foundational. Transversal skills such as critical and 
future thinking, as well as thinking about values, need to be acquired after the learner has 
acquired basic, concrete knowledge and skills regarding the natural environment and the 
socio-economic  world  as  it  relates  to  environmental  sustainability.  One  of  the  main 
weaknesses with existing literature and frameworks is a lack of clarity as to how transversal 
skills support environmental sustainability in practice. 

41 Bianchi, G. (2020). Sustainability competences. EUR 30555 EN, Publications Office of the European Union: Luxembourg. ISBN 978-92-

76-28408-6, doi:10.2760/200956, JRC123624. 

42 de Vries, B.J.M. (2019). Engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals by Going Beyond Modernity: An Ethical Evaluation within a 

Worldview Framework. Global Sustainability, 2, e18. doi: 10.1017/sus.2019.15 

43  Balsiger,  J.,  Förster,  R.,  Mader,  C.,  Nagel,  U.,  Sironi,  H.,  Wilhelm,  S.  and  Zimmermann,  A.B.  (2017).  Transformative  Learning  and 

Education 

for  Sustainable  Development.  GAIA  -  Ecological  Perspectives 

for  Science  and  Society,  26(4),  357-359.  doi: 

10.14512/gaia.26.4.15; Sterling, S. (2011). Transformative Learning and Sustainability: Sketching the Conceptual Ground. Learning and 

Teaching in Higher Education, 5, 17-33. 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Table 1. Competences for sustainable development 

SOURCE 

COMPETENCES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 

UNESCO, ‘Education for Sustainable 
Development Goals Learning Objectives’, 2017. 

Eight competences: systems thinking, anticipatory, normative, 
strategic, collaboration, critical thinking, self-awareness and 
integrated problem-solving  

UNECE, ‘Learning for the Future: Competences 
in Education for Sustainable Development’, 
2012.  

Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., Redman, C.L. 
(2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A 
reference framework for academic program 
development, Sustainability Science6, 203–218. 

Brundiers, K., Barth, M., Cebrián, G., Cohen, 
M., Diaz, L., Doucette-Remington, S., … Zint, 
M. (2020). Key competencies in sustainability in 
higher education—toward an agreed-upon 
reference framework, Sustainability Science 
doi:10.1007/s11625-020-00838-2 

Rieckmann, M. (2012). Future-oriented higher 
education: Which key competencies should be 
fostered through university teaching and 
learning? Futures 44, 127–135. 

Lambrechts, W., Mulà, I., Ceulemans, K., 
Molderez, I. and Gaeremynck, V. (2013). The 
integration of competences for sustainable 
development in higher education: An analysis 
of bachelor programs in management, J. Clean. 
Prod.48, 65–73. 

Three clusters of competences: holistic approach (integrative 
thinking, inclusivity, dealing with complexities); envisioning change 
(learning from the past, inspiring engagement in the present, 
exploring alternative futures); and achieving transformation 
(transformation of what it means to be an educator, 
transformation of pedagogy, transformation of the education 
system as a whole). 

Five groups of competences: systems-thinking, anticipatory, 
normative, strategic and interpersonal competences 

Eight competencies: integrated problem-solving, interpersonal, 
intrapersonal, strategic thinking, values thinking, future thinking, 
systems thinking, and implementation 

Twelve competences: systemic thinking and handling of 
complexity, anticipatory thinking, critical thinking, acting fairly and 
ecologically, cooperation in (heterogeneous) groups, participation, 
empathy and change of perspective, interdisciplinary work, 
communication and use of media, planning and realising 
innovative projects, evaluation, and ambiguity and frustration 
tolerance 

Six competences: responsibility, emotional intelligence, system 
orientation, future orientation, personal involvement, and the 
ability to take action 

Lozano, R.; Merrill, M.M.Y., Sammalisto, K., 
Ceulemans, K. and Lozano, F.J. (2017). 
Connecting Competences and Pedagogical 
Approaches for Sustainable Development in 
Higher Education: A Literature Review and 
Framework Proposal, Sustainability 9, 1889. 

Twelve competences: systems thinking; interdisciplinary work; 
anticipatory thinking; justice, responsibility, and ethics; critical 
thinking and analysis; interpersonal relations and collaboration; 
empathy and change of perspective; communication and use of 
media; strategic action; personal involvement; assessment and 
evaluation; and tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. 

3. 

Source: compiled by PPMI. 

Some more concrete attempts have nevertheless been made. In the most recent attempt 
to  update  Wiek’s  framework  of  competences  for  sustainability,  Brundiers  et  al  (2020) 
added  integrated  problem-solving  (also  emphasised  by  UNESCO)  and  implementation 

21 

 
 
 
 
competences44.  The  integrated  problem-solving  competence  refers  to  successfully 
integrating  two  or  more  of  the  key  competences  in  sustainability  problem-solving 
endeavours and, ultimately, integrating all key competences to create viable and equitable 
solutions for sustainability45. The implementation competence is defined by the authors as 
the collective ability to realise a planned solution towards a sustainability-informed vision, 
to  monitor  and  evaluate  the  realisation  process,  and  to  address  emerging  challenges 
(adjustments),  recognising  that  sustainability  problem-solving  is  a  long-term,  iterative 
process 
involving  planning,  realisation  and  evaluation  –  essentially,  an  action 
competence46.  

Researchers sometimes differentiate between competences for sustainability in schools and 
HEIs47,  as  well  as  sustainability  competences  for  educators48.  While  these  do  target 
different  groups,  the  suggested  competences  share  much  common  ground  with  general 
ESD competences. For example, teachers’ competences focus more on the various aspects 
of  interpersonal  competences  (participation,  attentiveness,  empathy,  engagement49). 
Recent  years  have  shown  an  increasing  focus  on  the  evaluation  of  sustainability 
competences50.  

In  its  attempt  to  map  whether  a  certain  set  of  sustainability-related  competences 
highlighted by academia are part of EU school curricula, the research team conducted  a 
review  of  curricula  at  primary  and  secondary  education  levels.  The  list  of  competences 
used  for  curriculum  analysis  was  compiled  on  the  basis  of  a  review  of  the  existing 
frameworks presented above, and is presented in the table below.  

Complex systems thinking is not yet easily understood by the educators or officials of 
education ministries who provided insights to the curriculum analysis, and was therefore 
not  included  in  the  list.  A  more  complex  understanding  of  systems  thinking  as  an 
understanding of thematic areas being interlinked and interconnected (e.g. the human and 
natural worlds, consumption and production, etc.) was perceived as being covered under 
the  heading  of  problem-solving  frameworks,  since  these  can  deepen  students’ 
understanding of various interlinked subjects. 

44  Brundiers,  K.,  et  al.  (2020).  Key  competencies  in  sustainability  in  higher  education—toward  an  agreed-upon  reference  framework. 

Sustainability Science, doi:10.1007/s11625-020-00838-2 

45 Brundiers et al. 

46 Brundiers et al. 

47  Lozano,  R.  et  al.  (2019).  “Teaching  Sustainability  in  European  Higher  Education  Institutions:  Assessing  the  Connections  between 

Competences and Pedagogical Approaches”, Sustainability 11(6), 1602. Available at: <https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061602> 

48  Bürgener,  L.,  and  Barth,  M.  (2018).  Sustainability  competencies  in  teacher  education:  Making  teacher  education  count  in  everyday 

school practice. Journal of Cleaner Production, 174, p. 821–826. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.263. Also, Vare, P. et al. (2019). Devising 

a  Competence-Based  Training  Programme  for  Educators  of  Sustainable  Development:  Lessons  Learned.  Sustainability  11(7),  p.  18-90. 

doi:10.3390/su11071890 

49 Vare, P. et al. (2019). Devising a Competence-Based Training Programme for Educators of Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned. 

Sustainability 11(7), p. 18-90. doi:10.3390/su11071890 

50 Cebrián, G., Junyent, M. and Mulà, I. (2020). "Competencies in education for sustainable development: Emerging teaching and research 

developments." Sustainability 12 (2), 579. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020579. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Table 2. Key competences used in the curriculum analysis 

Personal  

Values thinking 

To be able to differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic values in the social 
and natural world; to recognise normalised oppressive structures; to identify 
and clarify one’s own values; to explain how values are contextually, 
culturally, and historically reinforced; to critically evaluate how particular 
stated values align with agreed-upon sustainability values; and to 
differentiate between espoused values and practised values. 

Well-being  

To be able to understand potential risks to well-being, and to adopt a 
sustainable lifestyle that protects the environment.  

Social  

Strategic thinking  

Future thinking 
competence 

Implementation 

To be able to recognise the historical roots and embedded resilience of 
deliberate and unintended unsustainability and the barriers to change; to 
creatively plan innovative experiments to test strategies. 

To be able to iterate and continuously refine one’s own future thinking 
(visions, scenarios, etc.) in productive and explicit tension to the status quo; 
recognising the implicitly held (and largely unrecognised) assumptions about 
how society works and how they influence the status quo, as well as critically 
reflecting on how they might influence future thinking. 

To be able to realise a planned solution toward a sustainability-informed 
vision, to monitor and evaluate the realisation process, and to address 
emerging challenges (adjustments), recognising that sustainability problem-
solving is a long-term, iterative process involving planning, realisation and 
evaluation 

Communication  

To be able to listen to others and engage in conversations with confidence, 
assertiveness, respect and clarity in both personal and social contexts.  

Collaboration  

To be able to engage in group activity and teamwork, acknowledging and 
respecting others. 

Learning to 
Learn  

Problem solving  

To be able to combine and integrate steps of the sustainability problem-
solving process or competences, while drawing on pertinent disciplinary, 
interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and other ways of knowing. 

Critical thinking  

To be able to assess information and arguments to support reasoned 
conclusions and develop innovative solutions. 

4. 

Source: compiled by EUN.  

In Table 3, an overview of EES-oriented competences can be found for each EU Member 
State. Competences are not divided according to educational level, as they are understood 
to be competences that students should have continuous opportunities to practice  up to 
the  end  of  compulsory  education.  Thus,  it  is  relevant  to  know  that  they  are  part  of  the 
curriculum while focusing less on when they are introduced, as long as students acquire 
them.  These  competences  reflect  the  shared  vision  of  EU  countries  regarding  future 
European citizens, equipping students with the skills needed to become active in civic life 
by working on their readiness to understand, critically analyse and eventually act and 
find solutions to common contemporary socio-environmental challenges. 

It is also worth mentioning that, despite their direct connection to EES, in most countries 
these  competences  are  not  presented  in  a  way  that  directly  connects  them  with  EES. 
Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are the exceptions to this, as they offer specific goals and 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
clearly mention EES, while countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovakia briefly 
connect EES with the specific competences.  

Table 3. Overview of EES competences per EU Member State 

Basic compulsory education (5-16 years old) 

Country / 
Competenc
es 

Values 
thinki
ng 

Well
-
bein
g 

Strateg
ic 
thinkin
g 

Future 
thinki
ng 

Implementat
ion 

Communicat
ion 

Collaborati
on 

Proble
m 
solvin
g 

Critica
l 
thinki
ng 

Austria  

Belgium 

Bulgaria 

Croatia 

Cyprus 

Czech 
Republic 
Denmark 

Estonia 

France 

Germany 

Greece 

Hungary 

Ireland  

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Luxembo
urg 
Malta 

Netherlan
ds 
Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

Spain 

Sweden 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

- 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

- 

x 

- 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

x 

- 

X 

x 

- 

x 

5. 

Source: Curricula analysis by EUN.  

As  the  table  shows,  curricular  documents  in  most  countries  present  most  of  the  EES 
competences. Indeed, all countries except for Greece and Hungary refer to at least three 
EES competences. However, most curricula include four or more, and Austria, Croatia, the 
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden contain all 
nine.  In  Portugal  and  Spain,  however,  competences  are  mainly  developed  during  the 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
secondary  years,  despite  the  existence  of  many  opportunities  in  primary  education. 
Although every  competence is  referenced in at least 14 countries  – demonstrating their 
widespread presence overall – the competence mentioned most often is communication. 
This is followed by collaboration, critical and values thinking. 

include  art-based 

Environmental sustainability is usually linked to pedagogical practices that promote more 
inquiry 
learner-centred  and  participatory  approaches.  These 
experiences,  outdoor  education,  project  and  problem-based  learning,  and  game-based 
learning. However, in many countries the transmissive pedagogical approach dominates, 
under which  teachers play  the role  of deliverers of knowledge that the learners need to 
understand and reproduce during exams or tests.51 As indicated earlier in this report, the 
implementation  of  EES  requires  more  than  the  mere  introduction  of  information  and 
knowledge.  To  develop  a  learner’s  knowledge,  skills,  and  values  relevant  to  creating 
sustainable behaviour, pedagogies must be adjusted towards practising and instilling such 
behaviour.52 Furthermore, environmental sustainability is also very much linked to inquiry-
based scientific approaches, and to the development of natural science literacy.  

The examples of Denmark and Belgium described in the curriculum analysis demonstrate 
how the use of integrated teaching and learning offers favourable conditions for the deeper 
integration  of  EES  themes.  Two  Royal  Decrees  published  in  Belgium  in  2014  and  2015 
incorporated institutional reforms into primary and secondary education, under which the 
development  of  STEM  skills  must  be  promoted  by  means  of  integrated  learning.  In 
accordance  with  this,  the  teaching  of  STEM  competences  must  be  approached  from  all 
areas of knowledge. This provides a great advantage when it comes to the selection of EES 
topics and themes that can be taught across various non-STEM subjects. In Denmark, the 
incorporation  of  interdisciplinary  classes  into  the  current  curriculum  allows  students  to 
tackle contemporary issues often connected with EES using the tools provided by different 
subjects.  In  addition,  the  use  of  integrated  teaching  and  learning  not  only  provides  an 
abundance  of  opportunities  to  include  EES  themes,  but  it  also  contributes  to  the 
development of EES key competences. Inspiring, open-ended, creative exploration serves 
as  a  form  of  productive  play  and  inquiry.  The  lack  of  rigidly  defined  rules  encourages 
students  of  all  ages  to  demonstrate  adaptive  critical  thinking,  to  think  around  a  given 
problem,  and  to  consider  the  effects  produced  by  changing  different  variables. 
Collaboration  and  effective  communication  are  also  critical  to  the  success  of  this 
pedagogical approach. 

When  considering  the  various  approaches  to  ESD,  it  is  also  important  to  consider  the 
growing importance of digital tools in learning and teaching. As mentioned above, digital 
tools can be used  to implement  a game-based  learning approach that is interactive and 
engaging, and can help students to gain not just knowledge, but also relevant skills.53 It 

51 Bourn, D; Hunt, F; Bamber, P; (2017) A review of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in teacher 

education. (UNESCO GEM Background Paper ). UNESCO: Paris, France. 

52 UNESCO Education Sector, ‘Educational content up close – Examining the learning dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development 

and Global Citizenship’. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372327 

53 Emblen-Perry, K. (2018). Promoting education for sustainability through Game-Based learning: using the sustainable strategies game 

to improve students’ knowledge and skills of sustainable business practices. In: Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research (pp. 849-

866). Springer, Cham. 

25 

 
 
 
 
                                           
also has a potential to produce the desired attitude change.54 Digital tools can help teachers 
ensure  that  the  learning  environment  is  more  closely  tailored  to  the  individual  needs  of 
each student and that it provides them with the stimulation of experiences that they may 
not encounter in their normal environments. Consequently, this can potentially help them 
to widen their worldviews and to develop the skills for which a different environment would 
be required. The effectiveness of digital technologies should not be overstated, however. 
Its use should be carefully considered, as its effect on children’s empathy is positive when 
its content, use and interactions are prosocial, and if the amount of time spent in front of 
screens does not reduce face-to-face interactions55.  

While the curriculum content and learning objectives for ESD are generally set out in EU 
Member  States,  teachers  are  often  free  to  choose  their  teaching  methods.  Unless  the 
learning objectives or pedagogies set out in the curriculum are of a behavioural or socio-
emotional  nature,  there  is  no  guarantee  that  teachers  will  adopt  learner-centred  and 
participatory approaches56. In fact, Boeve-de Pauw and Petegem (2017) suggest that many 
teachers  prefer  a  transmissive  understanding of  behavioural  change  that  works  through 
knowledge rather than behavioural and socio-emotional understanding57. It is thus crucial 
that learning objectives should cover action competences – or, alternatively, should guide 
teachers as to the pedagogical approaches used. This also applies to higher education.  

The  EU  already  has  an  influential  tool  in  place  to  support  educational  practitioners  and 
policy  makers  in  their  efforts  to  develop  the  entire  spectrum  of  competences  across  all 
citizens – from literacy and maths, to cultural and entrepreneurial. The general European 
Framework of Key Competences58 is already used by EU Member States to promote the 
development  of  the  whole  person  from  a  lifelong  learning  perspective.  This  framework 
describes  the  knowledge,  skills  and  attitudes  required  by  people  to  become  responsible 
citizens in a modern democracy, as well as to understand and act towards building a more 
sustainable society. However, while these key competences can be helpful in developing a 
sustainability mindset – in particular, mathematical competence and basic competences in 
science and technology (STEM), learning to learn and citizenship – explanations as to how 
they contribute to a sustainability mindset are not clearly elaborated.  

While  the  UNECE  reports  consider  it  a  strength  of  EES  implementation  that  countries 
implement the key competences for lifelong learning, Ayers (2020) finds that competences 
that are not contextualised in relation to sustainability provide no guarantee that they will 
achieve their desired learning outcomes.59 In fact, recent research suggests that the best 
way to crystallise the link between 21st-century skills and competences for environmental 

54 Janakiraman, S., Watson, S.L. and Watson, W.R. (2018). ‘Using Game-based Learning to Facilitate Attitude Change for Environmental 

Sustainability’, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, vol. 12(2), pages 176-185, September. 

55  Flecha,  R.,  Pulido,  C.,  Villarejo,  B.,  Racionero,  S.,  Redondo,  G.  and  Torras,  E.  (2020).  ‘The  effects  of  technology  use  on  children’s 

empathy and attention capacity’, NESET report, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2766/947826. 

56  UNECE  (2020).  Information  paper  no.  2  ‘Learning  from  each  other:  achievements,  challenges  and  ways  forward.  Fourth  evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thmeetsc/Informal%20Documents/phaseiiprogressreport_IP.8.pdf 

57 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017): Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics and 

nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

58 See https://ec.europa.eu/education/education-in-the-eu/council-recommendation-on-key-competences-for-lifelong-learning_en   

59  Ayers,  J.  (2020).  Competence  Literate  but  Context  Lacking?  Investigating  the  Potential  of  Study  Abroad  Programs  to  Promote 
from 
Sustainability 

5389.  MDPI 

Sustainability, 

Competence 

Acquisition 

Students. 

Retrieved 

12(13), 

AG. 

in 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12135389 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
sustainability may be through a separate competence for sustainability.60 In the context of 
curriculum  frameworks,  there  needs  to  be  explicit  mentioning  of  sustainability 
competences,  learning  objectives,  and  how  to  achieve  and  assess  them  –  yet  very  few 
countries currently do this. 

3. Supporting  education  for  environmental  sustainability 

across systems 

This  chapter  presents  the  findings  from  the  study’s  mapping  exercise,  and  discusses 
various  system-level  practices  across  Europe  in  the  light  of  the  literature  and  earlier 
comparative reports by the UNECE (2016 and 2020) on how to successfully mainstream 
education  for  environmental  sustainability  across  the  system.  The  study’s  analytical 
framework recognises that transformative and sustainable change needs to occur at both 
policy  and  institutional  level,  with  purposeful  and  holistic  approaches  and  supportive 
synergies  between  these  levels.  At  system  level,  policy  needs  to  support  education  for 
environmental sustainability across all of the core pillars that uphold an efficient education 
system:  policy  vision  and  strategy;  curriculum  frameworks  and  the  approach  to  the 
development of  competences; training and capacity building for  educators; assessment, 
monitoring  and  evaluation;  and  cross-sectoral  partnerships.61  Accordingly,  this  chapter 

provides an overview of how education for environmental sustainability is understood and 
defined in national and regional education policy documents across the EU, and discusses 
the current obstacles to and policy solutions for the promotion of EES across institutions. 

Policy vision and strategy for sustainability 

3.1. 
Visionary  thinking  can  play  an  important  role  in  the  development  of  policy  regarding 
sustainability.  Globally,  good  examples  of  influential  and  visionary  policy  documents 
include the 1987 Brundtland report ‘Our Common Future’, and the education-specific Tbilisi 
Declaration  on  Environmental  Education62.  The  Decade  for  Education  for  Sustainable 
Development  (DESD)  put  in  motion  several  national  policy  strategies  and  evaluation 
processes to ensure that countries sign up for and monitor their progress towards better 
and more effective education for environmental sustainability (creating a national strategy 
was  an  obligatory  requirement  for  taking  part).63  Yet,  as  the  data  from  this  study  and 
previous UNECE reports suggest, EU Member States vary greatly in their ability to make 
their education systems play a transformative role. This section therefore investigates what 
types of policy and strategies are being implemented across Europe, and which strategies 
are more successful at rallying change on the ground. 

First,  national  policy  mapping  shows  that  almost  all  Member  States  have  some  kind  of 
strategic  policy  documents  or  action  plans  in  place  with  regard  to  education  for 
environmental  sustainability  (see  Table  4).  The  exception  is  Denmark,  where  some 

60 [to be published] Mulvik, I. B., Pribuišis, K., Gras-Velázquez, À., Dumčius, R. & Coles, N. (2020) Nature-Based Solutions in education – 

A Pilot Study, European Commission, December 2020. 
61 Adopted for the study on the inspiration of Loreman, T. (2007). ‘Seven pillars of support for inclusive education: moving from 'why?' to 

'how?'.’ International Journal of Whole institutioning, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 22+. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021. 

62 UNESCO. (1978). ‘Final report, Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education’, organised by UNESCO in cooperation with 

UNEP, Tbilisi, USSR. Paris: UNESCO. 

63  Benavot,  A.  (2014).  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development 

in  Primary  and  Secondary  Education.  Available  at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282342116_Education_for_Sustainable_Development_in_Primary_and_Secondary_Education 

27 

 
 
 
 
                                           
pedagogical  or  general  guidelines  exist,  but  no  overarching  national  policy  strategy  or 
action plan. In general, the existence of policy documents that explicitly and exclusively 
discuss mainstreaming education for sustainable development is positive, since it implies 
that  national  policymakers  are  prioritising  the  issue.  It  also  provides  non-governmental 
actors  with  a  document  they  can  use  to  hold  policymakers  accountable  for  their 
(in)action.64  

Table 4. Key national strategies and policy documents on Education for Environmental Sustainability, 
outlined by National experts 

National Policy Documents/Strategies 

AT 

BE 

BG 

CY 

CZ 

DE 

DK 
EE 

EL 

ES 

FI 

FR 

HR 

HU 

IE 

Austrian Strategy for Education for Sustainable 
Development 
Federal Plan for Sustainable Development 
Flemish  Implementation  Plan  for  Education  for 
Sustainable Development 
National  Strategy  for  Lifelong  Learning  for  the 
period 2014-2020 
National  Action  Plan 
Education  and  Education 
Development 
Framework  Education  Programmes,  The 
National 
Environmental 
Education, Communication, and Counselling for 
the Years 2016-2025 

for  Environmental 
for  Sustainable 

Programme 

of 

National  Action  Plan  on  Education 
Sustainable Development (NAP ESD) 

for 

The Law on Sustainable Development  
General  Education  System  Development  Plan 
2014-2020  [Eesti  teadus-  ja  arendustegevuse  ning 
innovatsiooni strateegia 2014–2020] 

for 
[Plan  de  Acción  de  Educación 

Ministry of Education, Article 36: Establishment 
of the Directorate for the Support of Educational 
for  Sustainable 
Programs  and  Education 
Development 
Environmental  Education  Action  Plan 
Sustainability 
Ambiental para la Sostenibilidad] 
UN  Sustainable  Development  Goals  Agenda 
2030 [Agenda 2030 – kestävän kehityksen tavoitteet] 
This  New 
Sustainable 
Development Circular (the 5th in 15 years) [Cette 
nouvelle circulaire EDD (la 5e en 15 ans)] 
Strategy of Education, Science and Technology 
[Strategija obrazovanja, znanosti i tehnologije] 

Education 

for 

Strategy 

The  National 
on 
Framework 
Sustainable  Development  [Nemzeti  Fenntartható 
Fejlődési Stratégia] 
The  National  Strategy  on  Education 
for 
Sustainable Development in Ireland, 2014-2020  

for  Environmental  Education 

Decree 
Sustainable Development 
Flemish Strategy for Sustainable Development 

for 

for 

The  National  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  for 
Adaptation to Climate Change 
Curriculum 
Education/Education 
Development 
The  Goals  and  Indicators  of  Environmental 
Education  [Cíle  a  indikátory  pro  environmentální 
vzdělávání, výchovu a osvětu v České republice] 

Environmental 
Sustainable 

for 

Federal  Plan 
Development 

for  Sustainable 

Schools 
Sustainable 
Environmental  Education  Policy 
(SEEP) 
The  Strategy  for  Educational 
Policy  2030+  [Strategie  vzdělávací 
politiky  České  republiky  do  roku 
2030+] 

- 

National  Strategy  on  Sustainable  Development 
‘Sustainable Estonia 21’ [Eesti säästva arengu riiklik 
strateegia „Säästev Eesti 21"] 

Law 

The 
Development  

on 

Sustainable 

Circular  of  the  Directorate  of  Programmes  and 
Sustainability Education Support 

National Strategy for Biodiversity 
2014-2029  

The Finland We Want by 2050 

Strategy  and  Action  Plan  for  the  Nature 
Protection in Croatia from 2017-2025 [Strategija i 
akcijski  plan  zaštite  prirode  Republike  Hrvatske  za 
razdoblje od 2017. do 2025. godine] 
The Act on National Public Education [Törvény a 
nemzeti köznevelésről] 

for 

Sustainable 
Strategy 
Development  [Strategija  održivog 
razvitka] 

National 
[Nemzeti alaptanterv] 

Core 

Curriculum 

64 Taylor, N., Quinn, F., Jenkins, K., Miller-Brown, H., Rizk, N., Prodromou, T., Serow, P. and Taylor, S. (2019). Education for Sustainability 

in 

the  Secondary  Sector  –  A  Review. 

Journal  of  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development,  13(1),  102–122. 

https://doi.org/10.1177/0973408219846675 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
IT 

National  Plan  of  Education  for  Sustainability 
[Strategia Nazionale per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile] 

Sustainable  Development 
The  National 
Education 
[Dėl 
Nacionalinės  darnaus  vystymosi  švietimo  2007–2015 
metų programos patvirtinimo] 

Programme 

2007-2015 

Luxembourg‘s  Agenda  2030.  Plan  national  du 
développement  national  (PNDD).  [Luxembourg 
2030,  3ième  Plan  National  Pour  Un  Développement 
Durable] 

Basic Guidelines for Sustainable Development of 
Latvia 
attīstības 
pamatnostādnēm] 
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 

ilgtspējīgas 

Latvijas 

[Par 

Memorandum  of  Understanding  on  Education 
for  Sustainable  Development  [Protocollo  d’intesa 
tra  Ministero  dell’Istruzione,  dell’Università  e  della 
Ricerca  (di  seguito  denominato  MIUR)  e  Ministero 
dell’Ambiente, della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (di 
seguito denominato MATTM)] 
The  National 
Approval  and 
Nacionalinės 
patvirtinimo ir įgyvendinimo] 

Sustainable  Development 
Implementation  Strategy  [Dėl 
strategijos 
darnaus 

vystymosi 

National  Reference  Framework 
‘Non-formal 
Education  of  Children  and  Young  People’. 
[Règlement  grand-ducal  du  28  juillet  2017  portant 
établissement  du  cadre  de  référence  national  « 
Éducation non formelle des enfants et des jeunes] 
Concept for Sustainable Development of Latvia 
[Ilgtspējīgas attīstības koncepcija] 

Environmental  Protection  Law 
[Vides aizsardzības likums] 

National  Strategy  on  Sustainable  Development 
[Nationale Strategie Duurzame Ontwikkeling] 
The  National  Environmental  Policy  2030 
(NEP2030) [Polityka Ekologiczna Państwa 2030] 

National  Environmental  Education  Strategy 
[Estratégia Nacional de Educação Ambiental] 
Environmental  Education 
[Referencial  de  Educação  Ambiental  para 
Sustentabilidade] 
Education for Sustainable Development [Educație 
pentru Dezvoltare Durabilă] 

for  Sustainability 
a 

Action  Plan  for  Agenda  2030  [Handlingsplan 
Agenda 2030] 

Slovenian Development Strategy 2030 [Strategija 
razvoja Slovenije 2030] 

Concept for the Development of Environmental 
Education, Training and Awareness in SEA until 
2030  [Rezortná  koncepcia  environmentálnej  výchovy, 
vzdelávania a osvety do roku 2025] 

National  Strategy  for  Development  Education 
[Estratégia  Nacional 
o 
de 
Desenvolvimento] 

Educação 

para 

National 
Education  Strategy 
Nacional de Educação Ambiental] 

Environmental 
[Estratégia 

National Strategy for Sustainable Development 
in  2030 
[Strategia-nationala-pentru-dezvoltarea-
durabila-a-României-2030] 

National  Environmental  Protection  Programme 
for 2020–2030  [Resolucija o Nacionalnem programu 
varstva okolja za obdobje 2020–2030] 
Greener Slovakia: Strategy of the Environmental 
Policy of the Slovak Republic until 2030 [Zelenšie 
politiky 
Slovensko: 
Stratégia 
Slovenskej republiky do roku 2030] 

environmentálnej 

National Strategy for Sustainable 
Development  of 
the  Slovak 
Republic  [Národná  stratégia  trvalo 
udržateľného rozvoja] 

LT 

LU 

LV 

MT 
NL 

PL 

PT 

RO 

SE 

SI 

SK 

Source: Authors.  Note: The national policy documents and strategies on EES  have been outlined by respective national experts. Some 
national policy documents and strategies might be missing. 

Table 5 provides a simple overview of the spread and reach of EES at different education 
levels  under  the  various  strategies  and  policy  documents.  Several  things  can  be  noted. 
First, EES is well represented in education strategies and policy documents across the EU-
27. Second, EES strategies appear most frequently at primary and secondary level. 

Table 5. Overview of strategies and policies on education for sustainability, EU-27 

EDUCATIO
N POLICIES 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

Existing  EES 
strategy 
EES is part of 
other 
education 
strategies 
EES is part of 
other  policy 
documents 

●  ●  ◌  ●  ●  ●  ◌  ● 

  ◌  ●  ○  ●  ●  ●  ●  ● 

● 

  ● 

  ●  ● 

● 

  ●  ●  ●  ● 

  ●  ●  ● 

  ●  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ●  ● 

  ●  ● 

  ●  ● 

●  ●  ●  ● 

  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ●  ● 

  ●  ●  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ●  ●  ●  ● 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ECEC  
Existing  EES 
strategy  
EES is part of 
other 
education 
strategies 
EES is part of 
other  policy 
documents 
Primary/ 
secondary 
Existing  EES 
strategy  
EES is part of 
other 
education 
strategies 
EES is part of 
other  policy 
documents 
Higher 
education 
Existing  EES 
strategy  
EES is part of 
other 
education 
strategies 
EES is part of 
other  policy 
documents 

●  ●  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ●  ○ 

  ● 

  ◌ 

  ●  ◌ 

  ◌ 

●  ●  ●  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ○  ●  ● 

  ●  ○ 

  ● 

● 

●  ●  ◌  ●  ●  ●  ◌  ● 
● 

  ◌  ●  ○  ●  ●  ●  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ●  ◌  ◌  ●  ◌ 

●  ●  ●  ● 

  ●  ● 

  ●  ●  ● 

  ○ 

  ● 

  ● 

● 

◌  ●  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ◌  ○ 

  ●  ○ 

  ● 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌ 

●  ●  ○  ◌ 

  ● 

  ● 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ● 

  ●  ○  ◌ 

  ○  ●  ◌ 

◌ 

  ● 

  ● 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. The abundance of empty 
cells can be explained by the fact that the respective national expert could not find data on the matter, and as such no definitive answer 
could be provided. 

Table  6  below  suggests  that  the  inclusion  of  EES  in  the  form  of  non-formal  education 
(hereafter referred to as NFE) is not well represented in national strategies and/or policy 
documents. The finding of the national mapping provide further context for this – EES in 
NFE  tends  to  materialise  via  initiatives  and  cross-sector  collaborations,  rather  than  in  a 
systematic manner. 

Table 6. Education for environmental sustainability in non-formal education, EU-27 

NON-FORMAL 
EDUCATION 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

is  part  of  the 

EES 
national strategy 

●  ○ 

  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ◌  ● 

  ● 

  ● 

  ◌  ● 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

The Global Action Programme (2015-2019)65 and the ESD for 2030 roadmap66 recommend 
explicitly integrating education elements into all policy documents relating to sustainable 
development, as this is considered more impactful. Mentioning education in the context of 

65  Glavic,  P.  (2020).  Identifying  Key  Issues  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  Sustainability  2020,  12,  6500; 

doi:10.3390/su12166500 

66  UNESCO.  (2020).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  A  Roadmap.  #ESD  for  2030.  Paris,  UNESCO.  (Available  at 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
the  economy  and  other  sustainability  strategies,  for  example,  can  impact  the 
implementation of EES in schools and VET. National concepts of the green economy have 
influenced jurisdictions such as Denmark, where work on EES is being aligned with green 
growth  planning67.  While  almost  all  countries  possess  specific  documents  relating  to 
education for environmental sustainability, very few focus on education for environmental 
sustainability across multiple policy documents. Three good examples of countries that do 
so are provided in the comment box.  

term 

significant 

‘education 

environment 

Examples of countries that include education for 
environmental  sustainability  across  multiple 
policy documents 

Poland:  ESD  appears  across  several  national 
strategies, e.g. the Strategy for Energy Security and 
Innovation  and 
Environment  and  Strategy  for 
Efficiency of the Economy, as well as the Perspective 
for Lifelong Learning, which all form a blueprint for 
the country's development. 

from  an  ESD-specific  policy 
Estonia:  Aside 
document in the context of strategic planning, ESD 
appears in the Estonian Lifelong Learning Strategy 
(ELLS)  and  the  long-term  strategy  ‘Estonia  2035’, 
which creates a strong basis for a more systematic 
and  robust  reflection  of  sustainable  development 
goals  in  sectoral  strategies.  The  strategy  ‘Estonia 
2035’ sets strategic goals for the Estonian state and 
its people for the next 15 years, and determines the 
changes necessary to achieve them.  

Conceptually, the majority of Member States have 
‘environmental 
the 
from 
moved  away 
education’  towards 
for  sustainable 
development’,  and  have  thus  widened  their 
thematic focus to also factor in social and economic 
issues. Data from the national reports suggest that 
in  Slovakia  and  Hungary,  this  move  has 
encountered  more 
resistance. 
Researchers,  and  the  Slovakian  and  Hungarian 
education  community,  have  been  concerned  with 
this move for two reasons: 1) confusion due to the 
existence  of  several  terms;  and  2)  fear  that 
widening  the  scope  will  turn  the  focus  away  from 
the 
economic 
and 
development  and  growth.  Concerning  the  first  of 
these,  the  majority  of  the  national  reports  show 
that the switch has resulted in confusion, as most 
national reports describe ESD as a complementary, 
positive  or  even  an  “insignificant”  addition  to  the 
rhetorical landscape. By “insignificant”, it is meant 
that  the  content  of  the  policy  strategies  matters 
more  than  the  use  of  these  particular  terms.  An 
example  of  its  positive  value,  described  in  the 
Latvian national report, is that it is easier to work 
in  a  cross-disciplinary  manner  using  ESD  than 
environmental  education,  due 
its  more 
pronounced  links  to  social,  economic  and  political 
challenges. This is an interesting finding, since  research suggests that cross-disciplinary 
implementation  can  be  effective  in  shaping  the  divergent  thinking  needed  for 
transdisciplinary and lifelong learning skills development around sustainability68. Regarding 
the second concern, although the policy documents are not necessarily explicitly critical of 
economic  growth,  the  national  reports  suggest  that  this  broadening  has  not  turned  the 
focus away from the environment. Most policy documents described in the national reports 
retain  a  deep  understanding  of  the  interlinkages  between  environmental,  social  and 
economic  challenges,  and  the  urgent  need  for  a  green  economy.  Furthermore,  several 

Greece:  The  National  Strategy  for  Biodiversity 
2014-2029 and its accompanying 5-year Action Plan 
sets  out,  among  other  things,  a  general  target 
(target 11) to “integrate biodiversity conservation in 
the society’s value system”. To achieve this, it refers 
to  the  promotion  of  formal  and  non-formal 
education  on  biodiversity,  the  environment  and 
sustainable  development,  targeting  students  of  all 
ages,  and 
learning 
programmes aimed at the education of educators. 

towards 

training  and 

life-long 

to 

67 UNECE. (2016). Ten years of the UNECE strategy for education for sustainable development. UN Distr. GENERAL ECE/CEP/179/2016 23 

May 2016, pp. iii. 

68 Sund, P. and Gericke, N. (2020). Teaching contributions from secondary school subject areas to education for sustainable development 

–  a  comparative  study  of  science,  social  science  and 

language 

teachers.  Environmental  Education  Research  1–23. 

doi:10.1080/13504622.2020.1754341 

31 

 
 
 
 
                                           
reports highlight that the environmental dimension has recently increased in importance, 
due to the increased interest in climate change education. 

Effective  policies  on  education  for  environmental  sustainability  are  purposeful, 
reflective  and  work  across  all  the  pillars  that  support  the  education  system 
(curriculum, pedagogy, funding and support for institutional innovation, teacher training, 
etc.)6970. The Danish case reveals how supporting the main pillars of education (pedagogy, 
curriculum, funding and support for institutional innovation etc.) is crucial to the successful 
implementation of education for environmental sustainability, and can make up for the lack 
of  a  specific  strategy  document.  It  confirms  the  theory  on  the  importance  of  the 
constructive  alignment  of  policy  planning  between  the  goals  of  curricula,  resources, 
assessment  and  teaching,  and  the  need  for  collaboration  between  civil  society,  private 
companies and academia to create policy and strategies that are embedded in practice and 
consensus-based,  to  ensure  their  wider  influence  and  upscaling.7172  In  Denmark, 
institutions and NGOs are well supported in delivering ESD, and there appears to be societal 
and political consensus concerning the terms and their importance. This has been explained 
by  the  Danish  tradition  of  participatory  action  research  with  regard  to  education  for 
environmental sustainability.73   

Furthermore, cross-sectoral collaboration in policymaking is highlighted as powerful when 
it comes to transformative action on education for environmental sustainability. Half of all 
national  experts,  and  several  of  the  case  studies,  have  outlined  that  cross-sector 
cooperation  and  the  exchange  of  good  practices  between  the  state,  businesses  and 
academia  serves  as  an  important  enabler  for  the  implementation  of  education  for 
environmental  sustainability.  The  policy  mapping  reveals  that  the  Member  States  vary 
greatly  in  the  extent  to  which  policy  visions  for  education  are  synergised  with  those  in 
other policy areas. In Bulgaria, for instance, a 2004 memorandum facilitates collaborate 
on  education  for  environmental  sustainability  between  the  country’s  education  and 
environmental  departments.  In  Greece  and  Germany,  such  collaboration  is  evident 
through  the  mentioning  of  education  in  several  key  sustainability  strategy  documents 
produced  by  various  ministries.  In  Belgium,  however,  the  ministries  of  education  and 
environment  hesitate  to  collaborate  closely,  while  Ireland’s  action  plan  for  a  carbon-
neutral society does not emphasise education but focuses exclusively on transport, energy, 
business  and  trade.  The  case  of  Ireland  is  somewhat  ironic  since  –  according  to  the 
country’s National Economic and Social Council (2012) – the vision of Ireland becoming a 
carbon-neutral  society  by  2050  will  only  be  realised  if  it  is,  “combined  with  action  and 

69  Loreman,  T.(2007).  ‘Seven  pillars  of  support  for  inclusive  education:  moving  from  'why?'  to  'how?'.’  International  Journal  of  Whole 

institutioning, vol. 3, no. 2, , p. 22+. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021. 

70  UNESCO.  (2020).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  A  Roadmap.  #ESD  for  2030.  Paris,  UNESCO.  Available  at: 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802 

71  Biggs, 

J. 

(2003).  Aligning 

teaching 

for  constructing 

learning.  The  Higher  Education  Academy.  Retrieved 

from 

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/id477_aligning_teaching_for_constructing_learning.pdf 

72 UNECE (2020). Information paper  no. 2: ‘Learning from  each other:  achievements, challenges  and ways forward. Fourth  evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thMeetSC/Informal%20Documents/PhaseIIProgressReport_IP.8.pdf 

73  Breiting,  S.  and  Wickenberg,  P.  (2010).  The  progressive  development  of  environmental  education  in  Sweden  and  Denmark, 

Environmental Education Research 16:1, 9-37,DOI: 10.1080/13504620903533221 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
learning” (2012, p. 4), yet it does not recognise education as being a crucial force in this 
regard.  

An  exemplary  national  document  on  sustainability,  which  recognises  the  importance  of 
education  in  achieving  a  sustainable  society,  is  the  Italian  National  Strategy  for 
Sustainable  Development  (SNSvS):  “The  ‘education,  awareness,  communication’  vector 
represents one of the key dimensions for the effective achievement of the objectives of the 
SNSvS. The ‘culture of sustainability’, to be promoted at all levels (business, civil society, 
institutions,  research)  and  in  all  educational  institutions,  formal  and  non-formal,  from  a 
lifelong  learning  perspective,  is  the  main  vector  for  triggering  the  transformation  of  the 
current development model, as well as for the dissemination of knowledge, competences, 
lifestyles and virtuous models of sustainable production and consumption”.74 

Few  Member  States  possess  strategic  documents  on  education  for  environmental 
sustainability that specifically target early childhood education and care. In several cases, 
this  is  because  regulations  and  documents  are  the  same  for  pre-primary  and 
primary/secondary  education  or  only  provide  universal  recommendations  (e.g.  Cyprus, 
the  Flemish  part  of  Belgium,  Lithuania,  Spain).  In  other  countries  (e.g.  Bulgaria, 
Italy),  specific  laws  or  strategy  papers  exist  covering  pre-primary  education,  but  these 
are broad and do not target ecological or environmental topics – or, in the case of Croatia, 
this specificity does not fall within the national-level jurisdiction. The Croatian national Law 
on  Preschool  Education  from  1997  obliges  all  kindergartens  to  introduce  ecological 
education.  However,  its  implementation  relies  on  the  enthusiasm  of  teachers  since  the 
management of preschool institutions is the responsibility of local communities and laws. 
The Italian national report describes a similar issue, which can be further contextualised 
by the fact that ECEC is not compulsory: “ECEC schools are often funded and managed by 
local administrations or by private Institutions. Their number and distribution depend on 
local authorities and local working situations, and so does their quality.”  

While  this  situation  also  used  to  be  the  case  in  Germany,  Hungary,  Ireland  and 
Slovenia,  the  national  policy  mapping  suggests  that  the  enabling  policies  that  brought 
about  transformative  change  in  these  countries  were  efforts  to  provide  higher-quality 
qualifications  for  educational  professionals;  guidebooks  or  ESD-oriented  training  for 
educators; and the promotion of a whole-institution approach at kindergarten level through 
a Green Kindergarten Network. 7576 In Germany, the introduction of the legal entitlement 
to a childcare place also contributed to a call for improved educational standards in ECEC. 
To anchor education for environmental sustainability into ECEC in a manner that considers 
the national context and thereby increases the likelihood that the policy will be effective, 
it would be advisable to set up an ECEC Forum, as was done in Germany. The ECEC forum 
developed goals and measures for the fields of action, focusing on the essential structural 
areas of the pre-primary sector in the country.  

74  Italian  Ministry  of  Education  (2020).  Draft  for  the  National  Strategy  for  Sustainable  Development  (SNSvS).  Available  at: 

https://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio_immagini/Galletti/Comunicati/snsvs_ottobre2017.pdf  [Accessed  27  February 

2021] 

75 UNECE (2020). Information paper  no. 2: ‘Learning from  each other:  achievements, challenges  and ways forward. Fourth  evaluation 

report of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development’.  

76 Singer-Brodowski, M. (2019). ‘Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung in der frühkindlichen Bildung.’ Pfade der Transformation. Leverkusen: 

Verlag Barbara Budrich, pp. 65–99. 

33 

 
 
 
 
                                           
It is evident from  Table 5 that few Member States possess national strategy documents 
targeting higher education. However, around half have higher education acts that address 
EES.77  This  is  because  universities  are  often  autonomous  and  do  not  fall  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  state.  However,  due  to  the  increasing  adoption  of  national  policy 
frameworks  at  this level,  the  main  challenge  is  the  adoption  of  national implementation 
and action plans.78 

A  study  in  Portugal  that  attempted  to  conceptualise  sustainable  development  within 
higher  education suggests that  a focus on sustainability from a government perspective 
can  greatly  influence  universities  towards  taking  the  first  steps  towards  sustainability.79 
Conversely,  insufficient  legal  incentives  lead  to  ambiguity  and  complexity  regarding  the 
concept of sustainability itself, which is seen as an “abstract and complex topic”. Another 
piece of research on the barriers to innovation and sustainability in 172 universities also 
confirms that the field of environmental and sustainability research suffers from not being 
an area of priority.80 This results in sustainable initiatives having to operate on low budgets 
and being delivered primarily by volunteers. HEIs must find the resources themselves, but 
this is not easily achievable due to a lack of willingness among leaders, policy makers 
and decision makers to envisage a sustainable future within universities. Without 
the support of senior management within a university, bottom-up sustainability initiatives 
seem  destined  to  fail  in  the  long  term  due  to  a  lack  of  investment  and  administrative 
support  from  governments.  As  a  result,  staff  and  student  entrepreneurs  often  fail  to 
progress  with  such  initiatives.  Even  a  university’s  autonomy  may  become  a  barrier  to 
developing EES initiatives if the university does not consider them a strategic priority, as 
there then would be a lack of incentives within the institutions to drive the change. 

Conversely, the literature suggests that a lack of autonomy on the part of universities can 
also be a major obstacle that stalls the potential progress of innovations that can support 
EES. This is particularly  applicable to EES, which has at its core an  interdisciplinary and 
innovative  approach.  The  most  important  restriction  on  institutional  autonomy  is  the 
central  government  control  over  academic  programmes  and,  to  some  extent,  over 
curricula. Although universities can implement self-regulated programmes, these are not 
recognised  as  ‘national’  diplomas  programmes,  which  means  they  do  not  have  a  legal 
status as ‘official’ programmes. Moreover, the  creation of new  ‘official’ programmes is a 
lengthy process that involves many committees, which are controlled by academics. This 
means  that  the  result  may  be  somewhat  different  from  the  initial  aim,  and  that  new 

77 University Educators for Sustainable Development (UE4SD) (2014). ‘State of the art report on mapping opportunities for developing 

education for sustainable development competences in the UE4SD partner countries’. 

78  UNECE  (2019).  ‘Preliminary  results  on  progress  achieved  and  challenges  encountered  in  the  fourth  phase  of  implementation  of  the 

UNECE 

ESD 

strategy’, 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/14thMeet_SC/Doc/Presentations/revised_Inf_paper_1_-

_Prelminary_findings.pdf 

79  Aleixo,  A. M.,  Leal,  S.,  &  Azeiteiro,  U.  M.  (2018).  Conceptualization  of  sustainable  higher  education  institutions,  roles,  barriers,  and 

challenges 

for 

sustainability:  An  exploratory 

study 

in  Portugal. 

Journal  of  Cleaner  Production,  172,  1664–1673. 

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.010  

80 Ávila, L.V., Filho, W.L., Brandli, L., Macgregor, C.J., Molthan-Hill, P., Gökçin Özuyar, P., Martins Moreira, R. (2017). Barriers to innovation 

and  sustainability  at  universities  around 

the  world, 

Journal  of  Cleaner  Production,  Volume  164,  pp.  1268-1278, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.025 

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
curricula  may  be  oriented  more  towards  satisfying  the  individual  interests  of  academics 
rather than the real needs of students and society.81 

Furthermore,  bureaucracy  is  an  important  factor  mentioned  by  several  authors.  Anna 
Lašáková (2017)82  considers the power structures and states in which it is undisputable 
that the tone that comes from the top – whether the politicians that create the regulatory 
frameworks, the management of HEIs – sets the direction in which the higher education 
sector will move. In this respect, financial limitations and rigid regulatory mechanisms act 
as  barriers  to  innovation  in  higher  education.  Major  barriers  arise  from  inflexible 
administration  that  promotes  bureaucracy.  HEIs  need  to  combat  various  legislative 
obstacles  in  order  to  receive  additional  financial  funding  for  their  innovative 
activities, as  well as to  somehow  ridding themselves of  the tight regulatory frameworks 
that disempower HEIs in their quest for innovation. Moreover, instituting time-consuming 
administrative  processes  and  systems,  together  with  unresponsive  accreditation 
procedures that do not measure the innovation potential of HEIs, is seen as one of 
the  major  problems  within  the  current  legislative  environment.  Regulatory  practices  at 
system  level  that  are  too  restrictive,  and  which  impose  rigid  regulations  and  lengthy 
decision processes, significantly limit the implementation of innovations in education.  

Another  piece  of  research,  carried  out  by  Dirk  Schneckenberg83,  focuses  on  innovation 

capacity  within  European  universities.  Schneckenberg  points  out  that  universities  are 
weighed down by many goals that are often contradictory. In addition, they still lack real 
organisational  autonomy,  and  are  deeply  institutionalised  and  possess  a  conservative 
administrative  culture. As  a  consequence  of  these  unique  organisational  characteristics, 
European  public  universities  tend  to  be  bottom-heavy  institutions  with  comparably  low 
potential for collective action and strong organisational leadership.  

Government entities at national, sub-national, or local levels can mobilise resources and 
create  the  enabling  environments  needed  to  guide  and  support  HEIs.84  In  addition  to 
following  up  ESD  strategies  with  implementation  plans,  other  reported  success  factors 
include  ensuring  targeted  funding,  including  ESD  as  a  criterion  for  universities’ 
performance evaluations, and passing regulations  or laws to  ‘nudge’  towards or  support 
universities  in  acting.  Latvia's  national  legislation  (the  Environmental  Protection  Law) 
states  that  EES  must  be  included  in  the  mandatory  curriculum  of  the  subject  or  course 
standard  per  the  specific  character  of  each  subject,  by  coordinating  and  ensuring 
succession in different fields of study. In Austria, the inclusion of ESD is a central topic in 
the  performance  agreements  between  the  Federal  Ministry  of  Education,  Science  and 

81  Mora  ,J.-G.  and  Villarreal,  E.  (2001).  Breaking  Down  Structural  Barriers  to  Innovation  in  Traditional  Universities,  Higher  Education 

Management 

Vol. 

13, 

No. 

2. 

Available 

at: 

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.450.9953&rep=rep1&type=pdf#page=55 [Accessed 8 July 2021] 

82 Lašáková, A., Bajzíková, L. and Dedze, I. (2017). Barriers and drivers of innovation in higher education: Case study-based evidence 
across  ten  European  universities,  International  Journal  of  Educational  Development,  Volume  55,  Pages  69-79,  ISSN  0738-0593, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.06.002 

83  Schneckenberg,  D.  (2009).  Understanding  the  real  barriers  to  technology-enhanced  innovation  in  higher  education,  Educational 

Research, 51:4, p. 411-424. DOI: 10.1080/00131880903354741 

84 University Educators for Sustainable Development (UE4SD) (2014). ‘State of the art report on mapping opportunities for developing 

education for sustainable development competences in the UE4SD partner countries’. 

35 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Research  and  the  universities.  This  has  had  a  transformative  effect  by  increasing  the 
importance universities place on EES. 

A common barrier indicated by well over two-thirds of the national reports is insufficient 
government/political support for EES. This barrier is also highlighted in the literature,85,86 
where it is argued that insufficient legislative and financial support by the government is 
responsible for the stunted growth of EES in the realm of education. Limited government 
support  is  also  regarded  as  tending  to  result  in  a  lack  of  harmonisation  in  national 
approaches to EES. According to data from the national reports, insufficient government 
support can be categorised as occurring on three different levels. 

fulfil 

their 

time 

1. Universities 

legal  mandate 

undertake 

knowledge that contributes to social change.  

2. Universities see themselves as spaces for the creation of new 

4. Universities understand sustainability as a holistic and long-
in 

to  contribute 
responsibly to solving human problems and to the prosperous 
development of society and the natural environment. 

3. Universities  take  responsibility  for  sustainable  action  in 
teaching,  research,  knowledge  exchange  and  university 
management  by  considering  the  ecological,  economic  and 
social dimensions of sustainability in order to help shape the 
path to a sustainable and liveable society. 

The  Overall  Austrian  University  Development  Plan  (GUEP)  is  a 
technical and strategic planning instrument of the Federal Ministry 
is  the  basis  for  the 
of  Education,  Science  and  Research.  It 
development  plans  and  performance  agreements  of  public 
universities. Austria’s 22 public universities are also members of the 
Austrian  University  Conference 
(Uniko).  Uniko’s  manifesto 
highlights the responsibility and role of universities in contributing to 
sustainable development: 

On the first level, there may be a lack of 
political consensus over EES. Such a 
situation  exists  in  Austria,  Hungary, 
Italy,  Lithuania  and  Poland,  where 
governments  either  fail  to  agree  on  the 
importance  of  EES,  or  the  extent  to 
which  it  should  be  implemented.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  manifold  –  short-
term  economic  interests,  partisanship, 
lack  of  stable  governments  that  have 
enough 
a 
to 
transformative  role  vis-à-vis  EES  and 
other issues. Panth (2005) argues that in 
addition  to  the  more  common  barriers 
created  by  limited  government  support 
for  EES,  another  potential  barrier  is 
limited  education  regarding  EES  within 
the  ranks  of  government.  The  author 
argues  that  in  order  for  EES  to  become 
the  paradigm  for  present  and  future 
development,  it  is  vital  to  first  educate 
those who are in command, as they often 
fail  to  comprehend  EES  in  a  nuanced 
their 
manner.  This 
capability  to  implement  EES 
in  an 
adequate  manner  at  national  level.  The 
second  level  is  characterised  by  an 
existing consensus as to the need for EES, but a lack of systematic political support 
or action. At this level, support from the governmental chain of command is often limited 
and is characterised by uncertainty. This is manifested in several ways. In some Member 
States,  support  is  mostly  limited  to  talk.  In  Luxembourg,  the  government  actively 
acknowledges the need for EES, but environmental issues and EES in general are hardly 
mentioned in policy documents of a binding nature such as school laws. In others, support 

is  anchored 
term  concept  of  transformation  that 
(interdisciplinary and project-led) research and teaching.  
5. Universities  make  an  active  contribution  to  the  responsible 
use of resources and shape the development and operation of 
their  campuses  (e.g.  energy  and  resource  requirements, 
construction,  procurement,  waste, 
investments  and 
mobility). 

6. Universities  support  the  goals  of  the  Fridays  For  Future 
movement,  supporting  the  implementation  of  the  Paris 
Climate Agreement and global climate justice, and welcome 
their  contribution  to  strengthening  public  awareness  of 
complex social, ecological and economic challenges. 

is  reflected 

in 

85  Panth,  P.  (2005).  The  Scope  and  Target  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  1-9.  Retrieved  June  02,  2021,  from 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239538125_The_Scope_and_Target_of_Education_for_Sustainable_Development.  

86 Nomura, K. and Abe, O. (2009). The education for sustainable development movement in Japan: A political perspective. Environmental 

Education Research, 15(4), 483-496. doi:10.1080/13504620903056355 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
 
is more tangible but is afflicted by an undefined division of power. With no strategy in place 
to  define  responsibilities,  there  is  an  evident  overlap  between  government  branches  in 
terms  of  their  responsibilities  towards  EES.  In  Latvia,  no  formalised  inter-ministerial 
cooperation takes place with regard to the localisation and implementation of urgent global 
interdisciplinary  issues  such  as  EES.  In  Lithuania,  state  institutions  and  bodies 
implementing  education  measures  for  sustainable  development  have  also  not  properly 
allocated powers and responsibilities. Lastly, limited support may be demonstrated through 
solitary initiatives and individual government reports. For instance, in Denmark there is 
governmental  support  for  standalone  initiatives,  but  no  framework  in  place  that  would 
support the nationwide implementation of EES initiatives. In Latvia, there is government 
support  for  sequestered  EES  initiatives  but  no  national  vision  or  strategy  for  life-long 
learning  among  the  wider  society.  In  Slovakia,  separate  government  branches  have 
published  reports  on  the  importance  of  EES,  but  no  systematised  national  support 
framework exists. The common denominator at this level is thus an EES implementation 
framework – or lack thereof – so that institutions have access to guidelines as to how to 
proceed with EES implementation into everyday routines or teaching.  

The  third  level  comprises  Member  States  that  have  more  extensive  EES  national 
frameworks  in  place,  but  which  tend  to  face  issues  of  a  lack  of  quality  and 
comprehensiveness. The national report for Croatia suggests that the presence of the 
legal  framework  for  EES  at  national  level  does  not  yet  guarantee  its  successful 
implementation on the ground, if there are no effective delivery mechanisms to encourage 
or incentivise the target audiences to actually proceed with the implementation of EES. At 
the same time, there is also a lack of mechanisms for regulation and control over EES and 
its outputs. Teachers and other target audiences already lack basic resources such as time 
and funding, thus it is not enough to simply urge them to implement a new concept. In 
Slovenia,  progress  has  been  made  towards  the  nationwide implementation  of  EES,  but 
there is a lack of enforcement – to achieve progress, teachers depend on motivation and 
stimulus from the government’s side. It is evident that this motivation and stimulus on the 
part  of  the  government  varies,  leading  to  implementation  of  varying  quality.  A  similar 
situation can be seen in the Czech Republic, where regional differences are apparent in 
the  scope  of  support,  and  a  certain  level  of  ‘unpredictability’  exists  with  regard  to  the 
amount  of  the  support  in  the  long  term.  The  national  report  for  Hungary  highlights  an 
interesting solution to levelling out the scope of support – institutions can seek aid from 
international programmes targeted at EES, as well as from local donors. 

The obstacle at ECEC level most frequently outlined in the national reports is the lack at 
national  level  of  an  existing  childcare  system  targeted  at  EES.  In  Austria,  Belgium, 
Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland, EES is not well 
defined by any national policy documents, strategies or programmes intended explicitly for 
ECEC. While general EES strategy documents exist that target all levels of education, these 
tend  to  prove  insufficient  information  to  implement  EES  in  a  comprehensive  manner  at 
ECEC  level.  The  national  report  for  Romania  suggests  a  lack  of  political  culture  behind 
ECEC. As such, it tends to receive lower funding. 

Over half of all national experts noted the existence of national implementation roadmaps, 
strategies  and  other  policy  documents  as  key  enablers  for  the  better  implementation  of 
EES.  Having  a  well-defined  national  action  plan  that  identifies  the  specific  targets  and 
actions to be taken helps EES implementation at both institutional and personal level. This 

37 

 
 
 
 
must be combined with strict deadlines, and responsibilities  must be clearly assigned to 
specific agencies and organisations responsible for the implementation of EES at national 
level. A good example of this is Estonia, where a clear competence framework for EES has 
existed within the general education curriculum since 1996. Moreover, the key themes of 
EES are addressed explicitly at various levels of education, both within the curriculum and 
in national policy documents targeted at EES. The national expert for Estonia suggests that 
this has been a key factor in the success that can be observed in Estonia at national level. 

The  findings  of  our  national  mapping  suggest  that  Member  States  with  well-established 
networks for disseminating programmes, as well as entities that sponsor and finance EES 
initiatives, enjoy a significant advantage in the implementation of EES. As enablers, these 
factors are also suggested as positively influencing the existing institutional/organisational 
culture  within  the  country  in  favour  of  EES.  Lack  of  awareness  in  terms  of  appropriate 
funding  mechanisms  was  outlined  as  a  common  barrier  in  certain  Member  States.  A 
positive example is that of Estonian schools, which can apply for financial support through 
their Environmental Investment Centre to visit environmental and nature centres in order 
to learn about EES. These study visits are therefore free for the schools. 

Comprehensive curriculum frameworks 

3.2. 
Across  Europe,  the  coverage,  scope  and  depth  of  education  for  environmental 
sustainability in curricula have increased, as the curriculum is an important tool for 
mainstreaming  education  for  environmental  sustainability  in  schools87.  Despite  this, 
variation exists in the way environmental sustainability topics and pedagogies are included 
in national curricula, and cannot be considered comprehensive in all Member States. This 
section reflects on the extent to which comprehensive curricula frameworks exist in each 
EU Member State, as well as the extent to which inter-disciplinary approaches are used – 
and  how  transformative  and  successful  these  approaches  are.  In  discussing  the 
effectiveness  of  implementation,  this  chapter  distinguishes  between  the  intended 
curriculum (the official guidance), the implemented curriculum (what teachers and learners 
actually do), and the attained curriculum (what students actually learn). 

It must be noted that while curriculum content and learning objectives are generally set 
out  in  EU  Member  States,  teachers  enjoy  wide  freedom  of  choice  over  their  teaching 
methods. Unless the learning objectives or pedagogies set out in the curriculum are of a 
behavioural or socio-emotional nature, there is no guarantee that teachers will use learner-
centred  and  participatory  approaches88.  For  this  reason,  we  discuss  pedagogies  at 
institutional  level  rather  than  system  level,  although  we  recognise  that  education  policy 
and curricula may do a lot to encourage positive pedagogical practices within institutions.  

Based on the findings of our literature review, we consider curriculum frameworks to be 
comprehensive  when  they  explicitly  carve  out  space  within  curricula  for  education  for 
environmental sustainability, as well as providing an in-depth understanding of the topic 
from multiple perspectives at both local and global levels, and emphasising learning along 
all learning dimensions – cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural – to develop action 

87  Benavot,  A.  (2014).  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development 

in  Primary  and  Secondary  Education.  Available  at:  

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282342116_Education_for_Sustainable_Development_in_Primary_and_Secondary_Education 

88 UNECE (2020). Information paper  no. 2: ‘Learning from  each other:  achievements, challenges  and ways forward. Fourth  evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thmeetsc/Informal%20Documents/phaseiiprogressreport_IP.8.pdf 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
competences.  Education  for  sustainability  entails  much  more  than  simply  including  ESD 
topics  in  the  curricula.  It  must  focus  primarily  on  transformative  teaching  and  learning 
approaches  and  transdisciplinarity89,  as  specialised  disciplines  have  been  found 
insufficiently  capable  of  addressing  the  complexity  of  socio-ecological  systems90.  Thus, 
instruction on suitable pedagogies or pedagogical guidelines to foster action competences 
is crucial, as are interdisciplinary approaches to building the necessary synergies between 
disciplines. The main benefit of interdisciplinary teaching is its impact on students’ ability 
to connect issues and become effective real-world problem-solvers9192. 

A  cross-disciplinary  approach  links  subjects  together  under  the  premise  of  one  subject 
retains dominance. Interdisciplinary approaches are defined by Newell and Green (1982) 
as “inquiries which critically draw upon two or more disciplines and lead to an integration 
of disciplinary insights”93. Interdisciplinary teaching is therefore slightly more sophisticated, 
and requires the rearrangement of courses to  extend beyond traditional single subjects. 
Yet, both approaches call for the integration of EES topics into all subjects horizontally or 
simultaneously within a lesson. The figure below provides an overview of possible ways in 
which education for environmental sustainability can be integrated into the curriculum.  

Figure 3. Ways to mainstream EES into school curricula 

Source: Authors 

According  to  the  curriculum  analysis,  one-third  of  Member  States  encourage 
interdisciplinary  approaches  in  their  curricula,  and  these  are  primarily  linked  to  natural 

89  Biberhofer,  P.  and  Rammel,  C.  (2017).  Transdisciplinary  learning  and  teaching  as  answers  to  urban  sustainability  challenges. 

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(1), p. 63–83. doi:10.1108/ijshe-04-2015-0078 

90 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

91 Wright, J. (2018). Critically analyse and evaluate interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning, Journal of Middlesex Education 

Students (Vol.1). Available at: https://mdxcers.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/jwright-pp4-9.pdf 

92 Pickford, T., Garner, W. and Jackson, E. (2013). Primary humanities: Learning through enquiry. SAGE Publications Limited. 

93 Newell, W.H. and Green, W.J. (1982). Defining and teaching interdisciplinary studies. Improving College and University Teaching 30(1), 

pp.23-30. 

39 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
science  courses.  In  some  cases,  the  cross-cutting  themes  of  the  environment  and 
sustainable development are integrated into various subjects; in others, they are separate 
subjects, each with plenty of scope for suitable classroom and field projects. This can be 
done  with  or  without  accompanying  guidelines  for  integration  (e.g.,    included  in 
Germany); structures and links to environmental sustainability through ‘mandatory cross-
cutting  themes’  (e.g.,  included  in  Estonia,  Slovakia,  Sweden);  and  by  describing 
learning objectives for knowledge, skills, attitudes and competences. Some countries refer 
to  specific  teaching  methods  in  their  curricula,  the  majority  of  which  promote  learner-
centred learning (e.g. Finland, Netherlands, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Estonia and 
Slovenia). Austria takes a particularly comprehensive approach to interdisciplinarity in its 
curriculum  frameworks:  the  requirement  to  include  interdisciplinary  is  included  in  the 
‘Decree  for  Environmental  Education  for  Sustainable  Development’94,  and  the  National 
Education Report defines the implementation of interdisciplinary competences at  various 
levels of education as a quality criterion for the Austrian education system.  

Furthermore, while EES is usually linked to natural science courses, our curriculum review 
notes  that  that  an  environmental  dimension  is  increasingly  integrated  also  into  civil 
education subjects (also appearing as ‘ethics’, ‘citizenship’, or ‘citizen science’) in a growing 
number  of  countries.  These  subjects  are  included  in  secondary  education,  but  also  at 
primary  level  in  16  out  of  the  27  countries  analysed.  The  diversity  with  regard  to  the 
content of these subjects provides educators and policy makers with a great opportunity 
to  introduce  interdisciplinary  aspects  of  EES  and  to  capitalise  on  both  national  and 
European dimensions that relate directly to EES themes.   

Building a ‘sustainability mindset’ requires not only knowledge about environmental issues, 
but also a positive and caring attitude towards the environment. Research has shown that 
most  attitudes  are  formed  very  early  in  life,  and  it  is  therefore  very  important  for 
environmental education to begin in early childhood95. Promoting a sustainability mindset 
during a child’s early years requires the development of environmental literacy in the age-
appropriate way. Environmental education in early childhood encompasses knowledge of 
the natural world, as well as emotions, dispositions and skills. Compared with school-aged 
children, the approach to environmental education for early childhood learners is less about 
achievements and more about free discovery on each child’s own terms.  Young children 
explore the world through play and experiences, thus the experiential aspect of delivering 
environmental education in  the early years is  often highlighted in the literature. Play is 
often  discussed  in  research  as  a  constitutive  part  of  learning  during  the  early  childhood 
years, since playing can contribute to the development of cognitive functions, as well as to 
the communicative and social skills96 necessary for a child’s future sustainability mindset. 
Particularly  among  very  young  children,  EES  should  incorporate  exploring  woodlands, 
getting wet feet, climbing rocks, building with sticks, running on grass, turning over rocks, 

94  See  Austrian  Federal  Ministry  for  Education  and  Women´s  Affairs  (2014).  ‘Decree  for  Environmental  Education  for  Sustainable 

Development’,. Available at:  https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/dam/jcr:e470c99b-52cb-44fd-959b-24b2af87d7f1/2014_20_ge_umwelt_en.pdf 

95 Siraj-Blatchford, J., Smith, K.C. and Samuelsson, I.P. (2010). Education for sustainable development in the early years. OMEP, World 

Organization for Early Childhood Education. 

96  Bascopé,  M.,  Perasso,  P.  and  Reiss,  K.  (2019).  Systematic  Review  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  at  an  Early  Stage: 

Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development. Sustainability, 11(3), 719. doi:10.3390/su11030719. 

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
following  insects,  and  connecting  with  nature97.  Consequently,  outdoor  learning  and 
experiences are important characteristics of environmental education in ECEC.  

Given  the  young  age  of  pupils  and  their  limited  capacity  to  comprehend  complicated 
information,  research  advises  that  education  for  environmental  sustainability  in  ECEC 
should focus more  on skills, attitudes and values than on specific content knowledge.  It 
should be organised around three main criteria: 1.  It  should be action-integrative; 2.  It 
should be community-based; and 3. It should be value-oriented, with a large enough scope 
to  develop  ethical  and  aesthetic  attitudes  with  regard  to  humans  and  non-humans98.  In 
general, experts agree that the thematic focus of environmental issues in ECEC should be 
on concrete objects and questions within their surroundings, such as exploring plants and 
trees  (and  the  issue  of  deforestation),  the  cycle  of  nature,  facts  about  animals,  or  the 
importance of saving water. 

However, evidence is fragmented as to the extent to which EES is consistently integrated 
into ECEC curricula across the Member States. Finland proves to be an exceptional case, 
in where the approach advised by research is used. According to the Finnish national core 
curriculum  for  ECEC,  the  goal  of  early  childhood  education  is  to  develop  the  child's  co-
operation and interaction skills, promote peer activities and guide ethically responsible and 
sustainable activities, respect for other people, and membership of society. Early childhood 
education is based on respect for life, sustainable living and human rights, as well as  on 
the inviolability of human dignity. 99 The 2018 national core curriculum for early childhood 
education and care states that all activities should consider the need for an ecologically, 
socially,  culturally,  and  economically  sustainable  lifestyle.  Everyday  choices  and  actions 
should  reflect  a  responsible  attitude  towards  nature  and  the  environment,  and  early 
childhood education should promote sharing, reasonableness, sustainability, and the repair 
and re-use of resources. 100 In Germany, ESD and related concepts are present in almost 
half of ECEC education courses, and the universities that prepare educators include ESD in 
the training of educators, as well as preparatory professions (e.g. nursery teachers)101. 

Table 7 provides a comprehensive overview of EES competences and curricula. This reveals 
that  the  presence  of  EES  is  limited  at  curriculum  and  competence  level.  Even  so,  more 
than half of Member States possess full or at least partial EES competence frameworks. 
EES  is  most  frequently  part  of  the  national  curriculum  at  primary  and  secondary  level. 
Lastly, three Member States – Austria, Cyprus and Czech Republic – appear to have 
national  EES  curricula.  In  Austria,  a  new  curriculum  for  primary  and  lower  secondary 
schools is currently being developed. EES is anchored into the general part of this, with its 
own competence goals, and is made compulsory in certain subject curricula. In Cyprus, 

97 Siraj-Blatchford, J., Smith, K.C. and Samuelsson, I.P. (2010). Education for sustainable development in the early years. OMEP, World 

Organization for Early Childhood Education. 

98  Bascopé,  M.,  Perasso,  P.  and  Reiss,  K.  (2019).  Systematic  Review  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  at  an  Early  Stage: 

Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development. Sustainability, 11(3), 719. doi:10.3390/su11030719. 

99 Finnish National Agency for education 2021. National core curriculum for early childhood education and care 2018. Available in Finnish 

at: https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/varhaiskasvatussuunnitelman_perusteet.pdf. [8 February 2021]. 

100 Finnish National Agency for education 2021. National core curriculum for early childhood education and care 2018. Available in Finnish 

at: https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/varhaiskasvatussuunnitelman_perusteet.pdf. [8 February 2021]. 

101 Singer-Brodowski, M., Brock, A., Etzkorn, N. and Otte, I. (2018). Monitoring of education for sustainable development in Germany – 

insights 

from  early 

childhood  education, 

school  and  higher  education.  Environmental  Education  Research,  1–16. 

doi:10.1080/13504622.2018.1440380 

41 

 
 
 
 
                                           
the EES curriculum in pre-primary and primary education is developed through 12 thematic 
units of international, regional and national interest. Each thematic unit includes: a) the 
basic notions and vocabulary relating to the particular issue; b) indicators; and c) learning 
outcomes,  which  are  differentiated  according  to  the  age  of  the  students.  In  Czech 
Republic, the curriculum goals for EES have been defined in the document ‘The Goals and 
Indicators of Environmental Education’102. 

Table 7. Education for environmental sustainability competences and curricula, EU-27 

COMPETENCES 
AND CURRICULA 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

EES 

National 
curriculum 
EES  is  part  of  the 
national curriculum 
EES 
framework 

competence 

EES 

ECEC  
National 
curriculum 
EES  is  part  of  the 
national curriculum 
EES 
framework 

competence 

EES 

Primary/secondary 
National 
curriculum 
EES  is  part  of  the 
national curriculum 
EES 
framework 
Higher education 

competence 

EES 

National 
curriculum 
EES  is  part  of  the 
national curriculum 
EES 
framework 

competence 

○ 

○ 

● 

  ●  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌  ◌ 

  ●  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

○  ○  ●  ●  ○  ○  ◌  ●  ●  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ○  ● 

  ◌  ●  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○ 

○ 

  ●  ●  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ●  ●  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ● 

  ○  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ●  ●  ◌  ◌ 

●  ●  ●  ● 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ●  ●  ● 

  ●  ●  ● 

○ 

◌ 

○ 

  ○  ○  ◌  ○ 

  ○ 

  ◌  ○  ○ 

  ○ 

  ○  ○  ○ 

  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

○  ○ 

  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ○  ◌  ○ 

  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ○ 

  ○ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

One of the key barriers to the effective implementation of a curriculum that embraces EES 
in  practice  is  a  lack  of  supportive  leadership,103  as  well  as  a  lack  of  up-to-date  relevant 
educational  content.  In  general,  environmental  sustainability  is  a  challenging  topic  to 
teach, as teachers report uncertainties over teaching it.104 For some, it is a controversial 
topic,  and  this  further  complicates  teaching  it.105  Another  challenge  is  that  curriculum 
guidelines and content has to compete with false information about climate change, spread 

102 Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic (2011). ‘Cíle a indikátory pro environmentální vzdělávání, výchovu a osvětu v České 

republice’. 

Available 

at: 

https://www.mzp.cz/C1257458002F0DC7/cz/environmentalni_vzdelavani_poradenstvi/$FILE/OEDN-

Cile_a_indikatory_EVVO-20200717.pdf  

103 Kadji-Beltran, C., Zachariou, A. and Stevenson, R. (2013). Leading sustainable schools: exploring the role of primary school principals, 

Environmental Education Research, 19:3, 303-323, DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.692770 

104 Oversby, J. (2015). Teachers’ learning about climate change education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 167, 23-27. 

105 Oversby, J. (2015). Teachers’ learning about climate change education. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 167, 23-27. 

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
through  online  disinformation  campaigns.106  Providing  comprehensive  curriculum 
guidelines, as well as educational content that is up-to-date and correct is therefore crucial 
– but this is one of the weakest areas of curriculum frameworks on ESD, due to teachers’ 
lack of access to such material107.   

Overall, the lack of priority given to EES in curricula, along with the insufficient resources 
available  and  the  thematic  dismissal  of  EES,  play  a  major  role  in  limiting  the  effective 
implementation of EES. This reasoning is supported by data provided within the national 
reports. The national report for Malta suggests that “although EES is gaining momentum 
in Malta, other priorities compete with EES for scarce human and financial resources, and 
consequently  EES  is  always  put  on  the  back  burner”.  Similarly,  curriculum  overload  is 
evident in Member States including Poland, Slovenia and others. While existing strategic 
and  teaching  material  might  be  available  that  could  help  schools  and  teachers  alike  to 
integrate EES to a desirable degree, rigid curriculum frameworks are often too overloaded, 
thus  relegating  EES  to  being  either  an  extra-curricular  matter  or  one  that  is  limited  to 
superficial coverage. Policymakers often appear to make new additions to the curricula on 
top  of  existing  programmes,  instead  of  rethinking  the  order  and  importance  of  the 
programmes as a whole. 

The data from the national reports suggest that the existence of education silos may be 
one of the key reasons why the interdisciplinarity of EES is sometimes seen as a barrier. 
For the sake of clarity, it should be stated that the fact that EES is interdisciplinary is not, 
in itself, a barrier. Rather, the barrier in this context is the structuring of schools around 
single  subjects.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  this  is  a  barrier  common  to  many  Member 
States.  Two  country-level  examples  provide  good  insights  into  this  issue.  The  national 
report  on Austria argues that the silo structure makes it more difficult to deal with the 
overarching issues that EES is trying to address. Similar reasoning can be found within the 
national report  on Estonia, which states that in order to address the issue of education 
silos  and  to  better  incorporate  EES,  an  educational  paradigm  shift  is  required  towards 
whole-system  thinking.  Data  from  the  national  reports  overall  suggest  that  EES 
materialises most often in natural science subjects such as biology (See Annex).108 In other 
subjects,  EES  tends  to  be  presented  as  a  supplement  –  EES  elements  are  placed  in 
textbooks and workbooks, but in the form of appendices or minor sub-chapters. 

Considerable  progress  has  also  been  made  to  incorporate  sustainable  development  into 
the curricula of HEIs – an area in which European HEIs have led the way109. However, there 
remains a lack of more learner-centred and collaborative pedagogies that align with EES. 
In  addition,  sustainability  often  finds  itself  positioned  into  discipline-based  sustainable 
development  courses  in  higher  education.  These  are  typically  not  multidisciplinary  or 

106 Rosenzweig, A. (2017). Understanding and Undermining Fake News From the Classroom. In: Berkeley Review of Education 7. Available 

at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7rk9w7tm 

107 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2: ‘Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward. Fourth evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thMeetSC/Informal%20Documents/PhaseIIProgressReport_IP.8.pdf 

108  In  terms  of  content,  the  natural  sciences  in  primary  and  secondary  education  are  a  combination  of  two  central  branches:  the  life 

sciences  and  the  physical  sciences.  The  life  sciences  revolve  around  biological  studies,  and  the  physical  sciences  contain  astronomy, 

chemistry, Earth science, and physics. 

109 Lozano, Rodrigo, et al. (2019). ’Teaching sustainability in European higher education institutions: Assessing the connections between 

competences and pedagogical approaches’. Sustainability 11.6: 1602. 

43 

 
 
 
 
                                           
transdisciplinary,  and  thus  reflect  only  one  component  of  education  for  environmental 
sustainability – content for learning, leaving behind the whole-institution approach vital to 
EES implementation. Nature-based solutions (NBS) also occur more frequently in higher 
education  in  the  context  of  formal  education110.  There  are  entire  degrees111,  university 
courses112, micro-credentials provided by universities outside of their regular syllabuses113, 
as well as learning platforms114 aimed at teaching about NBS in HE. However, education 
for  sustainability  entails  much  more  than  including  ESD  topics  into  curricula,  and  must 
focus  primarily  on  transformative  teaching  and  learning  approaches  and  trans-
disciplinarity115,  as  specialised  disciplines  cannot  sufficiently  address  the  complexity  of 
socio-ecological systems116. 

The  key  enabling  structural  factors  necessary  for  effective  curriculum  integration  that 
fosters learners’ skills are: specialised environmental education centres, local embedding 
and collaboration, as well as school plans and voluntary schemes for schools. For example, 
Estonia set up specialised environmental education centres to help teachers design lessons 
and access materials  that are  in line with the  policy and curriculum.  The VET system  in 
Romania introduced the Local Development Curriculum (LDC) as a part of the curriculum 
adapted to local development needs. This is developed by the school in partnership with 
companies, taking into account local labour market trends and needs. Lastly, throughout 
Europe,  school  plans  are  becoming  increasingly  popular  that  focus  on  enhancing 
sustainable  development  in  the  curriculum  and  classroom  through  projects  and/or  the 
promotion  of  voluntary  schemes  for  individual  schools  to  seek  ESD  recognition  and 
certification.117 To varying degrees, these solutions require collaboration and the potential 
outsourcing to experts of teachers’ tasks in implementing the curriculum. While this goes 
some  way  towards  solving  the  aforementioned  challenges,  and  has  the  potential  to 
diversify  methods  and  pedagogies,  it  is  also  criticised  for  being  a  short-term  solution 
compared with developing teachers’ knowledge, skills and values118.  

110 [to be published] Mulvik, I.B., Pribuišis, K., Gras-Velázquez, À., Dumčius, R. and Coles, N. (2020) Nature-Based Solutions in education 

– A Pilot Study, European Commission, December 2020. 

111 University of Antwerp, ‘Advanced Master in Water Sustainability: Integrating Technology and Nature-Based Solutions (Think Water)’, 

Master’s  studies.  Accessed  13.12.2020  from  https://www.masterstudies.com/Advanced-Master-in-Water-Sustainability-Integrating-

Technology-and-Nature-Based-Solutions-(Think-Water)-(M.Sc.)/Belgium/uantwerp/ 

112  Paterson,  J.  and  Penman,  H.  ‘Postgraduate  Course:  Nature-based  Solutions  (PGGE11265)’,  University  of  Edinburgh.  Accessed 

13.12.2020 from http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/20-21/dpt/cxpgge11265.htm  

113  Cranfield  University, 

‘Nature  Based  Solutions 

for  Water  and  Land  Management’.  Accessed  13.12.2020 

from 

https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/courses/short/water/nature-based-solutions-for-water-and-land-management 

114  Lund  University,  ‘Urban  Nature:  Connecting  Cities,  Nature  and  Innovation.  Course:  Climate  Change  and  Nature-Based  Solutions’, 

Coursera. Accessed 13.12.2020 from https://www.coursera.org/lecture/urban-nature/climate-change-and-nature-based-solutions-h4t0l 

115  Biberhofer,  P.  and  Rammel,  C.  (2017).  Transdisciplinary  learning  and  teaching  as  answers  to  urban  sustainability  challenges. 

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(1), p. 63–83. doi:10.1108/ijshe-04-2015-0078 

116 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

117 UNECE (2016). Ten years of the UNECE strategy for education for sustainable development. UN Distr. GENERAL ECE/CEP/179/2016, 

23 May 2016, pp. iii. 

118  Keddie,  A.  and  Holloway,  J.  (2019).  School  autonomy,  school  accountability  and  social  justice:  stories  from  two  Australian  school 

principals, School Leadership & Management, doi: 10.1080/13632434.2019.1643309 

44 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Training and capacity building among education personnel  
3.3. 
Building the competences of teachers and  educators is  crucial to ensuring that they are 
capable  of  successfully  integrating  education  for  environmental  sustainability  into  their 
daily lessons  and  activities.  Hence,  the  inclusion  of  EES  topics  into  initial  and in-service 
training for educators and teachers is  very important and can contribute  significantly to 
the better implementation of EES in education systems. According to UNECE, 26 member 
states  (81%  of  UNECE  members)  reported  that  ESD  is  part  of  initial  teacher  training  in 
their countries, while 28 member states (87.5%) stated that these topics are covered by 
in-service teacher training. ESD-related competences  are  also addressed  during training 
programmes for education leaders and administrators in 22 member states (68%).119 While 
the integration of EES into teaching practices is important and some guidance on how this 
can be achieved is available at national levels across the EU, in practice the situation varies 
greatly between Member States and some challenges persist. 

While this section focuses primarily on teachers and educators, the literature suggests that 
the training of school leaders is an increasingly important factor in the mainstreaming of 
EES – but has been overlooked significantly in practice. Training the principals and leaders 
of institutions matters, because they can help to further support teachers and generate a 
positive school culture in relation to EES. Certain key areas have been highlighted as crucial 
for  the  professional  development  for  principals.  These  include  empowering  staff, 
encouraging  critiques  of  current  approaches,  and  exploring  alternative  possibilities  for 
curricula, pedagogies and policy.120 

for 

and 

education 

environmental 

In  2014,  the  Austrian  Federal  Ministry  for  Education  and 
Women´s  Affairs  passed  the  Decree  for  Environmental 
Education for Sustainable Development1, which outlines clear 
objectives 
the 
competences it should focus on holistically. They should be 
implemented  in  teacher  education  institutions  for  both  the 
initial and continuous training of teachers.  
In  Latvia,  environmental  education  often  highlights  local 
and  global  perspectives,  and  focuses  on  both  the  local 
community  and  the 
interconnectedness  of  communities 
around the globe. It also raises awareness of past and future 
generations,  and  highlights  the  dimensions  of  responsibility 
and care.1 

Teacher training on EES may also include a 
variety of perspectives. These can focus on 
globally  important  topics,  connecting  them 
with  the  local  reality  and  challenges.  In 
some countries, education for environmental 
sustainability has been integrated into initial 
and in-service teacher training through clear 
guiding frameworks. These frameworks aim 
to integrate EES perspective holistically.  

Unfortunately,  while  EES  has  received  a 
sizeable increase in attention from a variety 
of  stakeholders  in  education,  this  is  a 
relatively recent development, and knowledge is still lacking with regard to EES topics and, 
especially,  pedagogy.  Consequently,  there  remains  a  lack  of  research  and  engagement 
from educational communities with regard to EES. For example, in the Czech Republic, 
even  though  the  EES  academic  community  has  grown  over  recent  years,  it  remains 
relatively  small.  Consequently,  EES  is  insufficiently  represented  in  in-service  teacher 
programmes and graduates are inadequately prepared to implement EES in their schools.  

119 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2: ‘Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward. Fourth evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/15th_Meeting_SC/Doc/Informal_documents/Information_paper_No.2_-

_4th_revised_evaluation_report_after_Oct_2020_meeting_revised_5Nov2020.pdf  

120  Kadji,  C.,  Zachariou,  A.  and  Stevenson,  R.  (2012).  Leading  sustainable  schools:  Exploring  the  role  of  primary  school  principals. 

Environmental Education Research, Environ Educ Res. 19. 1-21. 10.1080/13504622.2012.692770. 

45 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Another  overarching  challenge  to  the  integration  of  EES  into  both  initial  and  in-service 
teacher  training  may  be  the  lack  of  a  homogeneous  strategy  and  approach  to  teacher 
training at national level. For example, in Germany, wide variations exist between federal 
states with regard to the inclusion of EES in teacher training. There is no common thread, 
and no national policy providing direction as to how to implement EES within the education 
sector.  While  EES  topics  are  integrated  from  a  cross-sectoral  perspective  into  various 
legislative  documents  in  federal  states  such  as  Rhineland-Pfalz,  these  are  barely 
referenced,  or  not  at  all,  in  education  policy  documents  in  other  federal  states.121  The 
integration  of  EES  into  programmes  for  continuous  professional  development  similarly 
depends on national or regional priorities. In Germany, EES is implicitly or explicitly part 
of subject-related or interdisciplinary teacher training and qualification measures for head 
teachers  and  school  counsellors.122  In  Sweden,  responsibility  for  the  professional 
development of teachers is decentralised, with school owners being fully responsible for it, 
which results in large discrepancies between teachers in terms of knowledge and skills on 
various topics including EES. In response to this, the government in Sweden has proposed 
a  national  framework  for  the  professional  development  of  teachers  and  school  leaders, 
which has not yet been implemented.123 

Initial teacher training 

Existing  studies  show  that  future  teachers  should  acquire  sustainability  competences  to 
promote  meaningful  changes  towards  the  more  sustainable  behaviour  of  students.124 
Hence,  holistic  approaches  are  needed  to  ensure  that  future  teachers  acquire  these 
competences.  Before  building  the  necessary  competences  in  students,  teachers  must 
recognise their agency in relation to the teaching of sustainability, and find their role as 
agents of societal change towards sustainability.125  

The ways in which EES topics are integrated into initial teacher training differ between EU 
Member States. EES topics can be fruitfully included into initial teacher training in various 
ways. These include:126  

―  Part  of  the  core  curriculum,  alongside  literacy  and  numeracy  in  early 

childhood and primary teacher education programmes; 

121 Holst, J., Brock, A., Singer-Brodowski, M. and de Haan, G. (2020). ‘Monitoring Progress of Change: Implementation of Education for 

Sustainable  Development 

(ESD)  within  Documents  of 

the  German  Education  System’.  Sustainability,  12(10),  4306; 

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104306  

122  Kultusminister  Konferenz  (2017).  ‚Zur  Situation  und  zu  Perspektiven  der  Bildung  für  nachhaltige  Entwicklung‘.  Available  at: 

https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2017/2017_03_17-Bericht-BNE-2017.pdf  

123  SOU2018:17  (2018).  Med  undervisningsskicklighet  i  centrum  –  ett  ramverk  för  lärares  och  rektorers  professionella  utveckling. 

Slutbetänkande  av  Utredningen  om  en  bättre  skola  genom  mer  attraktiva  skolprofessioner.  Stockholm:  Statens  offentliga  utredningar. 

https://www.regeringen.se/rattsliga-dokument/statens-offentliga-utredningar/2018/03/sou-

201817/?TSPD_101_R0=08054bd396ab200076399e51cfe347d54888c85014972fa813831ea1b3071438b0e4aa914b80336708e15879601

4300085474f5fac33a6fa67ef774f6be52a6c947e1f37d65d6adc0b91394ebb1db4971834b6f2144c4956c55ffd233bcb9488  

124 Vare, P. et al. (2019). Devising a Competence-Based Training Programme for Educators of Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned. 

Sustainability, 11(7), p.18-90. doi:10.3390/su11071890.   

125 Weinberg, A.E., Trott, C.D., Wakefield, W. et al. (2020). Looking inward, outward, and forward: Exploring the process of transformative 

learning in teacher education for a sustainable future. Sustain Sci. 15, 1767–1787.  

126  Gough,  A. 

(2016).  Teacher  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development:  Past,  Present  and  Future.  Available  at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303704647_Teacher_Education_for_Sustainable_Development_Past_Present_and_Future   

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
―  Being offered as an elective. This results in a few teachers specialising in EES, 

rather than all teachers developing the necessary skills; 

―  Being  mainstreamed  across  the  teacher  education  programme  through  a 
focus  on  helpful  pedagogies  (e.g.  problem-based,  project-based)  and 
didactics  (e.g.  eco-justice),  so  that  a  genuine  ‘whole-system’  approach  to 
EES can be developed;  

―  A combination of the above.127 

In some Member States, EES topics are integrated as part of the core curriculum, but in 
the  majority  they  are  offered  as  electives.  In  other  countries,  even  though  there  is  no 
explicit emphasis on sustainability in the main subjects such as languages or mathematics, 
sustainability  is  included  as  a  learning  objective.  Including  EES  topics  as  part  of  the 
obligatory  subjects  or  including  sustainability  as  a  learning  objective  can  ensure  that 
teachers are aware of their importance and are capable of implementing EES approaches 
in their teaching practices. However, the inclusion of EES topics only in certain subjects or 
as electives may result in some teachers lacking expertise in such topics, and struggling 
to implement EES approaches in their daily practices.  

In countries where there is no clear compulsory teaching on EES topics, guidelines may be 
available on the integration  EES into teacher training. This is helpful for  future teachers 
and  teacher  training;  however,  as  guidelines  are  often  not  binding,  they  are  often  not 
properly  followed  due  to  time  constraints  or  a  lack  of  clarity  as  to  how  they  should  be 
implemented. 

A European survey shows that a lack of expertise or training was the most common reason 
(66%)  why  teachers  might  not  include  climate  education  in  their lessons,  followed  by  a 
lack of climate education resources (51%)128. The results of a study during which 18 in-
depth interviews were conducted with teachers shows that the absence of environmental 
education and sustainable consumption in teaching practices is often a consequence of a 
lack of knowledge by the educators.129 Even though courses on EES topics exist, they are 
often not obligatory, which means that most educators and teachers do not possess basic 
knowledge  on  how  to  incorporate  EES  into  their  teaching  practices.  For  example,  in 
Luxembourg, courses relating to EES are available, but as they are not obligatory, many 
current and future teachers do not choose them, and are thus not prepared to implement 
EES  in  their  daily  teaching.  This  is  especially  challenging  in  countries  where  EES  is  an 
obligatory part of school education. For example, in Slovenia, environmental education is 
a mandatory part of school education, and every teacher is obliged to include it in their 
teaching.  However,  many  teachers  lack  the  necessary  knowledge  and  skills,  as 
environmental sustainability is rarely part of their main training. Consequently, numerous 
EU Member States, including  Cyprus, the  Czech Republic  and Malta, have noted the 
lack of knowledge of EES principles among teachers as an ongoing challenge130.  

127 Ferreira, J., Ryan, L. and Tilbury, D. (2006). A review of models for professional development in pre-service teacher education. Available 

at: http://aries.mq.edu.au/projects/preservice/files/TeacherEduDec06.pdf   

128  School  Education  Gateway,  ‘Survey  on  climate  education  –  results’,  School  Education  Gateway,  31.07.2020.  Available  at: 

https://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/viewpoints/surveys/survey-on-climate-education.htm [Accessed 20.01.2021] 

129 Melo, H.M.S., de Carvalho, D.B. and Sampaio, D.B. (2020). Environmental Education and Sustainable Consumption. U. Porto Journal 

of Engineering, 6(1), 52-65. 

130 UNECE. (2016). Ten years of the UNECE strategy for education for sustainable development. UN Distr. GENERAL ECE/CEP/179/2016 

23 May 2016. 

47 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Several  studies  comment  on  the  difficulties  associated  with  interdisciplinary  teaching 
(including teacher training approaches) and subject-specific timetables131132. Introducing 
environmental sustainability through interdisciplinary perspectives or as a cross-curricular 
topic requires negotiation and cooperation between discipline-based teachers, which may 
be  hard  to  manage  in  practice133.  Besides,  confusion  exists  between  interdisciplinary, 
multidisciplinary  and  cross-curricular  methods,  which  adds  a  layer  of  complexity  for  the 
teachers  and  school  leaders  trying  to  implement  them.134  In  Italy,  for  example,  initial 
teacher education focuses primarily on disciplinary knowledge and not on the competences 
that teachers and students need to develop for more sustainable behaviour. Teachers are 
also rarely prepared for an interdisciplinary approach to education, which is necessary for 
EES. This presents challenges for teachers later, when they try to implement EES. 

The way in which EES is integrated into the teacher training curriculum can also depend 
on the education level and subject for which trainee teachers are preparing. For example, 
in Croatia, some courses for future teachers in early childhood education and care take 
an integrated pedagogical approach to EES, and provide future teachers with the basics of 
EES necessary for preschools in a holistic way.135 At the same time, education for primary 
school teachers tends to include obligatory subjects with a focus on EES, such as Natural 
Science.136 For future secondary education teachers, EES topics tend to be taught only to 
those teachers who choose subjects that are related to, for example, Natural Science. In 
Sweden, while the training of primary and higher-level teachers usually does not explicitly 
include sustainable development, EES-related topics and competences are included in pre-
school  teacher  training.  These  tend  to  emphasise  learner-centred  and  participatory 
pedagogical  approaches.137  Having  different  approaches  to  EES  at  different  education 
levels can be beneficial, as children of different ages may understand sustainability issues 
in different  ways, and  may respond better to  certain pedagogical approaches.  However, 
the trend that can be observed is that while EES topics are better integrated into teacher 
training for future ECEC teachers, they tend to be fragmented and included only in some 
subjects at higher education levels. This could result in EES teaching being fragmented and 
limited at those levels of education. 

The  importance  of  a  ‘whole-institution’  approach  towards  EES  has  been  emphasised  in 
recent  years,  and  is  gaining  popularity  in  Europe  across  different  levels  of  education138. 
Consequently,  more  and  more  countries  are  focusing  on  introducing  a  whole-institution 

131  Bolscho,  D.  and  K.  Hauenschild.  (2006).  ‘From  Environmental  Education  to  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  in  Germany’, 

Environmental Education Research 12 (1): 7–18. doi:10.1080/13504620500526297. 

132  Gayford,  C.G.  and  Dillin,  P.J.  (1995).  ‘Policy  and  the  Practice  of  Environmental  Education  in  England:  A  Dilemma  for  Teachers’, 

Environmental Education Research 1 (2): 173–183. doi:10.1080/1350462950010204. 

133 Stevenson, B. (2007) Schooling and environmental/sustainability education: from discourses of policy and practice to discourses of 

professional learning, Environmental Education Research, 13:2, 265-285, doi: 10.1080/13504620701295650 

134  Wright,  J.  (2018).  Critically  analyse  and  evaluate  interdisciplinary  approaches  to  teaching  and  learning.  In:  Journal  of  Middlesex 

Education Students (Vol.1). Available at: https://mdxcers.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/jwright-pp4-9.pdf 

135  University  of  Rijeka  (2017).  ‘Studijski  program  Diplomski  sveučilišni  studij  Rani  i  predškolski  odgoj  i  obrazovanje’.  Available  at: 

https://www.ufri.uniri.hr/files/studiji/280417_Studijski_program_Rd_proieni_tekst.pdf [Accessed 4 March 2021]. 

136  University  of  Zagreb 

(2021) 

’Studijski  program  Učiteljski 

fakultet’.  Available  at:  https://www.ufzg.unizg.hr/wp-

content/uploads/2020/03/US903_CORE.pdf [Accessed 4 March 2021]. 

137 https://www.gu.se/studera/hitta-utbildning/hallbar-utveckling-och-globala-perspektiv-1-for-forskollarare-lofa61  

138 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2: ‘Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward’. Fourth evaluation 

report of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development. 

48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
approach towards EES in initial teacher training. For example, in Estonia, educators and 
teachers at all educational levels are trained to use cross-curriculum, integrated and whole-
institution  approaches.  A  more  integrated  and  whole-institutional  approach  is  also  often 
introduced  in  teacher  education  by  focusing  on  the  competences  necessary  for  change 
towards  sustainability  and  behavioural  changes,  instead  of  focusing  on  theoretical 
knowledge  about  sustainability.  In  Spain,  under  Order  ECI/3854/2007139,  pre-service 
teachers  in  early  childhood  education  and  care  should  acquire  competences  relating  to 
environmental  sustainability,  such  as  the  ability  to  analyse  the  most  relevant  issues  in 
today’s  society  and  the  ability  to  develop  didactic  proposals  concerning  the  interactions 
between science, technology, society and sustainable development. Similar competences 
are  required  from  pre-service  primary  teachers  as  well.  Under  Order  ECI/3857/2007140, 
during  their  education  future  teachers  should  acquire  competences  relating  to 
multiculturalism,  social  inclusion  and  sustainable  development.  According  to  Order 
ECI/3858/2007141,  future  secondary  school  teachers  should  be  able  to  develop  learning 
areas with a special focus on emotional education, equity, equal rights and opportunities 
for men and women, and respect for human rights, that can facilitate life in society and 
the construction of a sustainable future. A focus on a whole-institution and cross-curricular 
approach  tends  to  benefit  teachers  and  students,  and  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
approaches to promoting behavioural change towards sustainability. However, the transfer 
of  these  competences  into  individual  degrees  in  education  and  their  effectiveness  often 
depends largely on individual universities and other teaching institutions.  

Another important issue is that even though EES focuses more 
on  the  development  of  competences  than  on  theory,  teacher 
training  still  often  prioritises  theoretical  knowledge.  For 
example,  in  Lithuania,  initial  teacher  training  for  ECEC  and 
primary  education  in  practice  often  pushes  trainee  teachers 
more  towards  theoretical  knowledge  rather  than  problem-
solving and other important skills, despite its proclaimed focus 
on  competence  development.142  A  similar  issue  hinders  the 
successful implementation of the whole-institutional approach, 
as EES topics – and especially their interdisciplinarity – are often 
missing from training for school administrators and leaders. For 
example,  in  Portugal,  EES  topics  and  competences  are  not 
emphasised during training for school leaders and non-teaching staff, which means they 
may lack the knowledge necessary for a whole-institutional approach to EES. 

In  the  Netherlands,  the  teacher 
programme titled De Duurzame 
teacher) 
(sustainable 
docent 
aims  to  ensure  that  teachers 
focus  not  only  on  teaching 
children 
necessary 
the 
knowledge in subjects as English 
or  mathematics,  but  also  help 
them 
important 
competences  to  ensure  that 
children  are  flexible,  agile,  and 
to  new 
to  adapt 
are  able 
situations  quickly.  See  more: 
https://duurzamedocent.nl  

to  develop 

While EES knowledge and skills are often included in initial teacher training, it is also crucial 
to ensure that teachers actually acquire them. For this reason, some countries have also 
developed  various  initiatives  to  help  trainee  teachers  to  assess  their  newly  acquired 

139 Ministry of Education and Science, ‘Order ECI/3854/2007, of 27 December, which establishes the requirements for the verification of 

official university degrees that enable the exercise of the profession of Early Childhood Education Teacher’, 29 December 2007 (312).  

140 Ministry of Education and Science, ‘Order ECI/3857/2007, of 27 December, which establishes the requirements for the verification of 

official university degrees that enable the exercise of the profession of Primary Education Teacher.’, 29 December 2007 (312). 

141 Ministry of Education and Science, ‘Order ECI/3858/2007, of 27 December, which establishes the requirements for the verification of 

official university degrees that enable the exercise of the professions of Teacher of Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate, 

Vocational Training and Language Teaching.’, 29 December 2007 (312). 

142  Jucevičienė,  P.  (2010).  Teacher  Training  in  Lithuanian  Higher  Education  Institutions  in  the  Context  of  Education  for  Sustainable 

Development. Retrieved from: https://www.smm.lt/uploads/documents/darnus-vystymas/pedagogu_rengimas_DVS_kontekste.pdf 

49 

 
 
 
 
                                           
knowledge  on  environmental  sustainability.  One  example  is  Austria’s  ‘competency 
compass’143. This builds upon the basic decree for environmental education for sustainable 
development, and can be used as a framework for teacher training on EES. Teachers can 
use  it  to  assess  their  newly  acquired  skills  and  knowledge  on  the  environment  and 
sustainability,  as  well  as  their  methodological-didactic  approaches  to  EES.144  Such 
assessment  frameworks  can  significantly  improve  EES  teaching  in  teacher  training. 
Unfortunately, in most countries, assessment mechanisms for EES topics and competences 
for future teachers remain weak. 

In-service teacher training 

While it is important to ensure EES topics are introduced in initial teacher training, it is also 
crucial  to  offer  in-service  teacher  training  on  these  topics,  especially  given  that 
environmental  education  and  its  focus  is  constantly  changing  and  evolving.145  Key 
competences that are often the focus of continuous professional development programmes 
for teachers are presented in the figure below. However, while in-service teacher training 
on EES topics is very important, it tends to vary significantly between EU Member States 
in terms of its importance, formats and the stakeholders involved. 

Various institutions and organisations can be included in the provision of in-service teacher 
training  on  EES.  For  example,  in  Germany,  classic  in-service  teacher  training  is 
supplemented  by  formats  that  are  carried  out  in  cooperation  with  other  ministries  in 
addition  to  the  Ministry  of  Education  or  within  the  framework  of  topic-specific  (school) 
programmes or campaigns, as well as, to a particular extent, through the involvement of 
non-school  education  providers  representing  various  areas  of  ESD.   Furthermore,  some 
federal states appoint so-called ‘ESD multipliers’, who carry out further training courses 
within  the  framework  of  their  respective  areas  of  responsibility.146  In  Spain,  in-service 
teacher training on EES is provided by the unit of the Ministry of Education responsible for 
the  continuous  training  of  non-university  teachers147;  the  National  Centre 
for 
Environmental  Education;  public  administration  institutions;  and  private  entities.  Such 
training tends to differ in focus, target group, length, and intensity. Universities, naturally, 
also play an important role in the provision of in-service teacher training on various topics, 
included  EES.  In  Slovenia,  for  example,  professional  development  courses  on  EES  are 
often offered by tertiary education institutions or educational institutions in collaboration 
with  ministries.  In  some  countries,  corporate  and  commercial  partners  play  a  very 
significant role in providing teacher education on EES topics. 

143  Federal  Ministry  of  Education,  Science  and  Research  (BMBWF)  (2019).  ‚Kompetenzen  von  Pädagoginnen  und  Pädagogen  zur 

Umweltbildung 

für 

nachhaltige 

Entwicklung‘. 

Available 

https://www.oekolog.at/static/fileadmin/oekolog/dokumente/Publikationen/Broschuere_Kompetenzenkompass.pdf.  

144 

ÖKOLOG 

(n.d.). 

Kompetenzen-Kompass. 

Available 

at: 

at: 

https://www.oekolog.at/fileadmin/oekolog/dokumente/Publikationen/Kompetenzen-Kompass_Vers_4April2019___1_.xlsm.  

145 Stevenson, R.B. (2007). Schooling and environmental/sustainability education: From discourses of policy and practice to discourses of 

professional learning. Environmental Education Research, 13(2), 265-285. 

146  Kultusminister  Konferenz  (2017).  ‚Zur  Situation  und  zu  Perspektiven  der  Bildung  für  nachhaltige  Entwicklung‘.  Available  at: 

https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2017/2017_03_17-Bericht-BNE-2017.pdf  

147 https://intef.es/ 

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Figure 4. Key components of CPD programmes on education for environmental sustainability 

Source: Authors 

to 

organise 

The  Centre  for  Environment  Studies  at  the 
University  of  Latvia  University  cooperates  with 
various  NGOs 
professional 
development  courses  on  EES,  which  are  often 
included in other activities such as environmental 
school network support or environmental camps. 
Such  activities  are  popular,  as  they  introduce  a 
new perspective on natural sciences and offer  an 
integrated  exploratory  and  action-oriented 
approach  to  environmental  education,  as  well  as 
introducing  aspects  such  as  the  evaluation  of 
personal lifestyle and citizenship.1 

Several  EU  Member  States  emphasise  the  role  of 
NGOs  in  training  teachers,  particularly  on  topics 
relating to the environment. For example, the NGO 
Djago in Belgium provides material on various EES 
topics  on  its  website,  and  teachers  can  ask  for 
guidance or advice from the NGO’s employees.148 An 
NGO in Sweden, Keep Sweden Tidy, also offers in-
service teacher training on environmental education, 
as well as producing teacher training textbooks and 
other  materials  on  EES  topics  for  schools  and 
teachers.149  In  Croatia,  civic  society  organisations 
organise various activities relating to EES outside the 
formal  education  structure.  For  example,  the  civic  society  organisation  Odraz,  which 
supports behavioural change towards sustainability, organises the Academy of Sustainable 
Development for Teachers, where teachers can acquire knowledge and skills on sustainable 
development, cooperation and partnership, community organisation and similar topics. 150 
The NGO Zelena Istra organised the project Knowledge for Sustainable Action 2019-2021, 
which  aimed  to  introduce  sustainable  development  in  formal  education  in  its  partner 

148 https://djapo.be/lesmateriaal-kleuteronderwijs/ 

149 Miljöundervisning NaturligtVis! 1992. Metoder och skolexempel. Stockholm, Sweden: Stiftelsen Håll Sverige Rent. 

150 NGO Odraz (2019). ’Akademija održivog razvoja za nastavnike 2019.-2020.’. Available at: https://www.odraz.hr/edukacija/odrazova-

skola-primjeri/akademija-odrzivog-razvoja-za-nastavnike-2020/ [Accessed 4 March 2021]. 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
schools.151 In Malta, NGOs, such as Nature Trust – FEE Malta, and KOPIN, offer voluntary 
training programmes for teachers on sustainable development and related topics. 

In-service  teacher  training  can  either  focus  on  EES  topics  in  an  individual  manner,  or 
integrate them on a systematic basis. In Germany, some federal states have put efforts 
into  integrating  EES  in  a  structured  way  into  the  existing  teacher  training  rather  than 
offering it additionally.152 In Cyprus, professional development courses for teachers on EES 
were revised to focus more on a competence-based approach. All of the courses are based 
on  UNECE  ESD  competences153  and  the  RSP  Competences  model154.  All  professional 
courses for teachers on EES are developed around the competences for systems thinking, 
future,  participation,  attentiveness,  empathy,  engagement,  interdisciplinarity,  action, 
criticality155.  However,  in  several  countries,  teacher  training  on  EES  is  still  often 
implemented  only  in  the  context  of  natural  sciences,  which  prevents  teachers  and 
educators from understanding EES as a holistic topic.156 

In most Member States, in-service professional training is obligatory, and often involves 
EES topics at least as optional choices. For example, in Cyprus, compulsory education and 
training courses for primary teachers on the implementation of the National Curriculum for 
Environmental Education are implemented centrally each year. In these courses, teachers 
are introduced to planning their school’s EES School Plan (SEEP), developing EES lessons 
using an interdisciplinary approach, and using various EES pedagogical techniques such as 
concept  maps,  moral  dilemmas  and  simulations.157  In  Malta,  the  Ministry  of  Education 
offers voluntary in-service training opportunities relating to ESD and Global Education. An 
increased  focus  on  EES  as  part  of  in-service  teacher  training,  and  the  availability  of 
programmes focusing on EES, are highly beneficial. However, certain challenges remain. 
For instance, it remains a challenge to attract teachers to attend (e.g. in Latvia, Malta), 
as funding and time constraints are of significance. Moreover, within the variety of courses 
available, ESD is often only referred to implicitly, and could be more ‘visible’ or linked to 
innovative pedagogies, in order to attract the attention of teachers.158 

While  mandatory  training  can  be  seen  as  more  effective,  voluntary  in-service  teacher 
training can also bring a lot of benefits – especially if teachers recognise their importance 
or are encouraged to take part in them. For example, in Croatia, teachers are motivated 

151 Zelena Istra (2019). ‘Znanje za održivo djelovanje’. Available at: https://zzod.zelena-istra.hr/hr/o-projektu/ [Accessed 4 March 2021]. 

152  Kultusminister  Konferenz  (2017).  ‘Zur  Situation  und  zu  Perspektiven  der  Bildung  für  nachhaltige  Entwicklung‘.  Available  at: 

https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/Dateien/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2017/2017_03_17-Bericht-BNE-2017.pdf  

153 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) (2012). ‘Learning for the future: competences in education for sustainable 

development’, 

[ECE/CEP/AC.13/2011/6]. 

Available 

at: 

https://www. 

unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/ESD_Publications/Competences_Publication.pdf. [Accessed 10 January 2021]. 

154 A Rounder Sense of Purpose (n.d.). RSP EU project, Available at: https://aroundersenseofpurpose.eu/  

155 Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC). (2019). ‘Cyprus National Report on implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for 

Sustainable 

Development 

2017-2019’, 

pp. 

21-22. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/DAM/env/esd/Implementation/NIR_2018/Final_Cyprus_3rd_evaluation_Cycle__2017-2019_.pdf. [Accessed 16 January 

2021]. 

156 Kalniņa, D. (2012). Pētnieciskās prasmes attīstība dabaszinībās [Development of Research Skills in Natural Sciences]. Rīga: RaKa.  

157  Zachariou,  A. 

(2013). 

‘Teacher  education 

for  sustainable  development:  Cyprus  example’,  Available  at:  http:// 

www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/8thMeetSC/Presentations/Cyprus_teacher_education.pdf [Accessed 31 January 2021]. 

158 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2: ‘Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward. Fourth evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thMeetSC/Informal%20Documents/PhaseIIProgressReport_IP.8.pdf 

52 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
 
to participate in in-service teacher training on EES, as it earns them the points they need 
to gain promotion and a better employment status.159 In Hungary, teachers and school 
heads  are  obliged  to  participate  in  in-service  training  for  120  hours  over  7  years.160 
According to the new evaluation and teacher qualification system to regulate professional 
career opportunities for teachers, nine professional teacher competences are evaluated.161 
One of these, which has been added recently, is “proficiency in environmental education, 
authentic representation of the values of sustainability and the way of transferring attitudes 
related to environmental awareness”. Since 2020, teachers’ EES competences have been 
evaluated within this system, which determines career opportunities.162 In Portugal, even 
though  in-service  teacher  training,  including  training  in  EES-related  pedagogical 
approaches,163  is  not  compulsory,  it  counts  as  credit  units  towards  career  progression. 
Hence, teachers generally tend to be interested in in-service training on EES.  

In-service  teacher  training  on  EES  can  also  be  included  into  other  activities  to  attract 
greater attention. Teacher training as a part of network support meetings or camps can 
appear more engaging and interactive, and thus attract more teachers. However, the initial 
popularity  of  these  initiatives  tends  to  decrease  due  to  the  lack  of  available  educational 
material and visible learning outcomes.164 

Table 8 provides a comprehensive overview of teacher training on EES. It is evident that 
EES is present at both ITE and CPD levels. The most exemplary Member State is Greece, 
where  EES  is  an  obligatory  part  of  both  ITE  and  CPD.  In  other  Member  States,  such  as 
Austria,  Cyprus,  Estonia,  Hungary,  Malta,  Sweden  and  Slovakia,  the  obligatory 
element is partial and highly contextual. For instance, in Austria, teachers are obliged to 
attend in-service professional development courses. However, EES is only an elective part 
of  this  obligatory  in-service  training.  In  other  words,  teachers  must  attend  training,  but 
they do not necessarily have to choose to train in EES.  

Table 8. Teacher training on education for environmental sustainability, EU-27 

TEACHER 
TRAINING 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

is  obligatory 

EES 
ITE/CPD 
EES is part of ITE 

in 

○  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ●  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ○ 
●  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ○  ●  ○  ○  ○  ●  ●  ○  ○  ○  ◌  ●  ●  ○  ○  ○  ◌  ○  ○  ○ 
  ●  ● 
● 

  ●  ●  ◌ 

EES is part of CPD 

  ●  ●  ●  ○  ● 
Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

  ●  ●  ●  ◌  ◌  ●  ●  ○  ●  ◌  ●  ● 

159 Government of the Republic of Croatia, ‘Ordinance on the Advancement of Teachers, Teachers, Professional Associates and Principals 

in Primary and Secondary Schools and Student Homes’, 8 July 2019, Official gazette NN 68/2019. 

160  Eurydice  (2020). 

‘Hungary  -  Management 

in  general  education’.  Available  at:  https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-

policies/eurydice/content/management-staff-early-childhood-and-school-education-29_ro [Accessed 20 February 2021] 

161 Symeonidis, V. (2019). ‘Teacher competence frameworks in Hungary: A case study on the continuum of teacher learning’, European 

Journal of Education. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ejed.12347. [Accessed 20 February 2021]  

162 Varga, A. and Könczey, R. (2019). ‘Which ways of evaluation of education for sustainability is acceptable for Hungarian teachers?’. 

Available at: https://akjournals.com/view/journals/063/9/4/article-p654.xml. [Accessed 3 March 2021] 

163 National Scientific  and Pedagogical  Council for Continuing Education: Available at:  http://www.ccpfc.uminho.pt/ [Accessed 5 March 

2021] 

164  Grīnberga,  M.  and  Ridūze,  L.  (2006).  Rokasgrāmata  vides  izglītībā:  Mācību  līdzeklis  skolotājiem  vides  izglītībā  [Handbook  on 

Environmental  Education:  A  Teaching  Tool 

for  Teachers 

in  Environmental  Education].  Riga:  Zaļā  Josta.  Available  at:  

http://www.zalajosta.lv/sites/default/files/files/vides%20gramata_ABC%281%29.pdf [Accessed 10 March 2021]. 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
A common barrier to EES raised by the literature is insufficient teacher training (Taylor, 
2012)165.  Similarly,  the  national  reports  highlight  the  lack  of  a  focus  on  EES  and 
transformative pedagogies during teacher training as a systemic barrier common to nearly 
every Member State. Few Member States require mandatory in-service teacher training on 
EES.  Instead,  most  gravitate  towards  integrating  individual  aspects  of  EES  and  leaving 
more  in-depth  training  as  an  optional  choice.  Some  –  such  as  Luxembourg,  Cyprus, 
Romania and Slovakia – have been found not to provide any courses or materials relating 
to EES at all during initial teacher training.  

Two issues stand out with respect to teacher training. First, in order to ensure sufficient 
teacher training on EES, there must be someone available to teach and elaborate on all 
matters pertaining to EES. Several national reports indicate that there are too few EES 
professionals to train teachers the basic principles of what competences they need to 
acquire  in  order  to  teach  EES;  what  pedagogical  practices  should  be  employed  when 
tackling different EES topics; and what innovative concepts and learning tools should be 
used  to  engage  the  classroom.  Second,  where  there  is  insufficient  emphasis  on  EES 
during initial teacher training, many teachers tend not to have sufficient motivation or 
time during continuous professional development (CPD)  to learn new skills and teaching 
methods.  This  is  well  illustrated  in  the  national  report  for  Lithuania,  which  states  that 
“teachers  do  not  participate  actively  enough  in  the  implementation  of  the  principles  of 
sustainable  development,  as  they  are  often  not  familiar  enough  with  the  ideas  of 
sustainable development and do not understand their importance.” This unwillingness is 
often  reinforced  by  the  lack  of  any  binding  documents  that  would  commit  teachers  to 
integrating EES into their subjects to some specified extent. 

Scarce resources are also a commonly highlighted barrier to the implementation of EES. 
Mentions  of  insufficient  resource  allocation  are  found  in  more  than  half  of  all  national 
reports conducted for this study. Taylor (2012)166 outlines limited resource provision as one 
of  the  barriers  most  commonly  emphasised  by  school  management  and  administrators. 
The national reports suggest that insufficient allocation of resources and funding for EES 
tends  to  be  the  result  of  limited  political  and  government  support.  This  barrier  can  be 
divided into three areas – funding, time and materials. 

Lack of funding for sustainable development and EES is often associated with EES not 
being perceived as a priority at governmental level. Data from the national reports suggest 
that  this  tends  to  manifest  itself  in  limited  institutional  funding,  where  educational 
institutions fail to secure funding either due to a lack of national support or poor funding 
strategies. In Portugal and Italy, the national reports suggests that a lack of institutional 
funding  is  perceived  as  a  transversal  barrier.  However,  various  forms  of  rationalisation 
exist.  In Austria, funding is often used to support core tasks rather than  to strengthen 
sustainability. If educational institutions are regulated by performance contracts, they tend 
to focus on aspects that yield better funding. Because sustainability-related tasks are often 
not  assessed,  there  is  little  tangible  value  in  pursuing  them  over  well-established  core 

165  Taylor,  S.K.  (2012).  Technical–Vocational  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  in  Manitoba.  The  International  Institute  for 

Sustainable 

Development, 

1-35. 

Retrieved 

June 

2, 

2021, 

from 

https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/technical_vocational_education_sd_mb.pdf  

166  Taylor,  S.K.  (2012).  Technical–Vocational  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  in  Manitoba.  The  International  Institute  for 

Sustainable 

Development, 

1-35. 

Retrieved 

June 

2, 

2021, 

from 

https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/technical_vocational_education_sd_mb.pdf  

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
tasks. As indicated in the national report for  Denmark, this leaves only highly engaged 
teachers or institutional leaders, who either find other sources of funding, or push EES as 
an extra-curricular activity without institutional funding. 

Insufficient time is outlined as an obstacle not only in the national report data, but also 
in  the  teacher  survey  conducted  for  this  study.  Whether  this  is  due  to  additional 
responsibilities  and  obstacles  caused  by  the  pandemic  or  to  overloaded  work  schedules 
due to rigid curricula, overworked educators are unable to fit new concepts such as EES 
into their schedules. In this situation, only motivated, sustainability-oriented and creative 
teachers, supported by the school management, can use EES as a cross-sectional topic. 
Otherwise, EES goals tend to be met only formally and not in practice. The national report 
for  Slovakia  suggests  that  because  developing  and  implementing  a  new  topic  is  time-
consuming, many teachers choose to do the minimum necessary. This in turn stunts the 
growth of EES. A similar scenario can be observed in the case of Slovenia. Due to being 
overloaded, teachers in Slovenia who try to implement new concepts such as EES usually 
have to do so at the expense of their own time and resources. 

The last resource insufficiency revolves around teaching materials. This applies not only 
to  classroom  subject  materials,  but  also  to  outdoor  activity  plans  and  cross-disciplinary 
integration. Insufficiency of teaching materials is characterised by three factors – lack of 
awareness,  lack  of  access,  and  lack  of  categorisation.  While  teaching  materials  are  not 
always  available  in  the  national  language,  plenty  of  guides,  lesson  plans  and  outdoor 
activity  plans  are  available  in  English  that  can  be  appropriated  to  the  local  context. 
However,  this  often  takes  time.  The  national  report  for  Cyprus  explains  that  because 
“teachers are constantly faced with new duties, they find it hard to search for and organise 
lessons. So, they prefer to have ready-to-go materials and handbooks.” A similar sentiment 
is expressed in the national report for Lithuania: while theoretical and knowledge-based 
materials might be plentiful, methodological handbooks  specifying what competences to 
link to EES,  or what teaching methods to apply within the classroom, are rarer. Lack of 
access occurs when schools or teachers are aware of available materials but cannot access 
them freely. This is especially troublesome when teachers are self-motivated to promote 
EES  and  do  so  on  their  own  initiative,  with  limited  financial  resources.  For  instance,  in 
Bulgaria ”a lot of handbooks produced by the publishing houses are available, which are 
not accessible to teachers”. Lastly, a lack of categorisation refers to the issue of teaching 
materials  often  being  too  broad.  The  national  report  for  Portugal  suggests  that  the 
government should invest in and address resource categorisation by classifying materials 
according to themes, education levels, target users and type of resource, thus saving time 
for teachers and making the search for materials more interactive. 

55 

 
 
 
 
is 

the 

With  regard  to  enablers,  data  from  the 
national  reports  suggests  that  teacher 
third  most  commonly 
training 
indicated  enabler  among 
the  national 
experts.  The  national  experts  from  Cyprus 
and Sweden suggest that there is a need to 
revise  teachers’  professional  development 
programmes  to  include  EES  competences. 
Our literature review suggests that this can 
be  achieved  if  the  governments  of  Member 
States  commission  systematic  reviews  of 
every aspect of teacher education, including 
teacher  training,  continuing  professional 
development  and  leadership  education,  as 
was done in Scotland in 2009 to incorporate 
sustainability in the teacher training cycle in 
a more comprehensive manner.  

The  Global  School (Swedish: Den globala skolan). The Global 
School  works  with  competence  development  for  teachers, 
school leaders and student teachers in learning for sustainable 
development. They also provide support to municipalities and 
decision  makers.  Its  purpose  is  to  contribute  to  school 
development  through  insights  into  global  issues,  encounters 
with  people  and  cultures,  participatory  working  methods,  as 
well as knowledge about and the application of success factors 
in  the  school's  work.  The  project's  goal  is  for  children  and 
students in Swedish preschools and schools to gain sufficient 
knowledge  to  participate  in  the  democratic  process,  make 
conscious  choices,  develop  an  ethical  approach  to  their 
environment,  and  work 
towards  a  sustainable  world. 
Furthermore, 
it  produces  and  disseminates  pedagogical 
material  on  ESD/GCED.  It  arranges  around  150  seminars 
nationally every year. It also collects material, mainly for pre-, 
primary and high schools, and some for adult education, from 
authorities, organisations and partners, which it distributes on 
its website.  This is provided free of  charge. The initiative is a 
part of the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR). 

The reports also outline that in-service EES 
teacher  training  is  insufficient  as  an  enabler.  National  experts  from  Luxembourg  and 
Slovenia suggest that it is vital that EES training spans both initial teacher training and 
in-service  teacher  training  in  a  standardised  and  comprehensive  manner.  In  some 
countries such as Ireland, teacher training is outlined as the key enabler, due to prevalent 
institutional  conservatism  and  teachers  being  resistant  to  change  as  a  result  of  its 
interdisciplinarity  aspect.  Data  from  the  national  reports  suggest  that  the  issue  of 
interdisciplinarity could be addressed by making EES training more subject-specific, but at 
the  same  time  emphasising  its  interdisciplinary  nature,  thus  making  teachers  more 
comfortable with introducing EES as part of their subject. The literature review suggests 
that  more  often  than  not,  sustainability  finds  itself  positioned  within  discipline-based 
sustainable  development  courses.  These  are 
typically  not  multidisciplinary  or 
transdisciplinary,  and  thus  only  reflect  one  component  of  education  for  environmental 
sustainability – the learning content – consequently leaving behind the whole-institution 
approach that is vital for EES implementation. 

The national reports for Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg and Sweden 
suggest that cooperation between experts, teachers and government on policymaking acts 
as an important enabler. Gathering together researchers and experienced teachers from 
different regions who are knowledgeable about EES can be of significant importance when 
constructing the policy framework for the implementation of EES at national level. 

Assessment frameworks 

3.4. 
The  assessment  of  EES  tends  to  vary  between  different  levels  of  education,  and  is 
sometimes integrated into the general assessment system. However, while some Member 
States have strategies and frameworks in place for assessment practices, in a large number 
of Member States assessment frameworks do not exist at national level, and assessment 
practices largely depend on institutions. 

Like  most  assessment,  various  approaches  can  be  used  to  assess  EES  learning.  These 
approaches  can  include  diagnostic,  formative,  summative,  norm  references,  ipsative, 

56 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
criterion-referenced  or  benchmarked  assessment.  Common  assessment  tools  used  to 
examine students’ sustainability are presented in the table below. It is recommended that 
a  range  of  assessment  techniques  are  used  to  measure  students’  learning  outcomes  on 
environmental sustainability. For example, in Portugal, because EES is part of ‘Citizenship 
Education’, its assessment procedure is established by the  Portuguese National Strategy 
for Citizenship Education (ENEC, Estratégia Nacional de Educação para a Cidadania)167, and 
thus encompasses diagnostic, formative and summative assessment tools.  

Table 9. Common assessment tools for students’ sustainability competences by frequency 

Tool  
Scaled self-assessment  
Reflective writing  
Scenario/case test 
Focus group/interview  
Performance observation 
Concept mapping 

Conventional text 
Regular course work 

Source: Authors 

Brief description 
Students rate their own competence development based on a pre-determined scale 
Students respond in writing to prompts reflecting on their competence development 
Students are presented with a case and asked to respond to competence-requiring prompts 
Students respond to prompts, verbally reflecting on their competence development 
Students are evaluated while carrying out course activities in or out of the classroom 
Students are given a prompt and asked to create a two-dimensional image with nodes and connections 
(specific to systems-thinking competence) 
Students take a test which may include multiple choices or short answers linked to competences 
Students complete regular course work which is analysed for evidence of competences 

Assessment  of  EES  knowledge  and  skills  is  sometimes  included  within  the  general 
assessment framework. For example, in Estonia, external assessments take the form  of 
standard-determining  tests,  state  examinations,  and  harmonised  final  examinations  in 
primary schools.168 Students finishing basic or lower-secondary schools need to pass three 
compulsory exams, while students finishing upper secondary schools need to pass three 
state  examinations,  one  school  examination,  and  compile  a  student  investigation 
assignment. These examinations often cover cross-curricular topics and topics related to 
EES.169  In  Latvia,  the  assessment  of  EES-related  competences  is  integrated  into  the 
assessment  of  intended  results,  as  described  in  the  ‘Regulations  Regarding  the  State 
Guidelines for Pre-school Education and Model Pre-school Education Programmes’170, in the 
‘Regulations  Regarding  the  State  Basic  Education  Standard  and  Model  Basic  Education 
Programmes’171, and the  ‘Regulations Regarding the State General Secondary  Education 
Standard and Model General Secondary  Education Programmes’172.  The inclusion of EES 

167 

Portuguese 

Republic, 

National 

Strategy 

for 

Citizenship 

Education 

(ENEC) 

(2017). 

Available 

at: 

https://cidadania.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/pdfs/national-strategy-citizenship-education.pdf [Accessed 22 February 2021]  

168  Eurydice 

(2020).  Estonia  –  Quality  Assurance 

in  Early  Childhood 

and  School  Education.  Available 

at: 

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/quality-assurance-early-childhood-and-school-education-20_en  

169 Henno, I.  and Puusepp, L. (2019)  UNECE  National Implementation Report ESD  2018.  Estonia. Implementation phase: 2017–2019. 

https://unece.org/DAM/env/esd/Implementation/NIR_2018/Estonian_ESD_NIR_final_2019.pdf 

170  Cabinet  of  Ministers  of  the  Republic  of  Latvia,  ‘Noteikumi  par  valsts  pirmsskolas  izglītības  vadlīnijām  un  pirmsskolas  izglītības 

programmu  paraugiem’  [Regulations  Regarding  the  State  Guidelines  for  Pre-school  Education  and  the  Model  Pre-school  Education 

Programmes], 21 November 2018 (716). Available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/303371 [Accessed 10 March 2021]. 

171 Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, ‘Noteikumi par valsts pamatizglītības standartu un pamatizglītības programmu paraugiem’ 

[Regulations Regarding the State Basic Education Standard and Model Basic Education Programmes], 27 November 2018 (747). Available 

at:  https://likumi.lv/ta/id/303768-noteikumi-par-valsts-pamatizglitibas-standartu-un-pamatizglitibas-programmu-paraugiem  [Accessed 

10 March 2021]. 

172 Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, ‘Noteikumi par valsts vispārējās vidējās izglītības standartu un vispārējās vidējās izglītības 

programmu paraugiem’ [Regulations Regarding the State General Secondary Education Standard and Model General Secondary Education 

Programmes], 3 September 2019 (416). Available at: https://likumi.lv/ta/id/309597 [Accessed 10 March 2021]. 

57 

 
 
 
 
                                           
topics in the general assessment framework ensures that the knowledge students acquire 
on these topics is evaluated, at least to some extent. However, the focus on subject content 
and written examinations may limit the ability to address environmental education issues 
that are often taught more practically and innovatively173174.  

approaches, 

In  Romania,  the  assessment  of  EES-related 
competences  is  often  based  on  projects  and 
practical tests in primary and secondary education 
institutions. In universities, it often takes the form 
of written or oral exams, or via projects or quizzes 
in extracurricular or optional classes.  
In Estonia, while national examinations for school 
education cover cross-curricular topics and topics 
related  to  EES,1  universities  tend  to  use  various 
testing, 
assessment 
grading, projects, portfolios and others, to assess 
students’ sustainability competences1. 

Assessment methods may take various forms, which 
largely depend on education level. For example, as 
universities  tend  to  enjoy  a  large  degree  of 
autonomy,  their  EES  knowledge  and  competence 
assessment frameworks tend to vary  widely across 
institutions,  and  largely  depend  on  how  important 
EES  is  to  the  leadership  of  the  specific  university. 
Different assessment frameworks at different levels 
of  education  may  be  useful,  due  to  the  different 
teaching  approaches  used  and  different  knowledge 
and  skills  being  focused  on.  Moreover,  this  can  be 
beneficial, as children and students of different ages 
tend  to  respond  to  different  pedagogical  and 
assessment  frameworks  in  different  ways.  However,  an  excessive  focus  on  written 
examinations  and  theoretical  knowledge,  which  is  observed  throughout  assessment 
techniques  used  at  various  levels  of  education,  may  lead  to  learning  outcomes  in  the 
cognitive learning dimension being over-emphasised, compared with socio-emotional and 
behavioural skills. 

including 

One  important  challenge  is  that  most  EU  Member  States  do  not  possess  clearly  defined 
national frameworks for the assessment of EES at a national level. Often, EES knowledge 
and  competence  assessment  frameworks  are  not  developed  because  the  national 
curriculum  does  not  explicitly include  EES  topics.  For  example,  in  Italy,  knowledge  and 
competences  relating  to  environmental  sustainability  are  included  in  the  curriculum  of 
disciplines such as Natural Science. However, they are not included in national tests. They 
are  therefore  left  to  the  forms  of  assessment  used  in  Italian  schools,  and  assessed  as 
individual teachers see fit.  

Some assessment frameworks that exist in those countries in which EES is not included in 
the  national  curriculum  are  prepared  by  NGOs  and  other  partners.  For  example,  in 
Denmark, there is a lack of institutional EES assessment instruments, but some NGOs, 
such  as  Eco-Schools  Denmark  and  UNESCO  SDG  Schools  Denmark,  have  established 
educational  programmes  with  their  own  assessment  frameworks.175  This  ensures  that 
schools and teachers who consider EES knowledge and competences to be important, and 
who incorporate them into their teaching practices, can find tools and guidance to assess 
students’ knowledge. However, this also creates disparities between schools and between 

173 Glackin, M., King, H., Cook, R. and Greer, K. (2018). Understanding Environmental Education in Secondary School in England: Report 

2: The Practitioners' Perspective. London: King's College. 

174  Leicht,  A.,  Heiss,  J.  and  Byun,  W.J.  (2018).  Issues  and  trends  in  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  Paris:  United  Nations 

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

175 Lysgaard, J.A. et al. (2015). Green Flag Eco-Schools and the Challenge of Moving Forward. In: Thoresen, V.W., Doyle, D., Klein, J. and 

Didham, R.J. (Eds.), Responsible Living – Concepts, Education and Future Perspectives,, Springer. 

58 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
assessment  practices,  as  it  depends  solely  on  the  enthusiasm  of  individual  schools  and 
teachers towards EES topics. 

EES assessment frameworks are also often missing in practice, even if EES knowledge and 
competences are included in the national curriculum or education policy documents on a 
national  level.  For  example,  in  Slovakia,  environmental  education  is  part  of  national 
education programmes at pre-primary, primary and secondary education level, as well as 
being part of curricula at most universities. However, the implementation of environmental 
education in practice is highly dependent on individual schools. Even though they have this 
obligation,  educational  institutions  rarely  teach  (or  especially  assess)  EES-related 
knowledge and competences.176 There are also no standardised assessments focusing on 
EES knowledge, skills, and attitudes or behaviours in Slovakia. In Portugal, EES-related 
competences are assessed according to the Portuguese National Strategy for Citizenship 
Education (ENEC, Estratégia Nacional de Educação para a Cidadania)177, but at the school 
level its assessment guidelines are still very generic (DGE, 2017)178. Schools are required 
to develop their own school strategy for citizenship education, which includes elements of 
EES. It is also often a case that even though guidelines exist on the development of EES 
curriculum  and  assessment,  they  are  not  binding.  Consequently,  schools  often  do  not 
develop curricula or necessary assessment frameworks. For example, in Spain, the Libro 
Blanco  de  la  Educación  Ambiental  en  España  [White  Paper  on  EE  in  Spain179]  was 
introduced in 1999. This document provides guidelines for the development of a curriculum 
that  considers  EES.  However,  this  document  is  not  binding,  and  has  not  been  reviewed 
since  1999.  In  Finland,  because  there  is  no  national  EES  curriculum,  education  for 
sustainable  development  is  implemented  in  Finnish  schools  in  very  different  ways.  The 
school  principal  is  the  key  person  in  developing  the  school’s  operating  culture  for 
sustainable  development,  as  well  as  its  assessment  framework.180.  Consequently,  each 
school has the autonomy to create its own strategy with regard to EES, as well as deciding 
how  to  assess  it.  While  EES  teaching  and  assessment  may  be  well  developed  in  certain 
schools, it is underdeveloped in others. This, again, may result in significant differences in 
assessment practices between schools, as the practical implementation of assessment is 
highly dependent on individual schools and teachers. 

The national reports suggest that more than half of all Member States face problems in 
monitoring and assessing EES, at both school and classroom levels. This stems from the 
fact that  few Member States have appropriate  indicators  designed to  measure EES (see 
Table 10). Notably, only Cyprus and Czech Republic have well-developed assessment 

176 Interview with a specialist in environmental education and training from SEA, online, 22 February 2021; interview with an expert on 

environmental education from Živica, online, 16 February 2021; interview with an expert on environmental education from the MPC, online, 

9 February 2021. 

177 

Portuguese 

Republic, 

National 

Strategy 

for 

Citizenship 

Education 

(ENEC) 

(2017). 

Available 

at: 

https://cidadania.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/pdfs/national-strategy-citizenship-education.pdf [Accessed 22 February 2021]  

178 Directorate-General for Education (DGE)., ‘Proposal for a School Citizenship Education Strategy Guide’. Available at: 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/ECidadania/Docs_referencia/proposta_de_guiao_estrategia_de_educacao_para_a_cidadania_d

e_escola.pdf [Accessed 5 March 2021] 

179  Ministry 

of 

Environment.(1999). 

‘Libro 

blanco 

de 

la 

educación 

ambiental 

en 

España’. 

  Available 

at  

http://www.magrama.es/es/ceneam/recursos/documentos/libro_blanco.aspx [Accessed 5 February 2021] 

180  Saloranta,  S.  (2017).  Koulun  toimintakulttuurin  merkitys  kestävän  kehityksen  kasvatuksen  toteuttamisessa  perusopetuksen 

vuosiluokkien 1–6 kouluissa. University of Helsinki, Faculty of Educational Sciences. Doctoral dissertation; Helsinki Studies in Education, 

number 14. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-3610-7  

59 

 
 
 
 
                                           
criteria  for  EES,  while  some  other  Member  States  have  partially  developed  indicators. 
Capelo  et  al.  (2012)181  posit  that  without  adequate  tools,  it  is  difficult  to  monitor  and 
evaluate changes with regard to EES at local, national and regional levels. Monitoring and 
assessment instruments relating to EES indicators are required to clarify which educational 
approaches  are  necessary,  and  to  evaluate  the  quality  of  these  approaches  in  terms  of 
their relevance in promoting sustainable development. The national reports for Bulgaria, 
Denmark,  France,  Germany,  Hungary,  Italy  and  Spain  all  point  to  a  common 
denominator as to why EES assessment and monitoring mechanisms are insufficiently well 
developed:  EES  is  not  linked  to  any  learning  outcomes.  Slovakia  proves  to  be  an 
interesting case in this regard, as teachers are obliged to implement  elements of EES in 
classroom  education.  The  national  report  even  suggests  that  EES  is  also  linked  to  the 
learning  outcomes.  However,  current  evaluations  and  assessments  at  the  national  level 
only focus on examining whether  or not EES is implemented in any way, using a binary 
principle. No standardised assessment mechanisms focus on knowledge and skills as well 
as attitudes and behaviours. 

The national reports for Czech Republic, Estonia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands 
and Sweden suggest that having a national assessment system for EES acts as a great 
enabler for the implementation of EES. Czech Republic’s evaluation culture serves as a 
great  example.  The  national  expert  explained  that,  “while  the  trend  [towards  assessing 
EES] is relatively new, it may be said that the evaluation culture has become widespread 
and well accepted in the  EES field in the Czech Republic.  Nowadays,  there  exist a large 
number  of  guidelines,  instruments,  published  evaluation  research  studies  and  other 
evaluation-related  outputs.  Evaluation,  self-assessment,  quality  assurance  and 
certification  are  undisputed  elements  of  EES  practice,  and  are  supported  by  public 
administration bodies”.  

Among the assessment methods used, summative assessments often stand out. These are 
often ‘high stakes’, which means that they have a high points value. The lack of summative 
assessment  is  a  missed  opportunity,  as  topics  up  for  summative  assessment  often  gain 
more weight in lessons. UNECE reports acknowledge that assessment has so far not been 
prioritised by most Member States, but that this will be a priority area over the next five 
years. Yet, while advancing summative assessment on EES is often recommended in  the 
literature, one also needs to consider a future for assessment in which multiple forms of 
assessment are applied, as well as the critical literature that questions the effectiveness of 
standardised testing for testing complex and interconnected skills such as sustainability.182 

Table 10. Education for environmental sustainability assessment, EU-27 

ASSESSMENT 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

Assessment  criteria 
for EES 
Indicators for EES 

○  ○  ○  ○  ●  ◌  ◌  ○  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ◌  ○ 
○  ◌  ◌  ●  ●  ○  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○  ◌ 
  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○ 
  ◌ 

  ○ 

181 Capelo, A., Santos, M.C. and Pedrosa, M.A. (2012). Chapter 5: Education for sustainable development Indicators, competences and 

science education. Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, (1), 99-123. doi:10.3726/978-3-653-01631-4/7 

182  Dumcius  et  al.  (2020).  Prospective  report  on  the  future  of  assessment  in  primary  and  secondary  education.  PPMI.  Luxembourg: 

Publications office of the European Union.  

60 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
ECEC  
Assessment  criteria 
for EES 
Indicators for EES 

Primary/secondary 
Assessment  criteria 
for EES 
Indicators for EES 

Higher education 

Assessment  criteria 
for EES 
Indicators for EES 

  ○  ○  ◌  ◌ 
  ◌  ◌ 

  ● 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

○ 

  ●  ●  ◌  ◌  ○ 
  ●  ●  ○  ◌ 

  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

  ○ 
  ○ 

  ○  ◌  ◌ 
  ○ 
  ○ 

  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 
  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

One of the obstacles most commonly highlighted at the ECEC level in the national reports 
is the low status and priority of EES as a subject. Stoltenberg and Benoist-Kolser (2020)183 
outline  the  following  two  reasons  why  there  is  a  lack  EES  within  the  existing  childcare 
system: a different prioritisation of subjects, and the fear of overwhelming children. This 
line of thought is also reflected in the findings of the national reports. In Cyprus, subjects 
such  as  mathematics  and  languages  are  given  higher  priority  politically  than  more 
transdisciplinary and ‘experimental’ subjects. In other cases, it is not political but rather 
personal  interference  that  stunts  the  growth  of  EES.  In  Greece,  parents  often  criticise 
schools  when  ‘deviations’  occur  from  the  formal  education  model,  as  there  is  fear  that 
children who do not adhere to the formal education model will perform poorly in comparison 
to  their  peers.  This  introduces  the  second  issue  mentioned  by  Stoltenberg  and  Benoist-
Kolser (2020)184 – the perceived complexity of EES. In Austria and Poland, the concept 
of sustainable development, and even more so EES, is deemed too complex to introduce 
to young students, with the notion being that it should be left for later education levels. 
The national report for Latvia argues that the general line of thought is that children are 
not  interested  in  environmental  principles  and  problems  at  the  ECEC  level,  and  that 
engaging them through demonstrations rather than theory is challenging. 

Regarding  the  processes  used  to  evaluate  sustainability  competences,  research 
emphasises the importance of context-based assessment tools covering a diverse range of 
instruments.  These  range  from  summative  to  formative  assessments,  self-  and  peer-
evaluation. Questionnaires are used most frequently, but an emerging strand of literature 
also  discusses  the  use  of  reflective  diaries,  conceptual  maps,  rubrics  and  vignette 
questioning instruments and interviews as useful assessment tools.185 Importantly, several 
scholars argue that the development and implementation of summative assessment in this 

183 Stoltenberg, U. and Benoist-Kosler, B. (2020). ESD Coalition of Preschool and Municipality. In: Researching Early Childhood Education 

for 

Sustainability 

(pp. 

1-13). 

Routledge. 

Retrieved 

June 

3, 

2021, 

from 

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429446764-6/esd-coalition-preschool-municipality-ute-stoltenberg-barbara-

benoist-kosler 

184 Stoltenberg, U. and Benoist-Kosler, B. (2020). ESD Coalition of Preschool and Municipality. In: Researching Early Childhood Education 

for 

Sustainability 

(pp. 

1-13). 

Routledge. 

Retrieved 

June 

3, 

2021, 

from 

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429446764-6/esd-coalition-preschool-municipality-ute-stoltenberg-barbara-

benoist-kosler 

185 Cebrián, G. and Junyent, M. (2015). Competencies in education for sustainable development: Exploring the student teachers’ views. 

Sustainability7, 2768–2786. 

61 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
regard  can  further  help  to  scale  up  teaching  on  ESD.186  Lastly,  some  parents  tend  to 
contribute partially to this obstacle. They often ask a school to remain a 'school of the past' 
by  continuing  the  transmissive  tradition  of  teaching  based  on  content  knowledge.  This 
guarantees  formal  certification  but  not  the  acquisition  of  competences,  which  are  often 
conceived  by  parents  as  'practical  skills'  and  therefore  of  lesser  value  compared  with 
knowledge.  This  is  a  prevalent  phenomenon  in  Italy,  despite  EES  being  fairly  well 
developed there at national level. 

The  comprehensive  integration  of  EES  on  the  basis  of  interdisciplinarity  serves  as  an 
important enabler for the mainstreaming of EES. The enabler focuses on the notion that 
while  interdisciplinarity  is  perceived  as  a  barrier  by  some,  this  can  be  overcome  by 
developing  or  having  comprehensive  guidelines  and  assessment  frameworks  on  how  to 
apply  EES  to  each  respective  subject.  This  is  accompanied  by  workshops,  seminars  and 
networking  events  between  experts  and  teachers/schools,  in  which  experts  elaborate  in 
greater detail the interdisciplinarity of EES and how to address it as a barrier. 

3.5.  Monitoring and evaluation  
Monitoring and evaluating the quality of EES provision can be carried out in several ways, 
whether focusing on the whole institution through an environmental management system 
approach, or monitoring the impact of specific programmes187. Monitoring and evaluation 
frameworks  are  mostly  implemented  at  national  level  by  national  authorities.  However, 
other  important  actors  such  as  NGOs  focusing  on  sustainability  and  environmental 
education also tend to play an important role in the monitoring of EES, especially given the 
programmes prepared and coordinated by NGOs and the non-formal education sector.  

Monitoring and evaluating the integration of EES can be a part of the general education 
system  and  its  quality  monitoring  and  evaluation  mechanisms.  In  some  countries,  the 
quality  and  effectiveness  of  EES  integration  is  also  monitored  and  evaluated  through 
external evaluations, namely state and national exams, if these include EES-related topics 
and competences. The inclusion of EES in general evaluation and monitoring systems can 
be beneficial. Research suggests that policy frameworks are more effective if monitoring 
and  accountability  mechanisms  are  incorporated  into  policy  and  planning  strategies188, 
which is the case if EES is included within general monitoring and evaluation frameworks. 
Some  countries  have  developed  national  systems  specifically  for  monitoring  EES,  which 
can increase the effectiveness of EES policy frameworks still further.  

186  Leicht,  A.,  Heiss,  J.  and  Byun,  W.J.  (2018).  Issues  and  trends  in  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  Paris:  United  Nations 

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

187 Kanyimba, A.T., Richter, B.W. and Raath, S.P. (2013), The effectiveness of an environmental management system in selected South 

African primary schools. Journal of Cleaner Production 66 (2014) 479-488. 

188 UNESCO (2015a). Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action – Toward Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education 

and Lifelong Learning for All. Paris: UNESCO. www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/incheon-framework-for-action-en.pdf (accessed 

15 February). 

62 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Countries also tend to commission external assessments of their education systems, which 
may include the evaluation of EES practices. For example, in Luxembourg, the National 
Education Report (‘Bildungsbericht’)189 is published every three years by the University of 
Luxembourg and the Ministry of Education. This report offers a unique and diverse insight 
into the country’s education system. While EES is not a permanent part of the Education 
Report,  the  2021  edition  will  focus  on  digital  learning  and  education  for  sustainable 
development,  and  will  provide  an  overview  of  projects  in  this  area  in  Luxembourgish 
primary and secondary schools. 

In Estonia, the Estonian Environmental Education and Awareness Action Plan was adopted in 2018, which created a quality system 
for environmental education. The Estonian Environmental Association, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research, 
supported by the Environmental Investment Centre, developed quality criteria for environmental education. Evaluation of the quality 
of environmental education began in the spring of 2020, with the aim of achieving a uniformly high level of environmental education 
across Estonia, and to ensure its availability. By February 2021, 401 programmes had been recognised as meeting all of the quality 
criteria, and had been awarded the ‘Thoughtful Programme’ quality label (‘Muraka märgis’). This label indicates that the programme 
is well prepared for students' study visits and supports the implementation of the Estonian National curriculum and the achievement 
of its learning outcomes.1  

In Slovakia, the National School Inspectorate monitors the quality and level of implementation of environmental sustainability across 
Slovak education system. It carries out inspections every year regarding the level of education and fulfilment of national educational 
programmes. It randomly selects schools across Slovakia and publishes official reports on its inspections. Inspections mainly evaluate 
the  level  and  implementation  of  EES  as  a  cross-cutting  topic.1    In  Malta,  the  Ministry  of  Education  assigns  awards  to  schools 
participating  in  the  ASPnet  programme,  which  focuses  on  projects  including  a  global  perspective  in  learning,  and  to  school 
participating in the GENE programme for the adoption of a whole-institution philosophy based on global education and EES principles. 

In  the  Czech  Republic,  environmental  education  centres  have  been  operating  a  national  system  of  certification  since  2013.  The 
auditors assess the overall quality of the programmes offered by these centres, the level of the centres’ environmental management, 
and their human resources1. 

Self-assessment frameworks are also sometimes available that allow institutions to check 
their  own  practices.  In  Hungary,  self-assessment  based  on  the  Green  Kindergarten 
system190 is available for all Hungarian kindergartens on a voluntary basis. Kindergartens 
can obtain the title of ‘Green Kindergarten’ on the basis of a 20-point system of criteria 
and indicators. For primary, secondary and vocational schools, self-assessment based on 
the  Eco-school  system191  is  available.  The  self-assessment  of  EES  performance  is 
supported by an  eco-school criteria system192 covering eight areas  of  school-life: school 
documents, school organisation, operation, education, school specialisms, communication, 
and co-operation with external ESD actors and the local community. Primary, secondary, 
vocational schools and dormitories for school students can obtain the ‘Eco-school title on 

189 University of Luxembourg, ‚Der Nationale Bildungsbericht 2018‘. Available at: www.bildungsbericht.lu. [Accessed 11 March 2021].    

190  Hungarian  Ministry 

of 

Agriculture 

(2016). 

’The  Hungarian  Green 

Kindergarten  Network’. 

Available 

at: 

https://eionet.kormany.hu/akadalymentes/download/5/18/62000/Green%20Kindergarten%20Network%20-%20Hungary.pdf.  [Accessed 

17 February 2021] 

191  Hungarian  Ministry 

of 

Agriculture 

(2016). 

‘The  Hungarian  Green 

Kindergarten  Network’. 

Available 

at: 

https://eionet.kormany.hu/akadalymentes/download/5/18/62000/Green%20Kindergarten%20Network%20-%20Hungary.pdf.  [Accessed 

17 February 2021] 

192  Hungarian  Institute  of  Educational  Research  and  Development  (2018).  Self-assessment  criteria  for  Eco-schools  in  Hungary,  2018. 

Available at: http://ofi.hu/self-assessment-criteria-eco-schools-hungary-2018. [Accessed 17 February 2021] 

63 

 
 
 
 
                                           
the basis of a complex of system criteria and indicators193. In Cyprus, the EESD Unit of 
the  Ministry  of  Education  and  Culture,  in  cooperation  with  education  departments  and 
universities,  has  designed  a  self-assessment  mechanism  for  pre-primary  and  primary 
education  to  become  sustainable  in  the  long  term.  This  is  a  self-assessment  report  for 
schools  based  on  qualitative  criteria,  which  is  completed  by  schools  at  the  end  of  each 
year. It aims to help schools identify the extent of their achievements with regard to EES, 
as  well  as  gaps  and  weaknesses.  The  self-assessment  tool  covers  the  administrative, 
technical,  pedagogical,  organisational  and  social  levels  of  the  school.  These  practices 
include  EES  within  their  general  monitoring  and  evaluation  frameworks.  As  mentioned 
previously, if monitoring mechanisms are incorporated into policy and planning strategies, 
they tend to be more effective.194 

In  some  countries,  the  national  authorities  and  other  institutions  provide  guidelines  for 
education  assessment  and  monitoring  practices,  including  the  assessment  of  EES. 
Unfortunately, only some countries have evaluation and monitoring frameworks specifically 
for EES (see Table 11). Notable cases are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Malta and Portugal. 

Table 11. Education for environmental sustainability monitoring and evaluation, EU-27 

MONITORING 
AND 
EVALUATION 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

EES is monitored 

ECEC 
EES is monitored 

Primary/secondary 
EES is monitored 

Higher education 

EES is monitored 

○  ○  ○  ●  ●  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌  ○  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ○  ◌  ◌  ○  ●  ◌  ○  ●  ○ 

  ◌  ○ 

○  ○ 

  ●  ○  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌  ◌  ◌  ◌  ○ 

  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○ 

○  ○  ○  ●  ●  ◌  ◌  ◌ 

  ○  ◌  ◌  ●  ○ 

  ◌  ◌ 

  ○  ○ 

  ○  ○ 

○  ○ 

  ○  ◌  ◌  ◌ 

  ○  ◌  ○  ◌  ○ 

  ◌  ◌ 

  ◌ 

  ○  ◌  ○ 

  ○ 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

The following are examples of good practice in national EES monitoring:  

Cyprus. EES school self-reporting in Cyprus aims to help schools identify their progress with regard 
to  their  transformation  towards  sustainability.  This  self-evaluation  allows  each  school  to  decide 
whether to continue with the same ESD issues for the next school year, or to set a new issue, based 
on what was studied last year.  

- 

Figure 5. provides a systematic overview of this process. 

193 The English translation of the whole criteria system is available: ‘Self Assessment Criteria for Eco-schools in Hungary, 2018’. Available 

at: http://ofi.hu/sites/default/files/self_assessment_criteria_ 

ecoschools_hunagry_2018.xlsx. [Accessed 1 March 2021] 

194 UNESCO (2015a). Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action – Toward Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education 

and Lifelong Learning for All. Paris: UNESCO. www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/incheon-framework-for-action-en.pdf (accessed 

15 February). 

64 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Figure 5. Evaluation of ESD School Plan in Cyprus 

Source: UNECE (2014). Questionnaire for 2014 Informal Country Reporting on the Implementation of the Priority Action Areas. Available 
at: https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/9thMeetSC/Documents/Cyprus.pdf  

-  Czech Republic. The quality of formal EES education was assessed on a more 
national scale in 2016 and 2019195. To support schools’ reflections, a free online 
EES self-assessment system (ASEV) was developed in 2016196. ASEV applies the 
national framework for EES as defined in The Recommended Expected Outcomes 
and The Goals and Indicators of Environmental Education, and asks teachers to 
identify the level of implementation of the selected type of EES practice, and to 
describe the conditions in their school. Generally, the instrument assumes that 
EES should be implemented across subjects by the whole institution, in an action-
based  and  competence-oriented  manner,  and  that  it  should  link  schools  with 
their communities. In 2016 and 2019, ASEV was used for a representative survey 
of EES school practice (N=645 and N=641 schools, respectively).197 

-  Malta.  As  of  2012,  the  Directorate  for  Quality  and  Standards  in  Education 
(DQSE) of the Ministry of Education conducts an evaluation and external audit of 
every school to ensure that the principles of the National Curriculum Framework 
for  All  (including  ESD  provision)  are  being  followed,  and  that  students  are 
achieving the learning targets set down and acquiring the necessary skills198. 

195  Novosák,  J.,  Suchomel,  P.,  Dvořák,  J.  and  Andrys,  O.  (2020).  Environmentální  výchova  na  základních  školách  ve  školním  roce 

2019/2020. Tematická zpráva. Praha: Česká školní inspekce. 

Činčera, J. and Kroufek, R. (2021). Metodika hodnocení environmentální gramotnosti žáků. Praha: BEZK. 

Činčera, J., Jančaříková, K., Matějček, T., Šimonová, P., Bartoš, J., Lupač, M. and Broukalová, L. (2016). Environmentální výchova z pohledu 

učitelů. Brno: BEZK, Agentura Koniklec a Masarykova univerzita. 

196 http://mojeautoevaluace.cz. 

197 For the key findings, see 1.2.1.. 

198  UNECE  (2021). 

Informal  country 

reporting.  16th  Steering  Committee  meeting  10-11  May  2021.  Available  at: 

https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Secretariat_Item2b_summary_of_Informal_reporting%202021_Nona_10.05.%202021.pptx  

65 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
-  Portugal.  ENEA199,  the  national  strategy  on  EES,  includes  in  its  evaluation 
process measures to assess the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of activities, 
projects  and  programmes,  compare  their  results,  and  allow  the  exchange  of 
experiences. These assessment tools must be developed with the promoters of 
the  projects/  actions  (within  their  respective  scopes).  Aside  from  this,  the 
strategy  requires:  (a)  the  monitoring  of  its  results;  (b)  population  surveys  on 
perceptions of behavioural change; and (c) a final assessment report. As ENEA 
has completed its 1st cycle (2018-2020), this self-assessment is ongoing, and a 
general  inquiry  is  currently  being  undertaken200.  This  aims  to  assess  the 
Strategy’s  first  implementation  cycle  (2018-2020),  and  to  identify/validate 
trends to incorporate in the planning of the next cycle. 

The evaluation and monitoring of education quality, including the implementation of EES, 
can  also  be  the  responsibility  of  regional  or  local  authorities  rather  than  national 
authorities.  In  Slovakia,  the  evaluation  of  environmental  education  also  takes  place  at 
regional level through the associations that are involved in it. For example, Trenčín region 
created  its  own  assessment  framework,  ‘Analysis  of  the  state  of  the  system  of 
environmental education in the Trenčín self-governing region’,201 in cooperation with the 
environmental education network Špirála. 

Often, the monitoring and evaluation of  EES integration is carried out  not at national or 
regional  level,  but  by  schools  themselves.  In  Portugal,  each  school  is  responsible  for 
monitoring and evaluating its strategy for citizenship education, which includes aspects of 
EES. Schools tend to adopt different strategies for the self-assessment of EES. While there 
is a proposal to adopt the ‘Integrated Educative School Projects’ Model (ESCXEL) (NOVA 
FCSH, 2018)202, which is endorsed by national experts, this has not been incentivised by 
the government, and assessment practices remain fragmented. In Slovakia, there are no 
official  national  indicators  that  aim  to  evaluate  the  learning  outcomes  of  EES  and  its 
effectiveness. Insights into the extent to which EE is implemented, at least in theory, are 
also  produced  by  schools  themselves.  Unfortunately,  no  evidence  or  measurements  are 
available as to the extent to which EE issues are integrated in practice. In Finland, schools 
and  other  educational  institutions  are  free  to  create  indicators  if  they  find  them  useful, 
which has resulted in a vast range of different indicators203. EES projects have also been 
set up in some countries to create indicators and target policy makers, but it is unclear to 

199 ENEA (2020). Available at:  (https://apambiente.pt/_zdata/DESTAQUES/2017/ENEA/AF_Relatorio_ENEA2020.pdf  [Accessed 5 March 

2021] 

200 APA, Portuguese National Strategy on Environmental Education for Sustainability (ENEA), ‘ENEA survey’. Available at: 

https://enea.apambiente.pt/https%3A//docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfhZ2Zv0NEhlrQQa7fOxBMAe5NVH7pQCSukEab5tLopxeBeo

w/viewform) [Accessed 5 March 2021] 

201 Špirála (2018). ‘Analýza stavu systému envronmentálnej výchovy a vzdelávania v Trenčianskom samosprávnom kraji’. Available at: 

https://www.minv.sk/swift_data/source/rozvoj_obcianskej_spolocnosti/participacia/vystupy_np_parti/PP3-

%20Analyza%20stavu%20systemu%20envronmentalnej%20vychovy%20a%20vzdelavania%20v%20TSK.pdf  [Accessed  10  February 

2021]. 

202 CICS.NOVA / FCSH da Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. (2018). ‘Educational and curricular project: contribution to the development of 

an integrated model’. Available at: http://www.escxel.com/uploads/1576576928_26PEPCcontributomodelointegrado2018.pdf [Accessed 5 

March 2021] 

203 UNECE (2020). Information paper no. 2: ‘Learning from each other: achievements, challenges and ways forward. Fourth evaluation 

report 

of 

the 

UNECE 

Strategy 

for 

Education 

for 

Sustainable 

Development’. 

Available 

at: 

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/6thMeetSC/Informal%20Documents/PhaseIIProgressReport_IP.8.pdf 

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
what  extent  national  governments  or  schools  actively  make  use  of  these204.  While  this 
autonomy  given  to  schools  over  their  EES  monitoring  practices  can  ensure  that  schools 
employ the monitoring and evaluation tools that are most suited to their situation, it also 
results in significant variations in monitoring practices between education institutions, and 
thus difficulty in comparing evaluation results. 

While  most  countries  lack  national  level  frameworks  to  monitor  the  quality  of  EES  in 
schools,  several  NGOs  working  in  this  field  have  developed  their  own  monitoring  and 
evaluation  frameworks  to  aid  schools  in  this  regard,  as  they  have  with  assessment 
practices.  One  programme  entitled  ‘Eco-School  Global’  is  implemented  in  several  EU 
Member  States.  This  aims  to  ensure  that  students  acquire  EES-  and  ESD-related 
competences  and  knowledge.  To  gain  the  label  of  being  an  Eco-School,  schools  and 
kindergartens must pass an evaluation and demonstrate environmentally-friendly thinking 
in the school’s everyday activities, as well as implementing sustainable practices fully and 
methodically.205  UNECE  also  plays  an  important  role  in  monitoring  and  evaluation,  as  it 
evaluates  EES  integration  in  schools.  National  NGOs  and  organisations  also  play  an 
important role in providing schools with tools to monitor and evaluate their EES practices. 
In Latvia, the World-Wide Fund for Nature Latvia206 provides various self-monitoring tools 
to primary, secondary  and  HEIs to assess their practices  in relation to  EES.  These tools 
include an Ecological Footprint calculator, Marine  Eutrophication calculator, and Lifestyle 
Effect  on  Climate  calculator.  In  Austria,  schools  within  the  ÖKOLOG-programme  write 
annual reports that reflect on their achievements and evaluate ESD-related activities within 
the school207. 

One important problem is that reporting the results of monitoring and evaluation is often 
seen  as  more  important  than  the  hands-on  implementation  of  EES  practices.  In  Czech 
Republic,  while  school  coordinators  are  supposed  to  regularly  evaluate  environmental 
education within their schools, they usually focus on the number of events that have been 
implemented by the school, or the number of participating students. In some cases, simple 
instruments for student assessment, usually based on various types of student reflection, 
are included in various EES materials.208 An excessive focus on reporting rather than the 
actual implementation of effective EES pedagogical approaches, may have opposite results 
from  those  intended,  and  could  draw  an  unrealistically  optimistic  picture  of  EES  in 
education systems across the EU. 

In their analysis of Dutch accreditation systems for higher education and the development 
of  an  external  quality  assurance  system,  van  Berkel  and  Wijnen  (2010)  argued  that  an 
accreditation  system  works  well  until  it  expands  too  far  and  the  administrative  burden 
limits  innovation.  This  results  in  it  becoming  more  difficult  for  HEIs  to  create  new 
interdisciplinary graduate programmes. The authors state that, “Currently the accreditation 

204  SEPN  (n.d.)  The  Monitoring  and  Evaluation  of  Climate  Change  Education  (MECCE)  Project.  Available  at:  https://sepn.ca/mecce/. 

Accessed 22.02.2020.  

205 https://www.tartuloodusmaja.ee/en/eco-schools-global/ 

206  World-Wide  Fund  for  Nature  Latvia.  Calculators.  Available  at:  https://lv-pdf.panda.org/publikacijas_un_testi/testi_un_speles/ 

[Accessed 10 March 2021]. 

207  ÖKOLOG  (n.d.).  Jahresberichte  nach  Handlungsbereichen.  Available  at:  https://www.oekolog.at/jahresberichte/handlungsbereiche/ 

[Accessed 10 February 2021]. 

208  Jančaříková,  K.  (2007).  Student’s  portfolio  –  proper  form  of  evaluation  of  environmental  education  (Reviewed  version, 

3/2007). Envigogika, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.14712/18023061.23 

67 

 
 
 
 
                                           
system  is  twice  as  expensive  as  the  previous  one.  The  accountability  aspect  of  the 
accreditation  system  needs  additional  procedures  and  more  paperwork.  If  an  institution 
loses its accreditation, the consequences are severe, and therefore the procedures leading 
to this have to be proved to be legal <...> The amount of information that the institutions 
must  deliver  continues  to  grow.  The  regulations  for  institutions,  external  review 
committees, visiting and assessing institutes and accreditation organisation also continue 
to  grow  and  expand.  Communication  between  these  actors  is  becoming  increasingly 
complicated.” 209 Moreover, there is also a fear that accreditation will lead to uniformity and 
might  restrict  institutions’  capacity  for  innovation,  as  HEIs  may  prefer  to  conform  to 
traditional patterns to increase their chance of gaining accreditation. From this perspective, 
accreditation  is  seen  as  hindering  innovation.  In  addition,  internal  quality  assessment 
systems  are  not  often  embedded  within  the  institutions.  NVAO  (the  accreditation 
organisation  of  the  Netherlands  and  Flanders)  states  that  having  an  internal  quality 
assessment system is very important. Consequently, all institutions have created such a 
system, not because they felt it was necessary, but merely because NVAO recommended 
that they do so. In other words, inside many institutions a ‘culture of quality’ is missing.210 

In  Italy,  quality  assurance  within  higher  education  has  been  completely  reformed  over 
recent decades. Research was carried out on AVA (the self-evaluation and accreditation of 
the  higher  education  system),  sampling  118  university  study  programmes  (Stura  et  al, 
2019).  211   Its  general  findings  confirm  that  it  is  easier  for  certain  disciplines  to  achieve 
accreditation. The process itself was also criticised. Accreditation refers to the checking of 
quality standards in study programmes conducted by an external evaluation committee, 
based  on  relevant  documentation  and  on  an  in-situ  audit,  which  is  implemented  by  the 
academic  staff.  This  method  has  generated  much  criticism,  because  quality  assurance 
requires  a  great  deal  of  work  for  already  overloaded  and  sometimes  underqualified 
academic staff. As a possible solution, the authors suggest creating central units of experts 
at  university  level  for  internal  quality  assurance.  Another  solution  could  be  to  draw  up 
guidelines  at  national  level  on  the  application  of  quality  standards  to  particular  study 
programmes,  and  to  follow  these  at  the  level  of  individual  universities.  Such  guidelines 
would facilitate an understanding of how to overcome the problems and respond to specific 
requests in each disciplinary area – just as guidelines are drawn up for the application of 
the general ISO 9001 standard specific sectors of industry. In this way, academics could 
achieve  accreditation  using  an  instrument  that  responds  to  their  specific  requests  or 
difficulties.  This  could  be  even  more  relevant  to  interdisciplinary  programmes  for  EES, 
which are more complex at their core. 212 

209 van Berkel, H. and Wijnen, W. (2010). Accreditation in the Netherlands: does accountability improve educational quality?, Research in 

Comparative 

and 

International 

Education, 

Volume 

5 

Number 

1, 

p. 

93. 

Available 

at 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/rcie.2010.5.1.88 [Accessed 9 July, 2021] 

210 van Berkel, H. and Wijnen, W. (2010). Accreditation in the Netherlands: does accountability improve educational quality?, Research in 

Comparative 

and 

International 

Education, 

Volume 

5 

Number 

1, 

p. 

93. 

Available 

at 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.2304/rcie.2010.5.1.88 [Accessed 9 July, 2021] 

211 Stura, I., Gentile,  T., Migliaretti, G., and Vesce, E. (2019). Accreditation in higher education: Does disciplinary matter?,  Studies in 

Educational Evaluation, Volume 63, p. 46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.07.004. 

212  Stura,  I.,  Gentile,  T.,  Migliaretti,  G.  and  Vesce,  E.  (2019).  Accreditation  in  higher  education:  Does  disciplinary  matter?,  Studies  in 

Educational Evaluation, Volume 63, p. 46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.07.004. 

68 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
The  national  experts  in  Bulgaria,  Czech  Republic,  Germany,  Ireland,  Malta, 
Netherlands  and  Romania  noted  that  the  ecological  aspect  of  each  educational 
specialism should be included in the process of institutional and programme accreditation 
in order to accelerate the uptake of EES by HEIs and integrate EES accreditation into the 
ranking system. The national expert for  Romania suggested that international rankings 
have  been  found  to  motivate  HEIs  towards  making  progress.  The  expert  noted  that 
“introducing  authentic  sustainability  principles  in  the  accreditation  criteria  will  make  the 
real difference in SDG implementation in HEI”. 

Cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration 

3.6. 
The  national  reports  provide  limited  information  concerning  systematic  conditions  or 
enablers  that  allow  cross-sectoral  partnerships  in  EES  to  flourish,  particularly  across 
different levels of education. For the most part, data from  the national reports suggests 
that governments and policy makers are the key existing/potential facilitators, as they are 
in a good position to foster multi-stakeholder cooperation through the provision of transfer 
offices  and  targeted  resources  for  sustainability  transfer.  In  addition,  they  can  establish 
transfer-friendly  funding  formats,  or  raise  the  status  of  sustainability  transfer  within 
universities,  so  that  commitment  to  this  area  is  rewarded  with  additional  funds,  career 
opportunities  and  a  reputational  boost  for  the  university.  At  present,  governments  that 
actively  encourage  collaboration  tend  to  place  their  focus  on  capacity  building  (e.g.  in 
Estonia, EE round-tables exist, which call together educators, EES specialists, university 
and  college  authorities,  NGOs  and  local  institutions  that  deal  with  EES  to  clarify  cross-
sector  cooperation  expectations,  feasible  support  for  networking,  etc.)  rather  than  on 
explicit  financial  support  (e.g.  in  Malta,  there  is  a  funding  scheme  supported  by  a 
partnership  between  government,  businesses  and  banks,  which  provides  salaries  for 
teachers who take part in an initiative with BirdLife Malta and Nature Trust – FEE Malta, to 
assist in the running of the Dinja Waħda and EkoSkola programmes, respectively).  

This  capacity  building  vs.  explicit  financial  support  paradigm  is  also  supported  by  the 
findings  of  the  literature  review.  According  to  Aaron  Benavot213,  few  countries  have 
succeeded in creating public budget lines and/or economic incentives for nationwide ESD 
activities and projects.  Those that have, tend to be high-income  countries, in which  the 
success  of  sustainability  education  is  variously  linked  to  policy  uptake  by  government, 
teacher  training  and  enthusiasm,  the  presence  and  availability  of  resources,  and 
participation  in  initiatives.  However,  in  many  national  contexts,  financing  for  public 
education  is  limited,  and  ongoing  challenges  such  as  access  to  basic  schooling  tend  to 
deprioritise EES. 

Less than half of all experts (11 out of 27) indicated in their national reports any examples 
of existing systematic cross-sectoral partnerships at ECEC level (see Table 12. Education 
for environmental sustainability ). Data from the national reports suggests that ECEC has 
the fewest  cross-sectoral partnerships involving EES. Furthermore, even though roughly 
half of the national experts indicated that ECEC EES initiatives exist within their respective 
Member States, few confirmed that such initiatives were commonplace or widespread. 

213  Benavot,  A.  (2014).  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development 

in  Primary  and  Secondary  Education.  Available  at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282342116_Education_for_Sustainable_Development_in_Primary_and_Secondary_Education 

69 

 
 
 
 
                                           
According  to  national  mapping  data,  one  of  the  factors  that  facilitates  cross-sectoral 
partnerships  at  ECEC  level  is  direct  intervention  by  education  ministries.  Ministries  of 
education  in  the  Member  States  can  create  and  fund  specific  initiatives  by  targeted 
collectives  of  societal  actors–  be  they  NGOs,  businesses,  local  communities  or  other 
government branches – to interact within the sphere of EES. Examples of this are evident 
in  Bulgaria  and  Italy.  In  both  countries,  the  education  ministries  have  created  funding 
mechanisms to which cross-sectoral partnerships can exclusively apply to kick-start ECEC 
EES  initiatives.  In  Bulgaria,  schools  have  partnered  with  SMEs  and  NGOs  (under  the 
‘ПУДООС’  initiative)  to  teach  kindergarten  children  about  water  management.  In  Italy, 
schools  partnered  with  national  park  authorities  to  apply  for  funding  from  regional/local 
authorities that allowed kindergarten children to become more familiar with ESD, using the 
woods/national  parks  as  a  medium  for  teaching  (under  the  ‘Kindergarten  in  the  Woods’ 
initiative). Government intervention, in the shape of leadership and political will, was also 
highlighted as a vital facilitator of ESD in the ‘Report on the Implementation of the UNECE 
Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development from 2005 to 2015’.214 

Regardless of the type of partnership, cross-sector partnerships mostly result in initiatives 
that  either  engage  kindergarten  children  in  some  kind  of  activity  or  lesson  (e.g.  in 
Portugal, a partnership between the Superior Institute of Agronomy of the University of 
Lisbon and local schools has resulted in visits and ludic-pedagogical activities at Tapada da 
Ajuda  –  a  green  space  in  Lisbon);  or  instruct  educators  who  specialise  in  ECEC  (e.g.  in 
Hungary,  a  partnership  between  the  energy/gas  sector  and  schools  has  resulted  in  a 
large-scale virtual learning programme called ‘EnergiaKaland’ [‘Energy Adventure’], which 
helps to instruct educators on how to engage students – kindergarten children included – 
about  the  subject  of  energy,  and  to  increase  their  energy-related  knowledge).  In  some 
cases, collaboration results in a tangible EES-related output, rather than an initiative (e.g. 
in  Romania,  the  Department  of  Sustainable  Development  collaborated  closely  and 
consulted  with  schools  to  develop  the  ‘Book  of  Sustainable  Development  Goals  for 
Children’, which addresses EES at ECEC level). 

In their national reports, 15 out of the 27 experts indicated existing examples of systematic 
cross-sectoral  partnerships  at  primary/secondary  level  (see  Table  12.  Education  for 
environmental  sustainability  ).  The  primary/secondary  education  level  is  the  most 
saturated when it comes to cross-sectoral partnerships relating to EES. Unsurprisingly, this 
level is also the most diverse in terms of the nature of these cross-sectoral partnerships. 
The  national  reports  identify  the  following  types  of  cross-sectoral  partnerships:  school-
national parks; school-local community; school-parents’ association; school-government; 
school-NGOs;  school-EdTech;  school-business;  school-university/academia;  and  school-
NPOs. It should be noted that partnerships featuring a mixture of more than two actors 
are also present (e.g. school-business-NGOs). 

Data from the national reports suggest that one of the more frequent and easily developed 
types of cross-sectoral partnerships at primary/secondary level are those between schools 
and  local  community/school-parents’  associations  (e.g.  the  ‘ÖKOLOG:  School  Meets 
Community’ initiative in Austria). Some national experts indicate that these partnerships 

214 United Nations (2016). Evaluation Report on the Implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development 

from  2005  to  2015.  Available  at:  https://unece.org/environment-policy/publications/10-years-unece-strategy-education-sustainable-

development  

70 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
act as a gateway for better environmental learning. Data from the literature review support 
this finding, and add that school-community links play a more impactful role in enhancing 
environmental  learning  when  community  members  are  actively  involved  in  school 
programmes that have an emphasis on an experiential learning approach.   

School community/school parents’ associations partnerships are closely followed by school-
NGO partnerships. Partnerships with NGOs usually manifest either in teacher training, as 
well as providing educators with valuable teaching materials (e.g. the ‘LORA – Sustainable 
Development Laboratory’ initiative in Croatia), or in initiatives that engage students (e.g. 
in  Luxembourg).  School-business  and  school-
the 
university/academia cooperation appears to be less frequent, and is often based around 
project implementation rather than systematic cooperation.  

‘CELL  Earthship’ 

initiative 

The national reports of 14 out of the 27 experts indicated examples of existing, systematic 
cross-sectoral  partnerships  at  higher  education  level  (see  Table  12.  Education  for 
environmental  sustainability  ).  Data  from  the  national  reports  suggests  that  while  such 
cross-sectoral partnerships are present in most Members States, they are widespread in 
only a handful of countries.  

Types  of  partnerships  at  HE-level  are  analogous  to  those  present  at  primary/secondary 
level.  However,  the  nature  of  the  partnerships  and  their  final  outputs  differ.  This  is 
illustrated by initiatives in Belgium, Cyprus and Sweden. It should be noted that these 
examples  are  not  commonplace,  but  represent  exemplary  approaches  that  serve  as 
examples  of good practice.  In  Belgium, under the ‘School Community Collaboration for 
Sustainable Development’ initiative (CoDeS), universities partner with local communities 
to produce, publish and disseminate a range of materials useful to school and community 
stakeholders  in  facilitating  EES.  These  include  locally  sourced  case  study  reports, 
toolboxes, travel guides and different types of workshops. In Cyprus, under the ‘Liaison 
Offices with the Labour Market’ initiative, HEIs partner with businesses and NGOs to place 
students  into  work-related  environments  in  order  to  gain  subject-specific  professional 
experience (EES included). In Sweden, under the SWEDESD initiative, HEIs partner with 
businesses,  schools and policy makers to share research and conduct  high-level panels, 
seminars, conferences, workshops and forums for practitioners.  

In  some  Member  States,  the  lack  of  existing  cross-sectoral  partnerships  at  the  level  of 
higher  education  can  be  attributed  to  poorly  established  communication  mediums  and 
cultural  factors215.  The  Baltics  serve  as  a  good  example  of  this.  Member  States  such  as 
Latvia  and  Lithuania  have  historically  displayed  low  levels  of  university-business  and 
university-NGO cooperation. Both countries have also been urged to expand cross-sector 
partnerships in order to ensure regional prosperity in the past.216  

National mapping data find that in Member States in which cross-sectoral partnerships are 
well  established,  HEIs  are  frequently  in  a  position  to  provide  new  materials,  theory, 
research findings or other types of data to their partners. Compared with partnerships at 

215 Davey, T., Meerman, A., Galan Muros, V., Orazbayeva, B. and Baaken,  T. (2018). The State of University-Business Cooperation in 

Europe. Available at: https://www.ub-cooperation.eu/pdf/final_report2017.pdf  

216 President of The Republic of Lithuania (2010). Close Cooperation Among Academia, Business and Politics is a Key to Prosperity of the 

Baltic  Sea  Region.  Available  at  https://www.lrp.lt/en/press-centre/press-releases/close-cooperation-among-academia-business-and-

politics-is-a-key-to-prosperity-of-the-baltic-sea-region/6607/8778  

71 

 
 
 
 
                                           
the  primary/secondary  school  level,  HEIs  are  highlighted  as  being  more  likely  to  hold 
systemic advisory positions that are not necessarily project-related. 

In his analysis of the impact of universities on regional innovation, Robert Tijssen (2021) 
states that a lack of government incentives leads to untapped opportunities for universities 
to  benefit  from  cross-sectoral  collaboration.  “Universities  may  simply  lack  the  sense  of 
urgency, critical resources or necessary infrastructures to develop or exploit relationships 
with  external  partners.  Universities  do  not  always  have  the  right  kind  of  incentive 
structures to become more heavily engaged with regional partners, partially because they 
are not meant to act as regional development agencies and also because of organisational 
practices which are, by nature, difficult to change and often resistant to external pressure.” 
217 It must be noted, however, that prematurely forcing academia and business to cooperate 

can  have  negative  consequences,  as  research  indicates  that  the  current  trend 
towards  increasing  the  responsiveness  of  academia  towards  the  needs  and 
requirements of business has resulted in a great deal of dissatisfaction on both 
sides  of  such  partnerships  (Anna  Lašáková  et  al.  2017).  On  the  one  hand, 
entrepreneurial  actors  create  pressure  on  HEIs  to  deliver  well-prepared  and  skilled 
graduates with the ability to apply the theoretical knowledge they have learned within the 
corporate praxis. On the other hand, academia would like to gain access to businesses to 
develop their R&D activities and become genuine partners with the business sector. 218 

Table 12. Education for environmental sustainability Cross-Sectoral Collaboration, EU-27 

CROSS-
SECTORAL 
COLLABORATION 

Member States 

General 

T
A

E
B

G
B

Y
C

Z
C

E
D

K
D

E
E

L
E

S
E

I
F

R
F

R
H

U
H

E

I

T

I

T
L

U
L

V
L

T
M

L
N

L
P

T
P

O
R

E
S

I

S

K
S

Supported at system 
level 

ECEC 
Supported at system 
level 

Primary/secondary 
Supported at system 
level 
Higher education 

Supported at system 
level 

  ○  ○  ●  ● 

  ○  ●  ○ 

  ○  ○  ○  ● 

  ●  ◌ 

  ● 

  ○ 

  ○  ○  ○ 

  ○  ○  ●  ●  ○ 

  ○  ○  ● 

  ● 

  ○ 

  ● 

○  ●  ○  ●  ●  ○ 

  ● 

  ○ 

  ○  ●  ● 

  ● 

  ● 

  ● 

  ● 

  ○  ○  ○  ●  ○ 

  ● 

  ○ 

  ●  ○  ● 

  ○ 

  ● 

  ○ 

  ● 

Source: Authors. Note: ● – Present in the country ○ – only partially present ◌ - not present. Blank cell indicates N/A. 

In  their  national  reports,  more  than  half  of  all  experts  indicated  examples  of  existing 
systematic cross-sectoral partnerships at the level of non-formal education (NFE). Some 
Member States have used the legal/judicial measures to increase the extent to which cross-
sectoral  partnerships  occur  at  NFE  level.  In  Bulgaria,  the  Cultural  Centres  Act  dictates 
that  local  authorities  are  partly  responsible  for  maintaining  cultural  centres,  which  are 
tasked with fulfilling state cultural and education tasks – including those relating to EES. 

217  Tijssen,  R.,  Edwards, 

J.  and 

Jonkers,  K. 

(2021).  Regional 

Innovation 

Impact  of  Universities.  Available  at: 

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839100536.00007  

218 Lašáková, A., Bajzíková, L. and Dedze, I. (2017). Barriers and drivers of innovation in higher education: Case study-based evidence 

across  ten  European  universities,  International  Journal  of  Educational  Development,  Volume  55,  pp.  69-79,  ISSN  0738-0593, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.06.002 

72 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Other  countries  have  created  and  maintained  thriving  and  plentiful  cross-sectoral 
partnerships at NFE level due to the prevalence of sustainability as a cultural element. Data 
from the national reports suggest that this is the case in Finland and Sweden. 

Data from the national reports also suggest that cross-sector partnerships at the NFE level 
tend to involve a dynamic in which government institutions/branches and NGOs provide 
services  or  outputs  to  their  partners,  e.g.  local  communities,  businesses  and 
schools/universities. NFE is the level at which the outputs and activities of cross-sectoral 
partnership  are  most  varied.  These  outputs/activities  can  be  divided  into  three  broad 
categories.  First,  data  from  the  national  reports  suggests  that  it  is  common  for 
governments and NGOs to create mediums for the sharing of materials and promotion of 
collaboration, such as a platform or dissemination network. This is reported in the cases of 
Belgium,  Cyprus  and  Hungary.  The  second  category  of  partnerships  is  based  on 
governmental  institutions  and  NGOs  providing  on-demand  workshops,  training,  lectures 
and seminars aimed at children, educators or university students. Experts from NGOs or 
government branches are invited as lecturers or guest speakers to schools or universities. 
This is noted in the cases of Croatia, Luxembourg and Slovakia. The last category can 
be defined as ‘direct collaboration’, in which members of the partnership work together to 
promote EES principles. For example, in Czech Republic, under the initiative ‘We Teach 
Outdoors’,  teachers  and  parents  cooperate  to  promote  outdoor  education  as  an 
extracurricular activity outside school hours. In Latvia, under the initiative ‘Clean. Good. A 
City Without Waste’, NGOs, municipality representatives and local communities collaborate 
to make local are greener and more sustainable.  

Whitehouse  (2015)219  suggests  that  partnerships  between  institutions,  groups  and 
individuals are necessary relationships to get things done in the field of EES. Whether they 
are cooperating with parents, NGOs, or governments branches, teachers have an easier 
time implementing place-based education and exploring the various aspects of EES within 
a cooperative environment. As one might expect, a lack of such relationships tends to limit 
the growth of EES. The national report for Croatia provides a more contextualised view as 
to what might be the cause. It argues that if no incentives, structures, guidelines or other 
practices are defined, cooperation will not be promoted between education institutions and 
other stakeholders to encourage and deliver EES. The process is not automatic. Without 
pre-defined foundations for cooperation at system level, cross-sectoral cooperation relies 
solely on motivation of individual actors to continue. 

219 Whitehouse, H. (2015). Cross-Sectorial Relationships for Education for Sustainability. In: Moscardo, G. and Benckendorff, P. (Eds.), 

Education 

for  Sustainability 

in  Tourism.  CSR,  Sustainability,  Ethics  &  Governance.  Berlin,  Heidelberg:  Springer. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47470-9_8  

73 

 
 
 
 
                                           
an 

for 

enabler 

important 

strategies; 

The  national  experts  from  Cyprus,  Greece, 
Hungary,  Latvia,  Portugal,  Romania  and 
Slovenia suggest that the establishment of a 
national  point  of  contact  for  EES  would  serve 
as 
the 
implementation  of  EES.  These  national  points 
of  contact 
for  EES  should  act  as  a 
harmonisation  medium  for  EES,  clarifying  (a) 
concepts,  policies  and 
(b) 
intervening  agents;  (c) 
responsible  and 
implementation  guidelines  and  tools;  and  (d) 
monitoring and quality assurance instruments 
to 
organised 
and 
educational  levels,  cycles  and  years,  and 
responding  to  segmented  targets  such  as 
teachers, students, local authorities, NGOs and 
businesses.  Data  from  the  national  reports 
suggest that in some countries, (e.g. Cyprus), 
pseudo-contact  points  already  exist,  but  are 
underdeveloped  and  cannot  achieve  their  full 
potential due to funding limitations. 

according 

results; 

Permanent  Unit  of  Education  for  the  Environment  and 
Sustainable  Development 
(EESD).  The  EESD  was 
established  in  Cyprus  with  the  aim  of  implementing, 
monitoring  and  upgrading  the  National  Strategy  on  ESD, 
which includes all activities relating to ESD at the level of 
formal, informal and non-formal education. The EESD is a 
horizontal  structure  of  the  State  not  only  between  the 
directorates and services of the Ministry of Education, but 
also between all ministries, as well as with the private sector 
and  NGOs.  The  study  carried  out  to  develop  the  EESD 
involved the participation of stakeholders from the public 
and  private  sectors,  local  authorities,  universities,  NGOs, 
etc.  The  EESD’s  mission  is  to  promote  and  effectively 
implement  ESD  at  all  levels  of  formal  and  non-formal 
education  in  the  long  term,  in  a  unified,  holistic  and 
coherent way.  
The  EESD  works  closely  with  all  stakeholders  (Ministries, 
public  services,  private  organisations,  social  partners, 
professional groups, local communities, NGOs, universities, 
etc.)  to  promote  ESD  in  civil  society.  It  focuses  on  the 
formation of an educational system that provides tools to 
all  stakeholders  (teachers,  students,  principals,  parents, 
professionals, etc.) to deal effectively with SD issues in the 
educational  process,  but  also  in  non-formal  and  informal 
education. Furthermore, it seeks to tackle chronic problems 
that  exist  in  the  field  of  ESD  in  Cyprus,  such  as  the 
fragmentation  and  overlapping  of  ESD  issues  within  and 
between each directorate of education, to ensure the best 
use of human resources on ESD, to establish ‘institutional 
memory’ and long-term planning on ESD, in order to ensure 
the  unity  and  holistic  implementation  of  ESD  at  all 
educational levels, taking into account its interdisciplinary 
nature1. 

The  national  experts  from  Austria,  Cyprus 
and  Italy  highlighted  existing  university 
alliances  supported  at  state  or  international 
level, which act as important  enablers.  These 
allow  the  exchange  of  innovative  ideas  and 
good practices in the field, as do  EU  financial 
instruments 
themselves,  which  make  a 
significant contribution towards institutional initiatives relating to EES. 

Integrating 

4. 
sustainability at institutional level 

education 

for 

environmental 

This  chapter  presents  findings  from  the  mapping  exercise  of  the  study  –  primarily  the 
teacher  survey,  literature  review  and  inventory  of  good  practices.  It  discusses  various 
practices across institutions in the EU-27 that aim to develop sustainability mindsets. In 
line  with  the  study’s  analytical  framework,  it  recognises  that  transformative  and 
sustainable  change  needs  to  occur  at  both  policy  level  and  institutional  level,  with 
purposeful  and  holistic  approaches  and  supportive  synergies  between  these  levels.  At 
institutional  level,  all  kindergartens,  schools,  universities  as  well  as  non-formal  training 
institutions need to support EES in a whole-institution and holistic manner. Collaboration 
is also vital with other actors within their respective communities, as is a guarantee that 
educators and leaders have the necessary support, qualifications, financial resources and 

74 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
motivation  to  implement  EES220221.  This  chapter,  therefore,  presents  an  overview  of  the 
existing barriers faced by education institutions, as well as the enablers that can help to 
ensure the holistic and transformational implementation of EES.  

Transformative practices and vision 

4.1. 
The ‘whole-school’ or ‘whole-institution’ approach (hereafter WIA) is often referred 
to  as  a  key  transformative  strategy  for  implementing  EES  at  institutional  level.  WIA 
involves  the  inclusion  of  sustainable  practices  in  every  aspect  of  school  life  and  school 
culture. This includes school governance (mission statements concerning the institution’s 
value);  teaching  and  learning  design;  campus  and  facilities  management;  as  well  as 
cooperation with partners and the broader communities and students (reconsidering and 
redesigning  schools’  operations  and  environmental  management:  conserving  water  and 
energy, providing healthy food, minimising waste and providing green and healthy school 
grounds222).223 The principle underlying WIA is education for environmental sustainability, 
rather than education about sustainable development224. WIA thus directs the focus of ESD 
from the cognitive dimension of learning towards the behavioural dimension.225 Co-engaged 
learning environments enable participants to explore shared matters of concern, and are 
good  areas  for  developing  the  collaborative  problem-solving  skills  needed  to  address 
climate change both locally and globally. 226 In this regard, WIA that focuses on engaging 
students in decision-making and school life has been found to be especially influential in 
shaping sustainability mindsets. 227 The literature suggests that several WIA approaches to 
sustainability exist (see Table 16 for more detailed information)228:  

-  OECD Environment and School Initiative (ENSI) Eco Schools. ENSI (1986-
2019) was a decentralised international government-based EE learning network 
under  the  umbrella  of  the  OECD’s  Centre  for  Educational  Research  and 
Innovation (CERI). ENSI was made up of member countries primarily originating 
from Europe, but also including Australia, as well as partner countries such as 
New Zealand and South Korea. Under this programme, each country funded its 

220 Verhelst, D., Vanhoof, J., Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2020). Building a conceptual framework for an ESD-effective school 

organization. Journal of Environmental Education, 1–16. Doi:10.1080/00958964.2020.1797615 

221 Mogren, A., Gericke, N. and Scherp, H.-Å. (2019). Whole institution approaches to education for sustainable development: a model 

that links to school improvement, Environmental Education Research, 25:4, 508-531, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2018.1455074 

222 UNESCO (2016). Global Education Monitoring Report, ‘Planet: Education for Environmental Sustainability and Green Growth’. Available 

at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000246429/PDF/246429eng.pdf.multi. 

223  UNESCO  (2020).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  A  Roadmap.  #ESD  for  2030.  Paris,  UNESCO.  Available  at: 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802) 

224 Delors, J. (1996). Learning, the Treasure Within: Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First 

Century. Paris: UNESCO 

225 Hargreaves, L.G. (2008). ‘The whole-institution approach to education for sustainable development: From pilot projects to systemic 

change.’ Policy & Practice – A Development Education Review 6. Available at: https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-

6/whole-institutionapproach-eduation-sustainable-development-pilot-projects-systemic-change 

226  Leicht,  A.,  Heiss,  J.  and  Byun,  W.J.  (2018).  Issues  and  trends  in  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  Paris:  United  Nations 

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

227  Shaw,  N.,  Rueckert,  C.,  Smith,  J.,  Tredinnick,  J.  and  Lee,  M.  (2017).  Students  as  Partners  in  the  real  world  -  A  whole-institution 

approach. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), pp. 1-8. 

228 Australian Research Institutes in Education for Sustainability (2004). Whole-institution approaches to sustainability: An international 

review 

of 

whole-institution 

sustainability 

programs. 

Available 

at: 

https://aries.mq.edu.au/projects/whole_school/files/international_review.pdf  

75 

 
 
 
 
                                           
own work, while ENSI provided opportunities for members to come together in 
formal  settings  and  share  practice  and  research  on  EE.  One  of  ENSI’s  main 
projects related to research and school development work in ‘Eco Schools’. The 
aim  of  this  project  was  to  develop,  test  and  publish  methods  of  teaching  and 
learning  that  defined  good  practices  in  EE  by  setting  up  international  school 
partnerships and conducting comparative studies in such areas as ‘quality criteria 
for Eco School development’229. The term ‘quality criteria’ was used to refer to 
the implicit and explicit criteria used to support Eco Schools in incorporating EE 
and EFS as part of their school development230. Through this work, ENSI aimed 
to  promote,  share  and  build  upon  the  experiences  and  practices  of  member 
countries, and to identify international standards for a set of ‘quality criteria’. 
-  Foundation  for  Environmental  Education  (FEE  International)  Eco 
Schools. The FEE Eco Schools programme (1994-present) is the world's largest 
environmental  education  organisation,  with  members  in  77  countries231. 
Originally founded as a European programme, it has since expanded to countries 
in Africa, Asia and South America. FEE is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation 
for 
that  brings 
“environmental education, management and certification”232. These NGOs work 
in  close  partnership  with  their  national  educational  authorities  and  the  FEE 
International Secretariat. While the overall programme is coordinated through a 
common framework at international level, members have the flexibility to tailor 
programmes to suit their own needs. In general, participating schools undertake 
a  seven-step  process  to  work  towards  Green  Flag  certification233,  although 
variations exist in the content and focus of these steps. 

implementing  programmes 

together  national  NGOs 

-  Sweden’s  School  for  Sustainable  Development  Award.  The  School  for 
Sustainable  Development  Award/Utmärkelsen  Skola  för  hållbar  utveckling 
(1998-present)  is  an  ESD  award  programme  created  by  the  Swedish  National 
Agency  for  Education234.  The  programme  is  underpinned  by  a  range  of  ‘award 
criteria’ for schools to meet in order to work towards sustainable development. 
Participating schools must meet specified criteria before they can apply for the 
award, which is valid for up to three years. The programme aims to incorporate 
all  aspects  of  school  life,  including  management,  activities  and  teaching, 
occupational health and safety, physical welfare, and the physical environment. 
These  criteria  were  developed  though  a  multi-disciplinary  and  participatory 
process,  and  are  based  on  the  national  curricula  and  syllabuses.  The  areas  of 
focus for the School for Sustainable Development Award can be summarised as 

229 Australian Research Institutes in Education for Sustainability (2004). Whole-institution approaches to sustainability: An international 

review 

of 

whole-institution 

sustainability 

programs. 

Available 

at: 

https://aries.mq.edu.au/projects/whole_school/files/international_review.pdf  

230 OECD (2004). Environment and School Initiatives (ENSI). Available at: www.ensi.org  

231 Foundation for Environmental Education (n.d.). Positive Change on a Global Scale. Available at: https://www.fee.global/  

232 Australian Research Institutes in Education for Sustainability (2004). Whole-institution approaches to sustainability: An international 

review 

of 

whole-institution 

sustainability 

programs. 

Available 

at: 

https://aries.mq.edu.au/projects/whole_school/files/international_review.pdf  

233 Eco-Schools (n.d.). The Seven-Step Methodology. Available at: https://www.ecoschools.global/how-it-works  

234  Evans,  J.A.  (2015).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  (ESD)  Awards  in  Sweden:  A  qualitative  study  of  the  motivations  and 

barriers  of 

two  ESD  award 

initiatives 

from 

the  perspective  of 

local  and  national 

stakeholders.  Available  at: 

https://www.edu.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.404854.1538748211!/menu/standard/file/James_Evans_Master_Thesis_2015_.pdf  

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
follows: school life; consumption; democracy; and ethical, aesthetic, cultural and 
health considerations. 

sustainable 

Several good examples of WIA exist in various 
education institutions across the EU at various 
levels  of  education.  In  Cyprus,  the  Schools 
Sustainable  Environmental  Education  Policy 
(SEEP)  is  an  official  whole-institution  policy 
adopted  by  most  primary  and  secondary 
schools. SEEP focuses mainly on ensuring that 
sustainability  becomes  part  of  all  school 
plans235.  Without 
school 
plans/policies  to  establish  responsibility  and 
provide  guidelines  for  schools  to  act  upon, 
long-term and systemic ESD change might not 
be  sustained236.  In  the  Czech  Republic,  the 
education  centre  TEREZA  has  developed  an 
eco-school  programme 
that  has  been 
in  50  kindergartens.  This 
implemented 
programme 
participatory 
focuses 
approaches,  allowing  learners  to  take  part  in 
making  decisions  abut  which  sustainability 
topics  should  be  a  priority  for  the  institution. 
In  the  Czech  example,  a  study  found  a 
significantly  higher  level  of  environmental 
attitudes  among  children  at  the  eco-kindergartens  in  which  this  more  participatory 
approach was applied.237  

Schools  Sustainable  Environmental  Education  Policy 
(SEEP), 
Cypriot  Greek:  Αειφόρος  Περιβαλλοντική 
Εκπαίδευτική Πολιτικών των Σχολείων (ΑΠΕΠ). The SEEP is 
developed  by  the  whole  institution, and  consequently  the 
entire school works towards its implementation. It responds 
to the needs and particularities of the school unit and the 
school’s immediate environment. The issues included in the 
SEEP are agreed by the whole institution, and everyone in 
the school engages in their exploration and studies through 
the  curriculum’s  thematic  units.  The  SEEP  requires 
cooperation  with  the  community  and  the  formation  of 
collaboration networks with organisations and institutions. 
Its evaluation takes the form of schools' self-evaluation at a 
pedagogical,  organisational  and  social 
level,  and  the 
outcomes become the basis for its long-term continuation1. 
The  enactment  of  the  SEEP  in  every  school  in  Cyprus 
contributes  to  reinforcing  the  on-going 
international 
dialogue  on  ESD  and  meeting  the  need  to  establish  ESS 
within school plans, “since this is considered necessary for 
ensuring the long-term implementation of ESD based on a 
progressive,  coherent  and  adaptative  approach.  Without 
the 
sustainable 
responsibility  of  and  provide  guidelines  for  schools  to  act 
upon,  long-term  and  systemic  ESS  change  might  not  be 
sustained”1. 

school  plans/policies 

to  establish 

on 

While  the  WIA  is  often  implemented  at  primary  and  secondary  educational  levels,  and 
increasingly  in  HEIs,  note  should  be  taken  of  the  Czech  example  described  above.  The 
involvement of young children in sustainable practices is of great importance  in creating 
sustainable  mindsets  and  initiating  long-term  exposure  to  environmental  sustainability. 
Leeming et al. (1997) evaluated various EES programmes and concluded that the impact 
of EES on the development of lasting sustainable attitudes depends strongly on the length 
of one’s exposure to it. Therefore, the integration of sustainable practices at early childhood 
level is an important point at which children can start to develop sustainable mindsets.238 

The review of literature and country profiles prepared for the current study show a growing 
interest  among  kindergartens  in  adopting  a  sustainable  vision  or  sustainable  practices. 
While increasing attention is paid to nature in government curricula, no overarching policies 

235 Zachariou, A. (2021). National policy and research review for Cyprus. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study 

on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

236 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) (2013). Concept paper on priority action areas (Information Paper No. 5). 

http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/ 8thMeetSC/Information_Paper_5_Final.pdf. Accessed 23 July 2013. 

237  Cincera,  J.,  Kroufek,  R,  Skalik,  J., Simonova,  P.,  Broukalova,  L.  and  Broukal,  V.  (2017).  Eco-School  in  Kindergartens:  The  Effects, 

Interpretation,  and 

Implementation  of  a  Pilot  Program.  Environmental  Education  Research,  23(7),  919-936.  doi: 

10.1080/13504622.2015.1076768. 

238 Leeming, F.C. et al. (1997) ‘Effects of participation in class activities on children’s environmental attitudes and knowledge’, Journal of 

Environmental Education. 

77 

 
 
 
 
                                           
 
 
exist for the WIA approach. Therefore, as mentioned above, and particularly highlighted 
by the Hungarian national report, the integration of EES depends to a large extent on the 
resources  and  interest  of  the  staff239.  Challenges  to  the  implementation  of  EES  through 
transformative  practices  and  visions  at  kindergarten  level,  and  also  other  levels,  relate 
closely to their reliance on staff capacity, educators’ awareness, resources, support from 
local municipalities and motivation towards the integration of WIA approaches.240  

The country profiles prepared by the national experts indicate that in most EU countries in 
which  whole-institution  approaches  have  been  adopted,  WIA  takes  place  through  one 
particular  international  programme:  the  global  Eco-school  programme.  While  the  box 
below describes the standard approach of  this programme, there  may be differences  its 
the application from country to country and from school to school, particularly with regard 
to  the  pedagogical  approaches  chosen.241  For  example,  in  Denmark,  where  there  are 
around  200  eco-schools,  the  Green  Free  School  (Den  Grønne  Friskole)  is  made  entirely 
from sustainable materials and places experiential learning and eco-pedagogy at the heart 
of its syllabus, thereby going beyond what most eco-schools in the country offer242. 

The Eco-School Programme is the largest and best-known global environmental education programme for educational institutions (in 
more  than  80  countries),  in which  EES  and  ESD  related  competences  and  activities  are  evaluated  at  institutional  level  through  the 
awarding of a ‘Green Flag’ and ‘Green Key’ . The programme is run globally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).  

To become part of the programme and be recognised as an eco-school, schools must implement seven steps: 

Form a student-led eco-committee 
Carrying out a Sustainability Audit 

1. 
2. 
3.  Design a corresponding Action Plan 
4.  Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Action Plan 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 

Link Eco-Schools activities to the curriculum 
Inform all school staff, pupils, and wider community of the eco-school activities 
Produce an Eco-Code describing the school’s commitment to sustainability 

Usually, after two years of implementing the programme and reaching a high level of performance in complying with the seven steps 
(sometimes  national  mandatory  criteria  also  apply),  schools  can  apply  for  and  be  awarded  the  Green  Flag.  Eco-schools  rely  on 
certification systems set up to incentivise and facilitate change, following clear criteria for action at school level243. 

The  Eco-Schools  programme  is  also  being  expanded  to  universities  through  FEE  Campus,  which  encourages  student  and  staff 
involvement in sustainable practices at the level of tertiary education. 

Source: https://www.ecoschools.global/seven-steps/ 

239 Varga, A. (2021). National policy and research review for Hungary. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study on 

national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

240 HUMUSZ (2016). ‘Civil szervezetek szerepe a környezeti nevelés terén/ (The role of NGO-s in environmental education). Available at: 

http://www.humusz.hu/sites/default/files/Dokumentumok/gyerekoktatas/korny_nev_ajanlas.Pdf [Accessed 10. March 2021]  

241 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017). Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics 

and nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

242 Clasper, J. (2020). Meet Denmark's school where education is all about sustainability. DW, 19.02.2020. Accessed 06.07.2020 from 

https://www.dw.com/en/denmark-copenhagen-sustainability-school-education/a-52341880  

243 Affolter, C. and Varga, A. (2018). Environment and school initiatives lessons from the ENSI Network – Past, present and future. Vienna, 

Austria/Budapest, 

Hungary: 

ENSI/Eszterhazy 

Karoly 

University. 

Retrieved 

October 

18, 

2018, 

from 

http://ofi.hu/sites/default/files/attachments/lessons_from_the_ensi_network-book_web_0905.pdf 

78 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Studies on the effectiveness of the eco-school system find that it has a significant positive 
but limited effect on the implementation of ESD in educational systems244. First, Gan et al. 
(2019)  highlight  that  the  eco-school  programme  may  suffer  from  being  a  pre-defined 
approach,  which  makes  it  hard  to  successfully  implement  in  different  local  settings.245 
Second, Boeve-de Pauw and Van Petegem (2017) find that eco-schools generally have a 
positive impact on theoretical knowledge, but less so on applied knowledge, and there are 
key differences among implementation practices and school levels246. Overall, the reasons 
for  their  minimal  impact  on  behavioural  outcomes  is  that  eco-schools  foster  only 
‘controlled’  motivation,  while  teachers  and  leaders  have  misconceptions  about  how 
behaviours change through knowledge, while values and intrinsic motivation matter more 
in relation to behavioural change. The challenges and opportunities faced by eco-schools 
are  likely  relevant  for  the  implementation  of  other  whole-institution-approaches  too,  as 
these apply similar methods.  

On the other hand, Boeve-de Pauw and Petegem (2017) find that those eco-schools which 
do have a positive impact on applied knowledge and the intrinsic motivation of students, 
ensure the spatial and pedagogical use of green elements, meaning that real educational 
impacts can be achieved when nature is used actively in teaching and learning, rather than 
serving  purely  as  decoration.  The  researchers  also  find  than  an  integrated  approach  to 
teaching methods in eco-schools is much more impactful than a normative approach. This 
integrated approach consists of methods such as ‘debate’, ‘guest speaker’, ‘active group 
assignment’,  ‘year  project’,  ‘cross-curricular  attention’,  ‘trip  to  a  field  centre’,  while  the 
normative approach might consist of ‘day projects’ and ‘clear rules in hallways’247.  

In line with the recommendations by Boeve-de Pauw and Petegem (2017), the following 
example  from  the  Netherlands  demonstrates  how  a  WIA  initiative  can  involve  children 
actively in sustainable practices rather than providing only education about the importance 
of, for example, waste management. In one Dutch EES programme, primary and secondary 
schools can acquire a quality mark if their school building and its surroundings are kept 
very clean. This certification is called ‘The Clean School’ (De schone school). The children 
are called upon to actively participate and work with checklists and measuring instruments 
to ascertain the level of litter before and after the clean-up, and to help maintain the school 
surroundings,  with  the  aim  that  this  will  positively  influence  their  future  behaviour.248 
Interestingly, the framework does not spell out any specific environmental or sustainability 
behaviours  that  educational  projects  or  programmes  should  foster,  but  instead  stresses 
the importance of getting students actively involved and allowing multiple voices, including 
marginalised ones, to be heard.  

244 Gan, D. et al.(2019).  ‘Do eco-schools really help implementation of ESD?: A comparison between eco-school systems of Hungary and 

Israel.’ Hungarian Educational Research Journal 9.4: 628-653. 

245 Gan, D. et al. (2019). ‘Do eco-schools really help implementation of ESD?: A comparison between eco-school systems of Hungary and 

Israel.’ Hungarian Educational Research Journal 9.4: 628-653. 

246 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017). Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics 

and nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

247 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017). Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics 

and nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

248 Tauritz, R. and Wals, A.E.J. (2010). A history of environmental education and youth participation in the Netherlands. In: Corcoran, 

P.B.  and  Osano,  P.O.  (Eds)  Young  people,  education,  and  sustainable  development.  Exploring  principles,  perspectives  and  praxis. 

Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, pg. 253-264. 

79 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Taking into account the academic literature and reports by national experts across the EU, 
the following lessons can be drawn as key elements and actions (enabling factors) that can 
ensure  the  success  of  the  whole-institution  approach,  either  by  making  sure  it  is 
comprehensively  implemented  and  long-lasting,  or  has  a  proven  impact  on  students’ 
behaviours.  

1.  Initiative  and  an  open-minded  attitude  on  the  part  of  key  actors 
(preferably  several)  within  the  institution.  Overall,  WIAs  are  voluntarily 
structures and thus rely on teachers to innovate and ensure the buy-in of their 
school leaders or vice versa, so that they can be lasting and empowering bottom-
up initiatives. Without a person – a “change agent,” – or the commitment of the 
principal, however, the central eco-school initiative may not trigger changes at 
a local level, nor will it necessarily ensure the nationwide level of take-up crucial 
to initiating widespread change.  Schools that incorporate  ESD in a lasting and 
comprehensive  manner  will  therefore  often  have  a  common,  school-wide 
understanding of what  they  mean by  ESD  as an organisation, why they feel a 
need to incorporate it, and what they hope to achieve by working with ESD, with 
a sustained collective engagement and efficacy to achieve it. 

2.  Adaptability. Adaptability refers to the way in which schools adapt to internal 
and  external  demands  or  opportunities  for  change.  An  effective  school  can 
respond to these demands and by doing so, improve. Lastly, collective efficacy 
refers to a school team’s conviction that their efforts will have a positive effect 
on student outcomes, as well as their high expectations of what the school and 
its pupils can achieve. It is therefore crucial that institutions build lasting cultures 
and  systems.  Example  of  good  practices  that  ensure  WIA  is  sustainable  and 
successful  are  peer-to-peer  networking  between  institutions,  policy  incentives 
and support, and a long-term approach to planning and strategising249.  

3.  Shared  leadership.  Evidence  shows  that  for  a  school  to  be  ESD-effective, 
shared or distributed leadership is needed and a ‘heroic’ leadership style is not 
sustainable  over  time250251.  Shared  or  distributed  leadership252  means  that  both 
teachers and pupils are involved in decision making. This affects the feeling of 
ownership among both students and staff towards sustainable practices, as well 
as the development of students’ competences. 

4.  Vision and plan. As with the example of Cyprus above, including sustainability 
into the planning and vision  for a school’s identity and core operations can be 
particularly impactful, and can ensure that the institution both implements the 
WIA and also engages in monitoring and quality assurance of it.  

5.  Student  engagement.  Several  studies  indicate  that  the  integration  of 
sustainability  topics  at  the  operational  level  in  schools  is  an  important 
pedagogical tool for skills development. Studies find that participation in school 

249 Boeve-de Pauw, J. and Van Petegem, P. (2017). Eco-school evaluation beyond labels: the impact of environmental policy, didactics 

and nature at school on student outcomes, Environmental Education Research, doi: 10.1080/13504622.2017.1307327 

250 Bennell, S. (2015). Education for sustainable development and global citizenship: Leadership, collaboration, and networking in primary 

schools. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 7. 10.18546/IJDEGL.07.1.02. 

251 Abrahamsen, H. and Aas, M. (2016). School leadership for the future:  heroic or distributed? Translating international discourses in 

Norwegian policy documents, Journal of Educational Administration and History, 48:1, 68-88, doi: 10.1080/00220620.2016.1092426 

252 Bennell, S. (2015). Education for sustainable development and global citizenship: Leadership, collaboration, and networking in primary 

schools. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning 7. 10.18546/IJDEGL.07.1.02. 

80 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
elections  and  having  a  democratic  student  body  that  participates  in  decision 
making is a beneficial experience that prepares young people to become active 
citizens (see 2.3).253  

In the teacher survey implemented as part of this study, most of the teachers surveyed 
(52 per cent) perceived EES as part of their school culture (including those who answered 
‘partly’). Most respondents recognised the visibility of EES in their school’s culture through 
its  waste  management  practices.  We  suggest  that  these  positive  findings  should  be 
interpreted with caution. The fact that teachers primarily list waste management as well 
as  the  use  of  sustainable  learning  materials,  as  proof  of  a  ‘whole-institution’  culture, 
potentially shows a lack of understanding of what such an approach entails. Among those 
teachers  who  said  no,  most  answers  related  to  the  lack  of  an  institutional  vision  and 
concrete actions from the school management, and the fact that initiatives for EES rely on 
the  motivation  of  individual  teachers  without  sustained  support  from  the  school 
management.  

Both the exploratory teacher survey and reports by national experts demonstrate that the 
lack  of  comprehensive  and  mandatory  government  policies  for  WIA  in  school  education 
creates a lot of pressure on school staff to design and implement school-level approaches. 
In Hungary and Greece, there is a lack of financial resources dedicated to environmental 
sustainability-related activities, both on the part of schools and by government.254255 Many 
national experts referred to overloaded curricula and  the workload of  both teachers and 
students, which hinder the implementation of additional EES activities. 

It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  universities  are  predominantly  autonomous,  and  are 
thus  far  less  affected  by  national  education  policies,  curricula  and  pedagogies  in 
comparison  to  schools.  Therefore,  WIA  initiatives  to  enhance  sustainability  in  HEIs  are 
usually  driven  by  internal  initiatives,  through  government  incentives,  or  through 
collaborative  networks  of  universities  and  other  stakeholders.  The  literature  and  the 
national reports suggest that the following factors effect change at universities with regard 
to the development of appropriate guidelines and mission statements that support a whole-
institution approach:256 

―  Structural transformation and the entrance of sustainable development 
into  universities’  operational  structures  or  infrastructure.  Some  HEIs  in 
Belgium (formally or informally) have calculated their ecological (and/or carbon) 
footprint, and used this to involve students and improve campus operations.257 
As  such,  Ecological  Footprint  Analysis  (EFA)  can  serve  as  a  tool,  turning  a 
university’s own campus into a living laboratory.  

253 Saha, L.J. and Print, M. (2010). Student school elections and political engagement: A cradle of democracy? International Journal of 

Educational Research 49(1), 22-32. 

254 Varga, A. (2021). National policy and research review for Hungary. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study on 

national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

255 Skanavic, C. (2021). National policy and research review for Greece. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study 

on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

256 University Educators for Sustainable Development (UE4SD) (2014). ‘State of the art report on mapping opportunities for developing 

education for sustainable development competences in the UE4SD partner countries’. 

257 Lambrechts, W. (2021). National policy and research  review for  Belgium. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the  EAC 

Study on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

81 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
―  Internal  factors  (institutional  culture,  strategic  agency,  relationships 
and power on campus). Research from 13 universities in Austria found that 
the  major  drivers  for  change  in  half  of  cases  were  single  actors  who  initiated 
changes  based  on  their  personal  motivation  and  engagement,  in  combination 
with  their  position  and  decision-making  power,  which  fostered  processes  of 
structural  embedding.  The  research  concludes  that  good  interplay  between 
bottom-up engagement and top-down support leads to broad embedding within 
various areas of activity in the university258.  

―  External  factors  (funding/regulative  bodies,  networks,  other  HEIs). 
Many Austrian universities, applied science universities and colleges of teacher 
education  have  participated  in  collaborative  programmes  to  support  EES  as  a 
whole  institution  (the  Alliance  of  Sustainable  Universities,  UniNetz,  uniko-
manifest  for  sustainability).  This  development  is  fostered  by  performance 
agreements  between  the  Ministry  of  Education,  Science  and  Research  and  the 
institutions  concerned,  which  positively  incentivise  action  by  the  HEIs.259  In 
addition  to  this,  external  funding  is  often  seen  as  an  important  driver  in  the 
process of implementing sustainability260. National experts reported examples of 
Erasmus+-funded projects to enhance EES practices at university level. To avoid 
the  sequence  and  continuity  of  projects  being  dependent  on  external  funding, 
research  suggests  that  HEIs  could  assign  responsibility  for  the  integration  of 
sustainable development to one or more employees, using internal funding261. 
―  Focus  on  organisational  learning  and  change  processes  than  consider 
the  benefit  for  students262.  The  Budapest  University  of  Technology  and 
Economics has introduced an EES-related innovation into its evaluation system. 
The ‘Green Diploma’ certificate is a supplement to diplomas, and  certifies that 
students have attended a particular number of courses covering environmental 
economics  and  environmental  management-related  subjects  during  their 
studies.263 

―  Decision-making  processes, 

leadership  strategies,  and  strategic 
planning dynamics. The Belgian national report indicates that universities often 
lack knowledge and awareness of how to integrate EES at an institutional level, 
or do not perceive the importance of integrating it into their strategic plans.264  

258  Bohunovsky,  L.,  Radinger-Peer,  V.  and  Penker,  M.  (2020).  Alliances  of  Change  Pushing  Organizational  Transformation  Towards 

Sustainability across 13 Universities. Sustainability, 12(7), 2853, doi:10.3390/su12072853 

259 See UNESCO (2018). ‘Report on implementation of the UNECE Strategy for Education for Sustainable Development in Austria’. Available 

at: https://unece.org/DAM/env/esd/Implementation/NIR_2018/Austria_NIR_2018.pdf [Accessed 10 February 2021]. 

260 Verhulst, E. and Lambrechts, W.(2015). Fostering the incorporation of sustainable development in higher education. Lessons learned 

from a change management perspective. J. Clean. Prod. 106, 189–204, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.049. 

261 Verhulst, E. and Lambrechts, W.(2015). Fostering the incorporation of sustainable development in higher education. Lessons learned 

from a change management perspective. J. Clean. Prod. 106, 189–204, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.09.049. 

262  Bohunovsky,  L.,  Radinger-Peer,  V.  and  Penker,  M.  (2020).  Alliances  of  Change  Pushing  Organizational  Transformation  Towards 

Sustainability across 13 Universities. Sustainability, 12(7), 2853, doi:10.3390/su12072853 

263 Attila, V. (2021). National policy and research review for Hungary. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study on 

national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

264 Lambrechts, W. (2021). National policy and research  review for  Belgium. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC 

Study on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

82 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Professional learning communities 

4.2. 
As  suggested  by  the  Belgian  national  expert,  lack  of  knowledge  and  awareness  among 
educational staff is another barrier to the implementation of WIA. However, teachers can 
benefit  extensively  from  peer-learning  activities  to  exchange  practices  and  experiences 
and  work  collaboratively  to  improve  teaching  skills  and  the  academic  performance  of 
students.  Peer  learning  is  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  and  skills  through  interactions 
between  people  who  share  similar  characteristics  or  status,  and  who  are  in  a  non-
hierarchical relationship. It is a key part of WIA. 265 Hargreaves and Fink (2006) and Miquel 
and Duran (2017) note that it is essential for schoolteachers to work together and learn 
from each other to develop practices that respond to the challenges of today’s educational 
systems266.  Doing  so  can  improve  their  understanding  of  environmental  concepts  and 
attitudes,  as  well  as  the  ability  to  adjust  programmes  to  their  own  context  using 
cooperative  learning  methods267.  Professional  learning  communities  can  also  foster 
teachers’ agency and role as instrumental actors or ‘subjects’, as opposed to ‘objects’, of 
education268.  The  development  of  professional  learning  communities  is  therefore  an 
especially important factor in implementing EES.  

To understand how professional learning communities can be used in an effective way that 
supports  learning  for  both  teachers  and  students,  this  section  highlights  three  main 
approaches reported in the inventory of good practices and national reports: 1) learning 
communities established by environmental education centres, non-formal organisations or 
universities; 2) inter or intra-institutional learning communities established by teachers or 
education staff themselves; and 3) tools and approaches that are supportive of professional 
learning communities (e.g. online platforms).  

First,  the  national  reports  for  Cyprus,  the  Czech  Republic,  Estonia,  Latvia  and 
Slovenia indicate that the incorporation of NFE initiatives into formal education and  the 
curriculum  is  important  for  better  enabling  EES.  NFE  centres  design  programmes  for 
schools,  produce  materials,  offer  in-service  teacher  training,  or  voluntary  nature-  and 
sustainability-oriented clubs and summer camps for children269. More importantly, due to 
their long lists of services and direct engagement with teachers and school leaders, NFE 
initiatives or environmental education centres tend to be quite successful in establishing 
professional learning communities and spaces for teachers to engage with new pedagogies 
and  education  content.  For  example,  in  the  Czech  Republic,  programme-specific 
communities of practice and networks are organised by environmental education centres. 
In  such  programmes,  such  as  GLOBE270  or  Eco-School271,  coordinators  organise  the 

265 Topping, K. (2005). Trends in Peer Learning. Educational Psychology 25 (6): 631–645. 

266 Hargreaves, A. and Fink, D. (2006). Sustainable Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. 

267 Miquel, E. and Duran, D. (2017). Peer Learning Network: implementing and sustaining cooperative learning by teacher collaboration. 

Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(3), 349–360. Doi:10.1080/02607476.2017.1319509  

268 Philpott, C. and Oates, C. (2016). Teacher agency and professional learning communities; what can Learning Rounds in Scotland teach 

us? Professional Development in Education, doi: 10.1080/19415257.2016.1180316 

269 Kulich, J. (2006). Co jsou a kde se vzala střediska ekologické výchovy, ekocentra, ekologické poradny. Bedrník, 4, 2: 12-14. 

270 https://globe-czech.cz/cz. 

271 https://ekoskola.cz/cz. 

83 

 
 
 
 
                                           
teachers  involved  into  non-formal  communities  of  practice,  with  the  aim  of  exchanging 
experiences, organising workshops, testing new materials, etc.272 

One challenge in relation to this is that only limited research has so far been conducted on 
peer-learning  activities  specifically  aimed  at  ECEC  educators,  and  the  data  yield  less 
information about this education level. In reference to ECEC teacher education and EES, 
most national experts mentioned that the (limited, mostly optional) integration of EES into 
ECEC teacher training differs between institutions. The only examples of peer learning for 
environmental  sustainability  in  ECEC  could  be  found  in  Erasmus+  projects.  The 
‘Empowering Teachers and Pupils for a Better Life through Nature. Project, for instance, 
develops  curricula  and  activities  for  ECEC  educators  and  children  that  helps  them  to 
connect  with  nature.  Sharing  experiences  between  teachers  is  one  of  the  dimensions  of 
the project.273 

Meanwhile,  some  universities  that  carry  out  research  into  EES  have  proven  adept  at 
facilitating  professional  learning  communities  across  all  levels  of  educators.  While  the 
SciTeach  Centre  at  the  University  of  Luxembourg  works  with  teachers  and  experts  in 
science  education  to  research  innovative  approaches  to  science  teaching  in  the  unique 
educational context of  Luxembourg’s primary  schools, the MultiLab project in  Italy  cuts 
across  levels  by  targeting  kindergarten,  primary  school  teachers  and  student  teachers. 
MultiLab  carries  out  research  and  works  to  connect  children,  teachers,  museums  and 
university researchers to innovate and test new and established pedagogical approaches 
(see more in Chapter 5).  

Regardless of these positive examples, the participation of teachers in peer learning or in-
service teacher training activities is often not mandatory, and depends on the motivation 
of individual schools or teachers and their ability to participate. In Belgium, schools create 
a  professional  development  plan  for  each  year,  which  includes  the  topics  to  be  focused 
upon.  Whether  EES  activities  are  included  in  this  depends  on  the  local  context  of  the 
school.274  In  the  teacher  survey  conducted  for  this  study,  more  than  one-third  of 
respondents indicated a lack of peer learning opportunities as a barrier to teaching EES. 
This  supports  the  finding  that  there  are  no  systematic  approaches  to  peer  learning  for 
teachers – only ad hoc, standalone initiatives that cover only selected groups of teachers, 
or teachers with the opportunity and motivation to build such communities for themselves. 

Lastly, this study has recorded some good practices in terms of online platforms that can 
help teachers either to access international professional learning communities, or to obtain 
materials  that  will  hep  them  set  up  their  own  communities.  One  such  example  is  ‘The 
Global School’ in Sweden. This initiative, which is a part of the Swedish Council for Higher 
Education (UHR), works to develop competences in learning for sustainable development 
among  teachers,  school  leaders  and  student  teachers  ,  as  well  as  providing  support  to 
municipalities  and  decision  makers.  All  resources  are  free  and  available  online.275  In  a 

272 Činčera, J. (2021). National policy and research review for Czech Republic. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC 

Study on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

273 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/eplus-project-details/#project/2016-1-PL01-KA201-026412 

274 Lambrechts, W. (2021), National policy and research  review for  Belgium. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the  EAC 

Study on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

275  Utbyten  (n.d.)  Den  Globala  Skolan.  Accessed  08.06.2021  from  https://www.utbyten.se/mojligheter/mojligheter-inom-forskola-och-

skola/den-globala-skolan/  

84 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
forthcoming study on NBS, online platforms were highlighted as particularly effective at 
enabling teachers to contact each other and plan projects, share or discuss resources with 
other teachers at other schools. This is also acknowledgement by project evaluations for 
ESD/EE  international  collaboration  projects  such  as  the  E-School4Sa  Comenius  project, 
which  designed  an  operational  e-learning  platform  for  cooperation  and  the  exchange  of 
information and experiences in the field of ESD276. By becoming a part of online networks 
such as the Consumer Classroom or the Sustainability Education Network Service, teachers 
can also gain direct access to  relevant  materials – a  critical factor, since in many cases 
there is a lack of sufficient resources on environmental sustainability277.  

Partnerships 

4.3. 
The previous section touched on the importance of cross-sectoral partnerships in providing 
teachers  with  resources  and  establishing  professional  learning  communities.  Multi-
stakeholder cooperation is perceived as an integral part of the promotion of EES. Given the 
importance  of  grand  transitions  in  contributing  to  addressing  climate  change,  multi-
stakeholder cooperation is crucial to underpinning a consensus-based vision and strategy. 
In  its  teaching  or  whole-institution  approach,  EES  could  therefore  also  address  more 
explicitly the role of collective action, multifactor networks, and sociotechnical innovation 
in  shaping  energy  transition  processes278.  Interestingly,  data  from  the  national  reports 
suggest that cross-sectoral partnerships that involve multiple stakeholders tend to be more 
systematic and to foster resource sharing, while cross-sector partnerships involving only 
two  partners  tend  to  be  of  a  more  participatory  and  collaborative  nature,  focusing  on 
project-based initiatives.  

To create diverse and cross-boundary learning settings that draw holistic, comprehensive 
pictures of global sustainability challenges, Leicht et al. advise educational institutions and 
educators to foster partnerships at local, national and international level279. Learning within 
partnerships  that  involve  a  range  of  societal  actors,  such  as  businesses,  NGOs,  public 
institutions and/or policymakers, becomes a  source of creativity and innovation through 
dialogues or projects that enable students to learn about real-world challenges and benefit 
from partners’ expertise and experiences. At the same time, they can be empowering for 
partners, increasing their capacity as critical agents of change. In addition, partnerships 
between learners from around the world foster the exchange of different perspectives and 
knowledge  concerning  similar  topics.  Partnerships  for  EES  can  take  various  forms,  but 
usually include: 

  Collaboration with parents and communities; 
  Collaboration with other education institutions (nationally or internationally), e.g. 

school networks, university alliances and labels280; 

276 Monus, F. and Lechner, C. (2017). An innovative way in education for sustainable development: e-School4s – e-school for sustainability 

in the Danube region. Journal of Applied Technical and Educational Sciences Vol. 7, No. 4. 

277  European  Commission  (2017).  ‘7  projects  that  educate  young  citizens  for  a  sustainable  economy’.  EC,  26.06.2017.  Available  at: 

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/news/7-projects-educate-young-citizens-sustainable-economy_en 

[Accessed 

20.01.2021] 

278 Jorgenson, S.N., Stephens, J.C. and White, B. (2019). Environmental education in transition: A critical review of recent research on 

climate change and energy education (p. 168), https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2019.1604478 

279  Leicht,  A.,  Heiss,  J.  and  Byun,  W.J.  (2018).  Issues  and  trends  in  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  Paris:  United  Nations 

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 

280 A good example is ‘e-School4s’ – e-school for sustainability in the Danube region. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/display/148787609 

85 

 
 
 
 
                                           
  Collaboration with other stakeholders (businesses, NGOs). 

Across Europe and across different educational institutions, a plethora of good examples 
of collaborations exist between schools and NGOs or non-formal education institutions. Yet 
challenges exist – in particular in relation to building durable and impactful partnerships. 
In Denmark and Greece, there is often a lack of coordination and effective management 
of  all  of  the  stakeholders  involved  in  EES,  due  to  a  lack  of  clear  policies  on  EES  at 
institutions281282. In Latvia, there is a lack of formalised inclusion of different stakeholders, 
particularly  of  experienced  civil  society  organisations  (NGOs)  in  the  field  of  EES.283  The 
Dutch expert indicated that:  

“National  and  institutional  practices  of  cooperation  among  different  stakeholders  do 
indeed  occur  at  different  levels,  school-business,  school-university,  university-
school/universities–local 
business,  university–NGOs/CSOs, 
government,  EdTech  sector–schools,  etc.  However,  these  partnerships  appear 
transitory and constantly changing: a search of some organisations showed cooperative 
for a number of years, but apparently no follow-up, while some relationships are more 
durable.” 

school–NGOs/CSOs, 

At ECEC level, EES is based on pedagogies suitable for young children, such as structured 
play. Therefore, partnerships for EES in ECEC focus on integrating elements of nature and 
sustainability into children’s play and learning. This means a smaller role for businesses, 
universities,  or  technical  institutions,  and  the  enhanced  importance  of  NGOs  and 
institutions that focus on topics such as interaction with nature and animals in  a playful 
manner. However, the following example demonstrates the potential for ECEC institutions 
to  collaborate  directly  with  institutions  that  are  not  directly  associated  with  play  and 
childhood. For example, in Belgium, Fostplus vzw (an NGO focusing on waste reduction 
and  recycling),  together  with  the  Flemish  waste  organisation  OVAM  and  Goodplanet 
Belgium, developed an interactive school  theatre play specifically oriented towards early 
childhood education (kindergarten, which in Belgium includes children between 2.5 and 6 
years old). This might be regarded as one of the best practices within EES at ECEC level. 
Examples  also  exist  of  more  structural,  long-term  cooperation  between  ECEC  or  school 
institutions and other stakeholders. These include setting activities throughout the year in 
which children engage in EES-related activities. The following examples from  Denmark, 

281  Lysgaard,  J.A.  (2021).  National  policy  and  research  review  for  Denmark.  Prepared  in  the  framework  of  data  collection  for  the  EAC 

Study on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

282 Skanavis, C. (2021). National policy and research review for Greece. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study 

on national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

283 Belousa, I. (2021). National policy and research review for Latvia. Prepared in the framework of data collection for the EAC Study on 

national and institutional policies and approaches to education for environmental sustainability. Unpublished manuscript. 

86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Forest kindergartens in Denmark, Hungary and 
Austria:  Forest  kindergartens  and  schools  offer 
several days of outdoor learning experience during 
the school year. These programmes enable pupils 
to  spend  time  in  forests,  national  parks  and 
protected  environmental  areas.  They  provide 
opportunities  for  children  to  discover  these 
locations  as  natural  learning  environments  while 
carrying  out  unique  learning  activities  that  differ 
from  ordinary  class-based  situations.  Forest 
kindergarten  and  forest  school  programmes  are 
usually  organised  in  close  cooperation  between 
schools  and  programme  providers.  Programme 
providers  may  be  state  organisations  such  as 
forestry  companies  or 
national  parks  and 
local 
such  as 
governmental  organisations 
environmental organisations, as well as companies 
in the tourism sector. 
The  PILGRIM-network 
in  Austria  aims  to 
stimulate ideas of sustainable development using 
various  means,  such  as  co-operation  between 
different  world 
religions  and  philosophical 
approaches.  Furthermore,  it  integrates  discourse 
between 
their 
topic  of  sustainability, 
approaches 
educational institutions and the general public. 

religions  and 

science  and 

the 

to 

Hungary  and  Austria  demonstrate 
long-term 
cooperation between schools and stakeholders in this 
regard. 

links 

In terms of engaging the broader school community 
in ESD delivery, the national reports suggest that the 
in  enhancing 
role  of  school-community 
environmental  learning  is  more  impactful  when 
community members are actively involved in school 
programmes  that  include  an  experiential  learning 
approach. However, this depends to a large extent on 
the  availability  of  parents  or  community  members 
concerned,  and  their  willingness  to  participate  in 
voluntary school-based activities. Factors that could 
potentially strengthen the  role  of  school-community 
links  in  support  of  environmental  learning  include: 
allowing  space  for  informal  learning,  mediating 
learning in  civil  society  settings,  ongoing  facilitation 
by  a  committed  coordinator,  community  buy-in  and 
accountability,  and  addressing  public 
interests 
through tangible benefits284. 

Numerous  NGOs  and  other  non-formal  education 
organisations  exist  across  Europe  that  focus  on 
environmental sustainability by creating awareness and changing people’s attitudes. While 
NGOs  more  often  have  the  time  and  expertise  to  conduct  EES  activities,  their  reach  is 
significantly smaller than that of the formal education system. In addition, participation in 
the  activities  of  NGOs  is  not  mandatory,  and  therefore  depends  on  the  interest  of  their 
target  groups.  Collaboration  between  schools  and  NGOs  or  other  non-formal  learning 
institutions can provide significant benefits, by building on the expertise of the non-formal 
learning institution and connecting it with the curriculum and reach of the formal education 
institution.  

Research  suggests  that  inter-university  networks  and  intersectoral  initiatives  are  on  the 
rise.  Regional  Centres  of  Expertise  in  ESD,  led  by  universities  networking  with  local 
stakeholders  on  sustainability  awareness,  education  and  capacity  building,  now  number 
180 globally285. Many universities have established transfer offices or transfer centres to 
support  multi-stakeholder  collaboration  activities286.  Multi-stakeholder,  participatory  and 
collaborative learning partnerships create opportunities for reflective and inclusive trust-
building, which ultimately leads to the development of solutions and innovations287.  

284 Köhly, N. (2010). An exploration of school-community links in enabling environmental learning through food growing: a cross-cultural 

study. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/145046101.pdf  

285  Sterling,  S.  ‘Educating  for  the  Future  We  Want’,  opening  essay  for  a  GTI  Forum,  Great  Transition  Initiative  (February  2021), 

https://greattranstion.org/gti-forum/education-sustainability-sterling. 

286 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

287 UNESCO, ‘Issues and trends in education for sustainable development’. 

87 

 
 
 
 
                                           
‘Real-world laboratories’ are another interesting example of such partnerships. Real-world 
laboratories  (partnerships  with  universities)  are  growing  in  popularity  as  a  setting  for 
transdisciplinary and transformative sustainability research. Real-world laboratories focus 
on  experimentation,  which  means  applying  integrated  knowledge,  together  with  cyclic 
learning on the basis of that knowledge during the course of the research process.288 They 
follow  an  approach  of  collaboration  between  scientists  and  (local)  practitioners 
(municipalities, NGOs, companies, government institutions), and integrate various forms 
of  knowledge,  as  well  as  jointly  organised  participation  and  learning  projects  including 
those  in  the  form  of  exploratory  learning.  Transformative  learning  in  higher  education 
addresses two pressing problems in the current structure of HE: 1) the gap between theory 
and practice (real-world labs motivate people to test prior knowledge and derive lessons 
from practice); and 2) they fosters a more pronounced culture of learning through failure. 

On the basis of the data from this study, it is impossible to reach a conclusion as to the 
extent to which inter-university ESD networks take place in the EU. However, in Chapter 5 
several innovative and forward-looking initiatives at European HEIs are analysed to further 
understand  the  importance  of  this  process  and  the  impact  such  initiatives  can  have  on 
teaching and learning.  

Relationships  between  universities  and  practitioners  are  not  limited  to  the  transfer  of 
knowledge, ideas and technologies to  society,  but also  involve co-creating them. This is 
claimed to have great potential in solving sustainability problems that require cooperation 
between  actors  from  different  sub-systems  in  society,  and  can  lead  to  significant 
contributions to a local or regional transition to sustainability289. In this direction, there is 
an  increasing  trend  in  research  towards  extending  the  ‘traditional’  missions  of  the 
university (teaching and research) with the ‘third mission’, focusing on transferring and co-
creating solutions for the society.  

Depending on the complexity of the societal problem, different forms of transfer can take 
place290: 

  Provision  of  knowledge.  The  basic  form  of  transfer  includes  all  cooperation 
between  the  university  and  external  partners  (transfer  of  knowledge, 
technologies,  and  ideas  from  university  to  practice).  At  its  own  initiative,  the 
university provides societal actors with findings, knowledge and products from 
teaching and research without getting feedback. Such forms of transfer can be 
carried  out  with  few  resources,  and  offer  comparatively  extensive  coverage. 
Examples  include  exhibitions,  popular  science  publications,  lectures,  training, 
communication, or technology transfer in companies. 

  Interaction. University actors strive to ensure that their transfer activities are 
effective  in  practice.  This  requires  input  and  feedback  loops  from  the 
practitioners to the university. Examples include mutual problem descriptions for 

288 Wanner, M., Schmitt, M., Fischer, N. & Bernert, P. (2020). Transformative Innovation Lab: Handbook to Facilitate 
Students’ Real-World Laboratory Projects to Promote Transformative and Transdisciplinary Competencies. Germany: Wuppertal Institute 

for Climate, Environment and Energy. Retrieved from https://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/index/index/docId/7685  
289  Trencher,  G.P.,  Yarime,  M.  and  Kharrazi,  A.  (2013).  Co-Creating  Sustainability:  Cross-Sector  University  Collaborations  for  Driving 

Sustainable Urban Transformations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 50, 40-55, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.047 

290 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

88 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
knowledge-based problem resolution, or the mutual evaluation of knowledge and 
technologies in the context of the particular activity concerned. 

  Co-production.  Societal  actors  and  universities  jointly  produce  knowledge  to 
address  sustainability  problems.  All 
their 
competences,  strengths  and  perspectives  to  joint  learning  and  research 
processes as part of co-production. Examples include joint problem descriptions, 
the joint development of guiding principles, visions and solutions (e.g. in real-
world laboratories)291. 

transfer  partners  contribute 

Figure 6. Type of transfer per degree of problem complexity 

Source: Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at HEIs—
Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 
doi:10.3390/su12072925 

According to Nölting et al. (2020) successful transfer depends on the overarching structural 
conditions  (laws  and  funding),  but  also  on  the  organisational  conditions  for 
implementation, which can be shaped by the HEIs. The key role in this respect is played 
by  transfer offices,  which  coordinate  and  support  transfer  activities,  take  on  recurring 
tasks,  pool  and  process  knowledge,  establish  and  maintain  contact  between  potential 
transfer  partners,  and  act  as  key  points  of  contact  for  interested  actors.  In  addition, 
systems  that  incentivise  transfer  and  create  scope  for  developing  transfer  projects  and 
concepts in day-to-day operations are also suggested as enablers in research. To achieve 
successful sustainability transfer, academics recommend setting explicit transfer goals, as 
well as evaluation criteria to capture their effects. 

Limited  cross-sectoral  cooperation  is  highlighted  in  many  of  the  national  reports.  Its 
absence is emphasised most strongly in the reports for Latvia and Slovakia. Overall, the 
experts indicate that there is a low level of willingness among the existing EES community 
to cooperate and transfer knowledge. While there is acknowledgement of the potential for 
sharing ideas, good projects, programmes, inspirations, examples of good practice, etc., 
such potential is insufficiently used. To transfer and  co-create solutions and innovations 
that address societal problems, the involvement and cooperation of different stakeholders 
is vital. The national research reports suggest that transfers can take different forms, such 
as  knowledge  and  technology  transfer,  training,  consulting,  participating  in  social  and 
cultural life, participating in policymaking, science communication, as well as contracts with 

291 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

89 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
companies, public agencies and municipalities. Some exemplary attempts at creating broad 
partnerships for collaboration and the sharing of best practice are further explored through 
the case studies discussed in Chapter 5. 

Student engagement and student-led change 

4.4. 
Another key area of  EES  that requires investigation  if we wish to know how well EES is 
implemented  at  institutional  level  across  Europe,  is  the  extent  to  which  students  are 
involved in decision-making and environmental activities at each institution. EES initiatives 
based on student engagement can take several shapes, and may be either participatory 
(to  ensure  social learning and develop  citizenship competences by  engaging students in 
key decisions relating to the initiative) or socio-constructivist transformative.292 The 
latter focuses on transactional/co-created and socially critical/action-oriented involvement 
of students, which requires that students also aim to have a visible and critical impact on 
their environment. 

Several  studies  attest  that  it  is  not  enough  for  schools  to  promote  action  for  the 
environment,  but  that  one  also  has  to  develop  learners’  feelings  of  ‘ownership’  towards 
positive  environmental  behaviour293.  In  their  empirical  evaluation  of  student  attitudes 
toward consumption, Barth et al. (2012) describe the modest success of a participatory, 
whole-institution  approach  in  Germany294.  Meanwhile,  Vare  (2021)  demonstrates  how 
student-led  sustainability  projects  can  shift  hierarchies  and  improve  student  agency295. 
Students  demonstrated  more  sustainable  self-reported  consumption  behaviours,  as  well 
as higher measures of the perceived effectiveness of their own consumer choices and the 
perceived relevance of consumer knowledge gained at school296. These findings also build 
on decades-long research from pedagogical and psychological studies, which suggests that 
education  that  is  reoriented  towards  self-realisation  will  more  naturally  help  children 
mature and become independent. In addition, such education enables children to gradually 
learn to take more responsibility for their actions, and to become self-determined and self-
responsible.297 Resistance to learner-centred pedagogies, as well as a lack of awareness 
among  education  staff  as  to  how  to  involve  students,  and  inflexibility  at  the  education 
institution, are the main barriers to active student involvement.298 

292 Tauritz, R. and Wals, A.E.J.  (2010). A history of environmental education and youth participation in the Netherlands. In: Corcoran, 

P.B.  and  Osano,  P.O.  (Eds.),  Young  people,  education,  and  sustainable  development.  Exploring  principles,  perspectives  and  praxis. 

Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, pg. 253-264. 

293 Gayford, C. (2008). Learning for sustainability: from the pupils’ perspective. WWF. Department for Children, Schools and Families. 

294  Barth,  M.,  Fischer,  D.,  Michelsen,  G.,  Nemnich,  C.  and  Rode,  H.  (2012).  ‘Tackling  the  Knowledge-action  Gap  in  Sustainable 

Consumption:  Insights  from  a  Participatory  School  Programme’.  Journal  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  6  (2):  301–312, 

doi:10.1177/0973408212475266. 

295  Vare,  P.  (2021)  ‘Exploring  the  Impacts  of  Student-Led  Sustainability  Projects  with  Secondary  School  Students  and  Teachers’, 

Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2790. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052790 

296  Barth,  M.,  Fischer,  D.,  Michelsen,  G.,  Nemnich,  C.  and  Rode.  H.  (2012).  ‘Tackling  the  Knowledge-action  Gap  in  Sustainable 

Consumption:  Insights  from  a  Participatory  School  Programme’.  Journal  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  6  (2):  301–312. 

doi:10.1177/0973408212475266. 

297 Tauritz, R. and Wals, A.E.J. (2010). A history of environmental education and youth participation in the Netherlands. In: Corcoran, 

P.B.  and  Osano,  P.O.  (Eds.),  Young  people,  education,  and  sustainable  development.  Exploring  principles,  perspectives  and  praxis. 

Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers, pg. 253-264. 

298  Benavot,  A.  (2014).  Education 

for  Sustainable  Development 

in  Primary  and  Secondary  Education.  Available  at: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282342116_Education_for_Sustainable_Development_in_Primary_and_Secondary_Education 

90 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
More  recently,  research  on  student  participation  in  relation  to  ESD  has  revolved  more 
positively around the impact students can have at education. In fact, students have been 
the  driving  force  behind  changes  towards  whole-institution  approaches,  advocating  for 
sustainability to be included in schools’ visions and strategic plans.299 Conversely, a lack of 
inclusion  of  students  into  the  development  of  school  policies  and  actions,  limits  student 
engagement  on  these  issues300301.  As  with  national  policy,  schools  need  to  avoid  an 
administrative  rationalist  storyline  in  which  students  are  framed  as  ‘ignorant’  or 
‘passive’302. A forthcoming study on NBS found that having an active student council led to 
sustainability  being  included  in  school  visions  and  the  school  agenda,  echoing  the 
impression  that  the  ‘Greta  Thunberg  generation’  is  motivated  to  initiate  environmental 
change303.  Active  student  participation  is  thus  often  described  as  instrumental  to  the 
success of the eco-school or whole-institution approach.304  

In ECEC, the best example of student involvement of from the data collected at institutional 
level is the eco-kindergarten approach (WIA at pre-primary) in the  Czech Republic.  In 
this  programme,  children  are  asked  to  identify  what  they  would  like  to  have  in  the 
ecological  management  (waste,  water  consumption,  schoolyard)  of  their  kindergarten. 
They are then invited, in cooperation with their teachers and parents, to promote these 
changes.  The  programme  is  based  on  a  participatory  approach  that  develops  students’ 
interpersonal, strategic and anticipatory competences. Evaluation of the initiative found a 
significantly higher level of environmental attitudes among children from kindergartens in 
which a more participative approach was adopted.305   

At the school level, the data provides insights into particularly good examples from Latvia, 
Denmark and Malta. Between them, these represent the different way to engage students 
–  socio-constructive  and  participatory.  In  Latvia,  a  non-formal  education  organisation 
provides an environmental education programme cross-cutting with journalism education 
for young people between the ages of 11 and 25, with the aim of researching environmental 
problems, promoting solutions and learning about modern media tools to inform the public. 
It  draws  on  the  action  research  approach,  and  requires  students  to  choose  their  own 
sustainability-related  topics  about  which  to  research  and  disseminate  news.  The 
programme is engaging, and very popular among the youth. In Denmark, the problem-
based interdisciplinary courses planned in recent years in Folkeschule require students to 
act not only on externally created content, but to be involved in determining parts of the 

299  [to be published] Mulvik, I. B., Pribuišis, K., Gras-Velázquez, À., Dumčius, R. and Coles, N. (2020). Nature-Based Solutions in education 

– A Pilot Study, European Commission, December 2020. 

300 Kelsey, E. (2003) Constructing the public: implications of the discourse of international environmental agreements on conceptions of 

education and public participation, Environmental Education Research, 9:4, 403-427, doi: 10.1080/1350462032000126087 

301 Schröder, L.-M.U. Wals, A.E.J. and van Koppen, C.S.A. (2020). Analysing the state of student participation in two Eco-Schools using 

Engeström’s  Second  Generation  Activity  Systems  Model,  Environmental  Education  Research  26:8,  1088-1111,  doi: 

10.1080/13504622.2020.1779186 

302 Kelsey, E. (2003) Constructing the public: implications of the discourse of international environmental agreements on conceptions of 

education and public participation, Environmental Education Research, 9:4, 403-427, doi: 10.1080/1350462032000126087 

303 Jung, J.; Petkanic, P., Nan, D. and Kim, J.H. (2020). ‘When a Girl Awakened the World: A User and Social Message Analysis of Greta 

Thunberg’, Sustainability 12, no. 7: 2707. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072707 

304  Shaw,  N.,  Rueckert,  C.,  Smith,  J.,  Tredinnick,  J.  and  Lee,  M.  (2017).  Students  as  Partners  in  the  real  world  –  A  whole-institution 

approach. International Journal for Students as Partners, 1(1), pp. 1-8. 

305  Cincera,  J.,  Kroufek,  R,  Skalik,  J., Simonova,  P.,  Broukalova,  L.  and  Broukal,  V.  (2017).  Eco-School  in  Kindergartens:  The  Effects, 

Interpretation,  and 

Implementation  of  a  Pilot  Program.  Environmental  Education  Research,  23(7),  919-936,  doi: 

10.1080/13504622.2015.1076768. 

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content  and  processes  of  teaching.  These  courses  give  students  opportunities  to  take  a 
stand  and  to  act  locally,  municipally,  regionally  and  globally,  thereby  reinforcing 
implementation competences. In Malta, the implementation of the eco-school programme 
has proven particularly impactful in engaging students, but takes an approach that is more 
socio-constructivist and transformative. Aside from joining parliament sessions and Young 
People’s Summits targeted at politicians, a special place within the community is chosen 
for students from the Eco-Schools Committees of nearby schools to conduct Environmental 
Audits.  These  students  identify  sustainability-  related  issues,  and  present  actions  to  be 
taken in order to  foster sustainable lifestyles.  In addition to  providing an opportunity to 
promote  change  in  the  community,  these  audits  allow  students  to  experience  real-life 
sustainability issues/dilemmas that challenge the ‘textbook’ approach to sustainability.  

Several  good  examples  of  student  involvement  exist  across  Europe  at  HEI  level.  The 
national experts report several noteworthy examples, some of which are further explored 
in  Chapter  5.  Another  good  example  is  the  Socratic  Institute  in  Slovakia,  a  leading 
educational programme for university students and graduates from various fields, run by 
the Centre for Environmental and Ethical Education. In the course of one academic year, 
students complete block teaching in the form of nine practical workshops, and implement 
their  own  non-profit  community  project.  The  workshops  are  aimed  at  active  ESD  and 
connected  topics  such  as  environmental  activism,  global  education,  sustainable 
development practices, active citizen participation and others, aimed at building awareness 
in  society  and  supporting  SD.  Proof  of  the  success  of  this  project  is  its  persistence  and 
long-term continuity. The education provided focuses on important topics connected with 
creating habits for a sustainable way of life. At the end of the study period, students must 
present their smart projects. Many of these continue today as examples of good-practice 
businesses  –  another  indication  of  the  initiative’s  success  (examples  include  projects 
promoting products without packaging, or the project ‘Less waste’ in the Banská Bystrica 
region). Lecturers remain in contact with graduates even after they have completed their 
studies,  to  strengthen  cooperation  and  the  ability  of  graduates  to  contribute  to  the 
development of a more sustainable development and the green economy in the regions. 

Transformative pedagogies and organisational practices 

4.5. 
Environmental sustainability is usually linked to pedagogical practices that promote more 
learner-centred  and  participatory  approaches,  as  described  in  the  previous  section. 
However, in many countries the transmissive pedagogical approach dominates, according 
to which teachers play the role of deliverers of knowledge that learners need to understand 
and reproduce during exams  or tests,306 and which may not benefit  the  development of 
action competences and  a sustainability mindset or behaviours. A recent UNESCO study 
that examined policy documents from 10 countries shows that almost half of the references 
in policy documents relate to the cognitive dimension of ESD (teaching scientific knowledge 
on environment), while more emphasis should be placed on the dimensions of social and 
emotional and behavioural learning307. To increase knowledge, skills and attitudes relevant 
to  creating  sustainable  behaviour,  pedagogies  must  be  adjusted  towards  practising  and 

306 Bourn, D; Hunt, F; Bamber, P; (2017) A review of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in teacher 

education. (UNESCO GEM Background Paper ). UNESCO: Paris, France. 

307  UNESCO  (2020).  Education  for  Sustainable  Development.  A  Roadmap.  #ESD  for  2030.  Paris:  UNESCO.  Available  at: 

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802). 

92 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
instilling  such  behaviour.308  This  section  thus  discusses  suitable  teaching  methods  in 
greater depth.  In addition to the typology introduced in the  previous  chapter – namely, 
socio-constructivist and participatory approaches – other core types of pedagogies include 
behaviouralist,  liberalist,  constructivist,  collaborative,  integrative,  reflective  and  inquiry-
based. In the following section, we also reflect on what pedagogies are reported, both by 
teachers  themselves  and  by  the  national  experts,  as  being  in  use  –  and  whether  such 
methods  can  be  considered  effective.  We  will  achieve  this  by  distinguishing  between 
teaching methods that complement and assist education for environmental sustainability, 
and those that are very specific to education for environmental sustainability.  

4.5.1.  Teaching methods that enhance and assist education for environmental 

sustainability. 

This  section  discusses  pedagogies  that  have  been  found  to  enhance  and  assist  EES  by 
combining teaching about, for, through and in a sustainable environment. 

First, digital tools can be used to implement  a game-based learning approach such  as 
Sustainable  Strategies  Games.  These  are  interactive  and  engaging,  and  can  help  the 
students gain not only knowledge, but also relevant green skills.309 Game-based learning 
provides an  environment that is suitable for  ESD, and  can enable  students to learn  and 
test  their  own  behaviour  in  an  entertaining  game  setting.310  It  is  evident  that  these 
approaches  have  the  potential  to  facilitate  attitudinal  changes  in learners,  and  offer  the 
opportunity  to  integrate  the  assessment  of  diverse  skills  into  their  design.  They  also 
possess  the  potential  to  produce  the  desired  changes  in  attitudes  among  students  by 
engaging their empathy and compassion.311  

The effectiveness of digital technology should not be overstated, however, and should be 
considered carefully. The effect of digital technology on children’s empathy is positive when 
its  content,  use  and  interactions  are  prosocial,  and  when  the  amount  of  time  spent  in 
front  of  a  screen  do  not  reduce  face-to-face  interactions312.  Furthermore,  one  must 
consider that not all schools, particularly those in disadvantageous regions, have access to 
advanced technology, and that in the context  of  climate change  one  must also consider 
the  use  of  energy-intensive  technology  for  teaching  considering  its  potential  harmful 
carbon footprint313. Another challenge is that it may require additional specific professional 
development  for  teachers  to  prepare  them  to  use  the  tools  correctly  and  ethically.314 
Lessons learnt from a game-based initiative applied in a cross-national context in Greece, 

308 UNESCO Education Sector, ‘Educational content up close – Examining the learning dimensions of Education for Sustainable Development 

and Global Citizenship’. Available at: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000372327 

309 Emblen-Perry, K. (2018). Promoting education for sustainability through Game-Based learning: using the sustainable strategies game 

to improve students’ knowledge and skills of sustainable business practices. In: Handbook of Sustainability Science and Research (pp. 849-

866). Cham: Springer. 

310 Janakiraman, S., Watson, S.L. and Watson, W.R. (2018). Using game-Based learning to facilitate attitude change for environmental 

sustainability, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 12(2), 176-185. 

311 Janakiraman, S., Watson, S.L. and Watson, W.R. (2018). ‘Using Game-based Learning to Facilitate Attitude Change for Environmental 

Sustainability’, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, vol. 12(2), pages 176-185. 

312  Flecha,  R.,  Pulido,  C.,  Villarejo,  B., Racionero,  S.,  Redondo,  G.  and  Torras,  E.  (2020).  ‘The  effects  of  technology  use  on  children’s 

empathy and attention capacity’, NESET report, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. doi:10.2766/947826. 

313 Barth, M. and Burandt, S. (2013). Adding the ‘e-’ to Learning for Sustainable Development: Challenges and Innovation. 

314 Ketelhut, D.J. and Schifter, C.C. (2011). Teachers and game-based learning: Improving understanding of how to increase efficacy of 

adoption. Computers & Education, 56(2), 539-546. 

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UK and Portugal, which successfully engaged students and built awareness and engaging 
them,  are  that  when  such  initiatives  are  implemented  on  a  project  basis,  they  may  not 
have  an  enduring  impact,  which  may  not  continue  after  the  project  ends  –  even  if  the 
material itself remains available.  

Besides providing students with the stimulation of experiences that they may not be able 
to experience in their normal environments, digital tools can help teachers ensure that the 
learning  environment  is  tailored  to  the  individual  needs  of  each  student  and  is  more 
learner-centred. Learner-centred pedagogy  regards students as autonomous learners 
and emphasises the active development of knowledge rather than its mere transfer and/or 
passive learning experiences. The learners’ prior knowledge, as well as their experiences 
in  the  social  context,  are  the  starting  points  for  stimulating learning processes  in  which 
learners construct their own knowledge base. Learner-centred approaches require learners 
to reflect on their own knowledge and learning processes, in order to manage and monitor 
them.  Educators  should  stimulate  and  support  those  reflections.  Learner-centred 
approaches change the role of an educator from that of an expert who transfers structured 
knowledge to that of a facilitator of learning processes315. Learner-centred pedagogies are 
often recommended for ESD/EES, as they correlate positively with action and behavioural 
competences and transformative learning outcomes.  

Art-based  enquiry  experiences.  Scholars  such  as  Ewing316,  Eisner317  and  Greene318 
agree that the Arts have a proven potential for personal transformation and to facilitate 
social change. They are inclusive and a natural part of everyday life, bringing the student’s 
lived experiences into their learning. They are also well suited to scientific learning contexts 
such as STEAM319. According to McGregor320, both internationally and nationally there is a 
growing  practice  of  adopting  art-based  teaching  strategies  as  more  and  more  social 
activists, cultural workers and educators realise their benefits for learning, and their social 
impact321. Adlong (2012) argues that EE should “develop the discourses of the large-scale 
transition  to  renewable  energy,  particularly  in  interaction  with  social  movements”322. 
Appreciation for technical innovations that transform society, such as moving to renewable 
energy, is also an important aspect of environmental literacy323. The arts can help students 
to  visualise  and  imagine  alternative  ways  of  living  and  working  sustainably,  as  well  as 

315 Barth, M. (2015). Implementing Sustainability in Higher Education: Learning in an Age of Transformation. London: Routledge. 

316 Ewing, R. (2011). The Arts and Australian education: Realising potential. Available at: https://research.acer.edu.au/aer/11/  

317 Eisner, E. (2005). Reimagining Schools. Available at: https://www.routledge.com/Reimagining-Schools-The-Selected-Works-of-Elliot-

W-Eisner/Eisner/p/book/9780415366458  

318  Greene,  M.  (2000).  Releasing  the  Imagination:  Essays  on  Education,  the  Arts,  and  Social  Change.  Available  at: 

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Releasing+the+Imagination%3A+Essays+on+Education%2C+the+Arts%2C+and+Social+Change-p-

9780787952914  

319 Garza-Reyes, J.A. (2015). Lean and Green-A Systematic Review of The State of The Art Literature. Journal of Cleaner Production, 102, 

pp.18–29. 

320 

McGregor, 

C. 

(2012). 

Art-informed 

pedagogy: 

tools 

for 

social 

transformation. 

Available 

at: 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02601370.2012.683612  

321 Werberger, R. (2016). Arts-Based  Research: Surprise and Self-Motivation. Available at:  https://www.edutopia.org/blog/arts-based-

research-surprise-self-motivation-raleigh-werberger  

322 Adlong, W. (2012). 100% renewables as a focus for environmental education. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 28(2), 

125–155. 

323 Jorgenson, S.N., Stephens, J.C. and White, B. (2019). Environmental education in transition: A critical review of recent research on 

climate change and energy education (p. 168). https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2019.1604478 

94 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
developing  a  personal  relationship  with  the  environment  necessary 
competences324. 

for  action 

Outdoor education and learning in nature, as a basis for ESD learning. The outdoors is 
an extremely powerful focus for learning through direct experience using the hand, heart 
and head. While outdoor education is often associated with adventurous activities that take 
place outdoors such as climbing, rafting, hiking, etc., it can also be understood as a form 
of learning in and with nature. It places young people in real  situations and encourages 
them  to  take  responsibility  and  reflect  on  their  actions.  Motivation  and  learning  come 
easily.  This  experiential  approach  has  long  been  recognised  as  a  powerful  means  of 
learning,  especially  when  it  is  processed  through  a  learning  cycle  of  “plan,  do  and 
review”325. Some evidence suggests that ESD that actively makes use of nature (e.g. CCE 
programmes in nature-base museums) is particularly effective in teaching students ESD 
values326.  The  national  reports  suggest  that  outdoor  education  is  quite  popular  in  EU 
countries  (before  COVID),  and  is  used  widely  (e.g.  in  Greece,  Cyprus  and  Romania), 
particularly in the form of forest pedagogy (see the next section). 

Project and problem-based learning327. PBL is an instructional method in which student 
learning occurs in the context of solving an authentic problem. Knowledge is constructed 
via  interactions  with  the  environment328.  PBL  is  highly  effective  at  enabling  deep  and 
transformative student learning, and has been considered an ideal approach for tackling 
the  complex,  multidisciplinary  problems  of  sustainability,  and  for  providing  genuine 
opportunities  for  students  to  tackle  real-life  sustainability  issues  within  their  immediate 
environment. Due to the nature of this approach, higher levels of student engagement and 
self-efficacy  are  often  reported329,  as  well  as  creativity,  critical  thinking  and  linkages  to 
several disciplines at the same time330. Similar to PBL is service-learning331,332, in which 
students also work on real-world problems, but in cooperation with local external partners 
(e.g.  NGOs,  municipalities),  responding  through  projects  to  concrete  needs  in  the  local 
community. 

324 Gray, T. and Thomson, C. (2016). Transforming environmental awareness of students through the arts and place-based pedagogies. 

LEARNing Landscapes, 9(2), 239–260. 

325 European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning (2010). Encountering, Experiencing and Exploring Nature 

in Education. Available at: https://www.eoe-network.eu/fileadmin/PDFs/Zbornik_2010_4.pdf  

326  Swim,  J.K.,  Geiger,  N.,  Fraser,  J.  and  N.  Pletcher  (2017).  Climate  Change  Education  at  Nature-Based  Museums.  Available  at: 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cura.12187#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20NNOCCI%20was,and%20to%20be%20solu

tion%E2%80%90focused  

327  Bascopé,  M.,  Perasso,  P.  and  Reiss,  K.  (2019).  Systematic  Review  of  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  at  an  Early  Stage: 

Cornerstones and Pedagogical Approaches for Teacher Professional Development. Sustainability, 11(3), 719. doi:10.3390/su11030719. 

328 Marra, R., Jonassen, D., Palmer, B. and Luft, S. (2014). Why Problem-Based Learning Works: Theoretical Foundations. Available at: 

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1041376#:~:text=Problem%2Dbased%20learning%20(PBL),of%20solving%20an%20authentic%20problem 

329 Bessant, S., Bailey, P., Robinson, Z., Bland-Tomkinson, C., Ormerod, M. and Boast, R. (2019). Problem-Based Learning: A Case Study 

of 

Sustainability 

Education. 

Available 

at: 

http://ifors.org/developing_countries/index.php/Problem-

Based_Learning:_A_Case_Study_of_Sustainability_Education  

330 Getting, M. (2016). Putting it all together: STEAM, PBL, Scientific Method, and The Studio Habits of Mind. Art Education, 69(4),10–11. 

331 Barth, M., Adomßent, M., Fischer, D., Richter, S. and Rieckmann, M. (2014). Learning to Change Universities from Within: A Service-

Learning  Perspective  on  Promoting  Sustainable  Consumption  in  Higher  Education.  Journal  of  Cleaner  Production  62,  72-81,  doi: 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.04.006 

332  Molderez,  I.  and  Fonseca,  E.  (2018).  The  Efficacy  of  Real-World  Experiences  and  Service  Learning  for  Fostering  Competences  for 

Sustainable 

Development 

in 

Higher 

Education. 

Journal 

of 

Cleaner 

Production 

172, 

4397-4410, 

doi: 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.062 

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Lastly, learning as ‘action research’ or ‘action competence’ has been increasingly discussed 
in relation to  education curriculum and policy  from the late-1990s through  to 2013. For 
example, Scheunpflug and Asbrand (2006) compared two pedagogical strands associated 
with global education and sustainability education in Germany: action theory focusing on 
building  solidarity,  empathy,  and  a  holistic  world  view;  and  systems  theory  focusing  on 
complexity, abstract thinking, and self-organised learning for students. Other pedagogical 
approaches  in  education  are  enquiry-based,  citizenship,  economic  participation, 
indigenous and wild pedagogies333. 

The  literature  suggests  that  the  following  teaching  tools  can  be  used  to  successfully 
integrate  EES  into  the  classroom:  (1)  civil  discourse;  (2)  engagement  in  a  single  local 
issue;  (3)  exploring  different  contexts  of  an  issue;  (4)  computer  modelling;  (5) 
gamification; and (6) experimentation/fieldwork with a basis in PBE; and (7) escape rooms. 
Furthermore,  research  shows  that  combining  Smart  Classrooms  with  the  recommended 
pedagogies mentioned before (PBL, project-based, case study, simulation and cooperative 
enquiry)  can  positively  contribute  to  the  performance  and  development  of  ESD 
methodologies.334 Recently, co-creation and co-created knowledge has become used more 
and  more  in  the  classroom  to  teach  EES,  as  well  as  citizen  science  (one  example  being 
citizen  science  projects  on  biodiversity  at  schools  in  Central  Europe),  or  real-world-
laboratory approaches.335 

Although  some  examples  of  game-based  and  outdoor  learning  were  included  in  the 
inventory of good practices, most of the supporting pedagogies reported by experts in the 
inventory fall under the typology of ‘collaborative’. According to the teacher survey, the 
most popular supporting pedagogy was project-based learning. 

Lozano et al.336 assessed the connection between the pedagogical approaches used in HE 
and the development of sustainability competences, showing that traditional pedagogies 
(such as lecturing and case studies) need to be rethought and a combination of different 
pedagogical  approaches  should  be  employed  to  achieve  progress  in  developing 
sustainability  competences.  In  the  transfer  of  sustainability  in  university  teaching, 
practitioners are involved in students’ learning processes on sustainability through a vast 
range of activities, from lecturing to teaching in a practical setting337. Therefore, in-the-
field  and  project-based  pedagogies  such  as  service  learning,  entrepreneurial  projects, 
internships, excursions and field trips338 that incorporate ESD topics appear to be the way 
forward.  Living  labs  is  a  potentially  powerful  way  to  promote  transformative  and 
integrative learning. The main idea behind this is to “leverage the campus as a test bed 

333 Donatuto, J., Campbell, L., LeCompte, J.K., Rohlman, D. and Tadlock, S. (2020). ‘The Story of 13 Moons: Developing an Environmental 

Health  and  Sustainability  Curriculum  Founded  on  Indigenous  First  Foods  and  Technologies’,  Sustainability  12,  no.  21:  8913, 

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218913 

334 Cebrián, G., Palau, R., Mogas, J. (2020). ‘The Smart Classroom as a Means to the Development of ESD Methodologies’, Sustainability 

12, no. 7: 3010, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12073010 

335 Singer-Brodowski, M., Beecroft, R. and Parodi, O. (2018). Learning in Real-World Laboratories: A Systematic Impulse for Discussion. 

GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 27(1), 23-27, doi: 10.14512/gaia.27.S1.7 

336  Lozano,  R.,  et  al.  (2019).  ‘Teaching  sustainability  in  European  higher  education  institutions:  Assessing  the  connections  between 

competences and pedagogical approaches’, Sustainability 11.6: 1602. 

337 Nölting, B., Molitor, H., Reimann, J., Skroblin, J.-H. and Dembski, N. (2020). Transfer for Sustainable Development at Higher Education 

Institutions—Untapped Potential for Education for Sustainable Development and for Societal Transformation. Sustainability, 12(7), 2925. 

doi:10.3390/su12072925 

338 Examples: https://www.case-ka.eu/index.html%3Fp=972.html. 

96 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
for  sustainability”.  Living  labs  integrate  faculty,  staff,  researchers  and  students  into  the 
process,  and  use  rapid  prototyping  methodologies  for  finding  local  solutions  to  global 
sustainability challenges. Living labs focus on real-world application and effective problem 
solving through collaborative and open research.339 

The transdisciplinary research delivered in universities has three characteristics: 

  It addresses problems relevant to society; 
  It  enables  the  sharing  of  learning  processes  and  integrates  knowledge  from 
scientists  in  different  disciplines  and,  notably,  also  from  outside  the  scientific 
community; and 

  It  aims  to  produce  solution-oriented,  socially  robust  knowledge  that  can  be 

transferred both into society and into science340. 

4.5.2.  Pedagogies specific to education for environmental sustainability 

The following section discusses pedagogies and teaching methods that are specific to EES 
–  either  because  they  link  particularly  well  to  EES  thematic  areas  or  to  competences 
considered to align closely with sustainability competences (e.g. natural science literacy).  

The  most  significant  pedagogies  reported  by  national  experts  were  forest,  earth 
pedagogies and eco-pedagogy341. Earth education is an educational process that fosters 
learners’ personal relationship with nature, encouraging them to experience being part of 
an interconnected system. The affective relationship with the Earth becomes  a source of 
intrinsic  motivation  to  live  in  a  more  environmentally  friendly  way.  It  also  involves 
improving cognitive and affective relationships with the Earth’s natural communities and 
life-support systems, with the ultimate goal of developing their own more environmentally-
friendly lifestyles. Statistically significant gains in ecological understandings, environmental 
values  and  attitudes  have  been  found.  Qualitative  results  also  indicate  changes  in 
behaviours, knowledge and attitudes.342 Forest and earth pedagogies are usually combined 
with  outdoor  learning.  Since  one  of  the  main  ways  to  teach  EES  has  been  through  the 
natural sciences, enquiry-based learning and citizen science are also key pedagogies 
that can be tailored more specifically to EES. 

In  ECEC,  EES  is  closely  linked  to  general  pedagogies  such  as  learning  through  play. 
However, the examples below describe how an ECEC institution can create an environment 
for  EES  and  develop  more  specific  teaching  methods,  in  line  with  the  eco-pedagogy 
approach, which is more suitable for use in ECEC. 

339 Giesenbauer, B. and Müller-Christ, G. (2020). ‘University 4.0: Promoting the Transformation of Higher Education Institutions toward 

Sustainable Development’, MDPI Sustainability. 

340 Wanner, M., Schmitt, M., Fischer, N. & Bernert, P. (2020). Transformative Innovation Lab: Handbook to Facilitate 
Students’ Real-World Laboratory Projects to Promote Transformative and Transdisciplinary Competencies. Germany: Wuppertal Institute 

for Climate, Environment and Energy. Retrieved from https://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/index/index/docId/7685 
341  Misiaszek,  Greg.  (2018).  Educating  the  Global  Environmental  Citizen:  Understanding  Ecopedagogy  in  Local  and  Global  Contexts. 

10.4324/9781315204345. 

342 Manoli, C.C., Johnson, B., Hadjichambis, A.C., Paraskeva-Hadjichambi, D., Georgiou, Y. and Ioannou, H. (2014). Evaluating the impact 

of  the  Earthkeepers  earth  education  program  on  children’s  ecological  understandings,  values  and  attitudes,  and  behaviour  in  Cyprus. 

Studies in Educational Evaluation 41, 29-37. 

97 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Table 13. Examples of physical environments and teaching approaches on EES in ECEC 

Examples of designing the physical environments in ECEC 

Examples of teaching approaches and pedagogies in ECEC 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Plants at school 
Rainwater harvesting system 
A place where children sit and chat and do activities outside 
Opportunities for children to taste vegetables and fruits 
they have grown at school 
Information boards about the environment at school 
A space where natural materials are displayed 
Published environmental materials at school 
Visuals showing animals’ life cycles 
Visuals about endangered animal species 
Spaces at school where solar energy is used 

 

 

Stimulating children’s interest in protecting the 
environment we live in 
Providing opportunities for children to talk about 
international environmental news 
 
Having natural materials in the classroom setting 
  Making use of visuals showing animals’ life cycles during 

activities 
Taking children on field trips to natural areas 
Including activities about animal protection in the 
curriculum  
Activities with children about water protection 
Directing children in activities about protecting plants 

 
 

 
 

Source: compiled by the authors on the basis of Korkmaz, A. and Guler Yildiz, T. (2017). Assessing preschools using the Eco-Schools 
programme in terms of educating for sustainable development in early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research 
Journal 25(4), 595–611, Doi:10.1080/1350293x.2017.1331074 

While  forest  and  eco-pedagogy  are  clearly  more  specific  pedagogies,  the  study  findings 
suggest that EES is more likely to be taught as a combination  of supportive pedagogies 
and specific thematic areas that are cross-cutting. EES topics are interdisciplinary and 
concern multi-faceted issues that require knowledge and skills from different fields in an 
integrated  manner.343  Therefore,  EES  pedagogies  are  relevant  for  all  teachers,  not  just 
those involved in science-related subjects. However, the results of the teacher survey show 
that only 29% of teachers report the cross-curricular integration of EES in their schools, 
compared with 83% who responded that EES was part of natural sciences, and the 58% 
who mentioned EES as part of extracurricular activities. The chart below indicates which 
topics  related  to  environmental  sustainability  are  often  integrated  into  school  education 
(either by subject, or through a cross-curricular approach). In the survey, teachers listed 
a variety of pedagogies that they use to integrate EES into their teaching, of which some 
are  more  specific  than  others.  “Use  of  environmental  sustainability-related  resources”, 
followed by “Environmental projects on a school/class level” are listed by more than 70% 
that  promote  environmental 
of  respondents.  “Use  of  pedagogical  approaches 
sustainability”  is  also  quite  common,  with  65%  of  respondents  selecting  it,  as  well  as 
approaches  that  introduce  EES  within  specific  or  short-term  activities  (e.g.  eco-days, 
awards and competitions). The most common approach to teaching EES in the classroom, 
however, appears to be the combination of specific resources with project-based learning.  

343 Annan-Diab, F. and Molinari, C. (2017). ‘Interdisciplinarity: Practical approach to advancing education for sustainability and for  the 

Sustainable Development Goals’.  International Journal of Management Education 15.2: 73-83. 

98 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Figure 7. Pedagogies and practices most commonly used for EES 

Use of environmental sustainability-related resources

Environmental projects on school/class level

Use of pedagogical approaches that promote…

Integration of environmental sustainability in existing…

Environmentally friendly and awareness actions on…

Use of pedagogical approaches that promote futures…

Development of specific classes/courses dedicated to…

Eco days

Award schemes / competitions e.g. Eco-schools

Action research into my professional practice

Eco-clubs / co-curricular clubs or projects

Working in/with the community

Partnerships with local businesses, public services,…

75

71

66

49

47

44

38

33

27

25

24

24

24

I prefer not to answer

4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Source: authors 

While many teachers indicate using certain forms of pedagogies or practices for EES, they 
also noted numerous obstacles they face in implementing EES. Aside from a clear lack of 
time, which was mentioned by 40% of respondents, the most pressing obstacles seem to 
be  linked  to  teachers’  own  skills,  resources  and  confidence.  The  respondents  reported 
feeling that they had insufficient knowledge about environmental sustainability (30%), a 
lack  of  opportunities  to  collaborate  with  peers  and  other  organisations  (37%)  and, 
consequently, an overall lack of confidence about teaching EES in a multidisciplinary way 
(32%).  Comprehensive  teaching  of  EES  that  combines  several  approaches  can  be  time-
consuming  and  challenging,  especially  during  the  COVID  pandemic.  It  is  therefore 
especially  important  that  teachers  are  supported  with  training  in  the  use  of  effective 
teaching  and  assessment  methods,  and  provided  with  the  necessary  materials  and 
pedagogical guidelines.  

99 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 8. Main obstacles to teaching EES, as perceived by teachers 

Lack of time (to prepare classes, teaching time)

Need for more opportunities to cooperate with peers,…
Lack of confidence teaching a multidisciplinary subject…
Insufficient environmental sustainability knowledge on…

Insufficient institutional leadership
Need for more funding for education projects
Absence of appropriate resources and materials
Absence of suitable assessment approaches and…
There are no obstacles for inclusion of environmental…
Insufficient engagement on the part of students who…

40

37

32

30

27
27

24

21

15

10

I prefer not to answer
Other

3
3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Source: authors 

NGOs  and  non-formal  education  providers  often  collaborate  with  schools  to  provide 
supplementary  education  experiences.  However,  various  organisations  also  provide 
learning opportunities in the field of EES independently. In VET, one particularly relevant 
pedagogy is sustainable entrepreneurship344. According to Greco and de Jong (2011), 
the  common  ground  between  entrepreneurship  and  sustainability  is  the  concept  of 
longevity  –  that  is,  assuring  long-lasting  goods,  values  or  services;  preserving  current 
resources for  future generations (sustainability) and developing unique  solutions for the 
long run (entrepreneurship)345. Shepherd and Patzelt (2011), meanwhile, define it as “the 
discovery,  creation,  and  exploitation  of  entrepreneurial  opportunities  that  contribute  to 
sustainability by generating social and environmental gains for others in society”346. 

Lucas Veiga Ávila (2017) revealed that newly emerging organisational structures in most 
of the HEIs they researched had a great impact towards innovation and sustainability, 
which are the building blocks for EES implementation. Several examples were listed with 
regard  to  the  mergers  of  existing  organisational  units,  as  well  as  the  creation  of  new 
positions  and  units  to  speed  up  the  innovation  processes.  The  existence  of  formal 
groups or committees, or – ideally – dedicated sustainability offices, is important 
in offering guidance. These need to be trans- and multidisciplinary, as well as having multi-
level hierarchies, which may prevent conflicts of interests arising from within these groups. 
By creating settings such as an ‘office of sustainability’, a university can hire someone to 
deal (full-time or on a part-time basis) specifically with sustainability, as well as creating 
a hierarchical position that fills the leadership gap among minor stakeholders with decision-
making  powers.  The  lack  of  a  person  to  deal  specifically  with  these  issues  within  a 
university translates into a weakening of the university community’s sense of identity of 

344  Schaltegger,  S.  and  Wagner,  M.  (2011).  Sustainable  entrepreneurship  and  sustainability  innovation:  categories  and  interactions. 

Business Strategy and the Environment 20(4), pp.222-237. 

345 Greco, A. and de Jong, G. (2017). Sustainable entrepreneurship: definitions, themes and research gaps. (Working paper series; Vol. 

6, No. 17). Rijksuniversiteit Groningen/Campus Fryslân. 

346 Shepherd, D.A. and Patzelt, H. (2011). The new field of sustainable entrepreneurship: studying entrepreneurial action linking “what is 

to be sustained” with “what is to be developed”. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 35(1), pp.137-163. 

100 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
the community. Having someone or some specific place to address doubts or observations 
about sustainability issues is essential.347 

5. The road to transformation 

To  move  towards  change  that  can  impact  education  and  learning  at  both  system  and 
institutional levels, it is important to better understand the process of change that occurs 
at different levels and  in different  forms of education. This chapter therefore presents a 
more in-depth reflection on the process of transformation, drawing on findings from the 
case  study  programme  to  better  understand  what  needs  to  be  done  to  overcome  the 
barriers faced by European education systems and institutions. Building on the preceding 
discussions,  this  chapter  assumes  that  the  capacity  of  both  educational  institutions  and 
communities to participate in EES is crucial for the effectiveness of such programmes, as 
well  as  for  their  longevity.  The  priority  in  terms  of  impact  on  students’  learning  is  on 
building action competences and sustainability mindsets, which is unlikely to be achieved 
through  transmissive  teaching  methods,  but  requires  pedagogies  that  are  collaborative, 
behaviourist, socio-constructivist and/or participatory.  

Overall,  this  chapter  finds  that  the  road  to  transformative  change  should  include  the 
following four lanes. It discusses how the initiatives in the case studies overcame key road 
blocks relating to the achievement of the following milestones: 

―  Achieving a whole-institution approach 
―  Engaging communities and students 
―  Fostering action competences 
―  Supporting and preparing teachers 

The research team chose five cases from the inventory of good policy and practice. These 
were selected on the basis of whether they: 

1.  Were particularly innovative in tackling the barriers to EES; 
2.  Were scalable (the initiative is upscaled to regional/national level); 
3.  Provided evidence on transformation; 
4.  Changed behaviour and attitudes (i.e. going beyond knowledge) and; 
5.  Provided synergies with national policy.  

To present cases that can be transferred to other contexts, it was necessary to consider 
the  five  cases  holistically,  and  to  encompass  a  diversity  of  initiatives  stemming  from 
different parts and socio-economic contexts in Europe, covering different types of policies 
and levels of education. A more detailed table describing the criteria used can be found in 
the  Annex.  As  a  result  of  the  selection  process  and  consultations  with  the  European 
Commission, the following initiatives were selected:  

Table 14. Educational initiatives chosen as case studies 

1. Austria: School network and programme ÖKOLOG (type of initiative: schools, WSA, partnership, teacher 
education, assessment, innovative content, pedagogies) 

347  Ávila,  L.V.,  Filho,  W.L.,  Brandli,  L.,  Macgregor,  C.J.,  Molthan-Hill,  P.,  Gökçin  Özuyar,  P.,  Martins  Moreira,  R.  (2017).  Barriers  to 

innovation  and  sustainability  at  universities  around  the  world,  Journal  of  Cleaner  Production,  Volume  164,  pp.  1268-1278, 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.025 

101 

 
 
 
 
                                           
ÖKOLOG  is  a  school  programme  and  network  supported  by  the  Austrian  Federal  Ministry  of  Education,  Science  and 
Research. The approximately 600 ÖKOLOG-schools and 10 ÖKOLOG-university colleges of teacher education focus on 
environmental, social and ecological issues, a whole-institution approach and student engagement. This long-running 
programme has impacted thousands of learners and communities – several publications account for this. Interestingly, 
ÖKOLOG has recently developed a ‘Competency compass’ for teachers. It builds on the basic decree on environmental 
education for sustainable development (demonstrating its link to policy processes), and is a tool with which teachers can 
assess the competences they have acquired in the field of environmental education for sustainable development. 

2. Czech Republic: Network of Environmental Education Centres Pavucina (type of initiative: formal and non-
formal education, partnership, support to schools, teacher training) 

The Pavucina network consists of almost 50 (mostly non-profit) organisations that focus on both formal and non-formal 
EES. Indirectly, approx. 580,000 participants have been involved in the events of the network members. The network a) 
advocates EES nationwide; b) promotes cooperation and social learning among its members; c) sets guidelines for the 
quality of EES programmes; and d) organises joint events and programmes. The network has initiated the discourse on 
EES  in  the  Czech  Republic,  and  promoted  its  implementation  in  both  formal  and  non-formal  education.  It  is  a  very 
interesting  example  of  (non-)formal  education  and  network  collaboration  with  several  innovative  and  connected 
activities that can be further explored, such as the activities and collaboration between the TEREZA and SEVER centres 
(e.g. the Masters of Peer Support programme). Several publications account for the positive impact of the network and 
its activities. 

3. Italy: MultiLab (type of initiative: higher education, research and teacher training, collaboration between 
different education levels) 

MultiLab is a physical space within the Faculty of Education (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), as well as an opportunity 
for project co-planning. It creates synergies between universities, pre-schools, schools and educational institutions (local, 
national and international networks) and provides teacher training. It cultivates active and transformative didactics and 
carries out research for and with pre-schools and primary schools. Over time, it has built a model of work that involves 
university researchers, teachers, children and museum operators, favouring the active-participatory didactic approach 
based on storytelling and metaphors and methodologies of research for children. Importantly, it promotes collaboration 
between  different  school  levels,  tackles  different  pedagogical  approaches.  It  is  very  action-oriented  and  focuses  on 
changing school cultures and connecting disciplines. It has reached thousands of pre- and in-service teachers. Several 
publications document the transformative value of its methods. 

4. Portugal: Autonomy and Curricular Flexibility (type of initiative: schools, curriculum innovation) 

AFC is a governmental initiative regarding curricular redesign that began in 2017 with a pilot phase in which the 
initiative was tested and evaluated . The initiative is also part of an educational reform process that includes the 
national document ‘Students’ Profile by the End of Compulsory Schooling’ (Perfil dos Alunos à Saída da Escolaridade 
Obrigatória, PASEO) , which constitutes an important pillar of AFC.   
AFC became mandatory legislation in 2018 (Decree-Law no 55/2018), and was set up to be implemented at national 
level by all public and private schools within compulsory education (from primary education to secondary education). 
The main activities relating to the AFC implementation consist of interdisciplinary educational projects, often in 
collaboration with local communities. These activities can be divided into: (i) curricula options, in which the 
interdisciplinary thematic fields – so called ’DACs’ (domains of curricula autonomy) – appear to be the most frequently 
chosen option; (ii) educational and pedagogical dynamics; (iii) community projects; (iv) strategies and projects in 
citizenship education; and (v) ‘perspective sharing’ - i.e. communication outputs in the form of reports or brochures on 
specific projects or topics elaborated by schools. 

Another pillar of AFC implementation consists of activities relating to the training of educational staff, which still requires 
further development. 

5. Pan-European University Alliance UNA (type of initiative: higher education, partnership, institutional strategy 
on sustainability) 

UNA Europe is an example of an initiative and a green university alliance. UNA Europa draws on the collective strengths 
of  its  eight  partners  to  create  a  European  inter-university  environment  and  a  Europe-wide  living  lab  for  testing  Joint 
Innovative Formats for education and mobility, and shaping the European Higher Education Area. Sustainability is one 
of the focus areas and strategic building blocks of the network, and it employs a ‘whole-institution’ approach, challenge-

102 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
based  learning  and  microcredentials.  Sustainable  development  goals  are  approached  holistically,  and  the  institutions 
involved focus on community collaboration and cross-sectoral partnerships, which is frequently highlighted by literature 
as being crucial for the mainstreaming of EES. 

5.1. 

Achieving a ‘whole-institution’ approach 

All  of  the  initiatives  examined  in  the  case  studies  aimed  to  some  extent  to  involve  and 
bring  a  WIA  to  EES.  To  do  so,  they  adopted  various  approaches.  The  pan-European 
university alliance and MultiLab in Italy differed slightly from the other case studies in this 
regard  by  focusing  more  on  cross-sectoral  collaboration,  while  the  Austrian,  Czech  and 
Portuguese  examples  focus  inward  at  the  school  or  towards  engagement  with  the 
immediate community. For example, to build the necessary school culture, ÖKOLOG works 
more closely with parents’ associations and blue-light organisations than with universities, 
service  or  industrial  companies.  Even  so,  all  of  the  initiatives  took  a  collaborative  and 
inclusive approach both to designing a coherent methodology, and to implementing it.  

AFC (Portugal) ensures WIA adherence by having a powerful and convincing political 
vision,  and  through  the  structured  legal  framework  that  accompanies  AFC. 
Interviewees highlight AFC’s promotion of a certain perspective of seeing the world as our 
home, as well as seeing the school as a place to connect with the world, an (eco)systemic 
perspective closely linked to the vision and concept of the  whole-institution as described 
in the OECD’s 2018 report ‘Future of Education and Skills: Education 2030’. In particular, 
it relates to the “design principles for moving toward an eco-systemic change”, which state 
that “engaging with school will be the first step to engage with the world”. AFC, which is a 
legal framework in itself, is supported by legislation on the Inclusive School, which provides 
the  legal  basis  for  a  school  that  includes  everyone  and  promotes  citizenship  values  –  a 
document that further deepens the vision and concept of the whole institution. Diversity in 
the  implementation  of  EES  and  ‘flexibility’  to  choose  one’s  own  approach  also  lie  at  the 
heart of AFC. The inclusive school approach strengthens the links between AFC and EES 
here,  since  diversity  is  an  educational  asset  and  schools  are  compelled  to  do  things 
differently (according to their own reality and specificities – human, territorial and others).  

According to the majority of the case study reporters, the key challenge is to transcribe 
the vision of the initiatives into the local institutional context. This requires a high 
level  of  dialogue,  critical  reflection  and  collaboration  between  teachers  and  school  staff, 
students, parents and other agents in the broader school community. A co-creative and 
participatory approach has been crucial to the design of the initiatives, as well as to the 
success and longevity of these programmes. Most AFC initiatives were developed following 
consultation  processes  that 
involved  diverse  groups  of  stakeholders.  Strong 
engagement  of  the  community  and  all  stakeholders  in  reflection  on  the  meaning  and 
importance of the initiative help to ensure that the vision and recognition trickles down and 
leads  to  increased  motivation  to  implement  the  programme.  A  key  take-away  from  this 
finding is that transferring EES initiatives to other countries is likely to require just as much 
effort in re-thinking and co-creating the initiative in the new context. 

As discussed earlier in this report, research has found that WIA often relies on a few very 
engaged individuals, and may disintegrate when they leave. This is  probably the reason 
why structural frameworks and guidance  are needed to keep initiatives going  in spite of 
shifting  personnel.  The  initiatives  have  also  avoided  this  obstacle  by  focusing  on 
developing a supportive team culture within the initiative – not just a supportive 

103 

 
 
 
 
school  culture.  For  example,  the  Austrian  case  study  ÖKOLOG  is  organised  through 
regional  teams  as  well  as  school  teams,  and  therefore  does  not  depend  on  individual 
people.  Similarly,  to  support  AFC  implementation  in  Portugal,  there  is  also  a  national 
coordination  team,  assisted  by  a  technical  team,  and  five  regional  teams  covering  the 
territory. In Portugal, all public training centres for educational professionals (Centros de 
Formação de Associação de Escola, CFAE - 91 in total) were called upon to participate, with 
each  team  being  reinforced  with  one  teacher  from  teachers’  mobility  (released  from 
teaching duties), working in liaison between the Government (AFC National Coordination 
and Regional Teams) and schools. Similarly, in the case of Pavucina in the Czech Republic, 
the network of core members frequently meets to discuss the challenges that the network 
faces in its implementation of WIA, to uphold an open and solution-oriented team culture 
(‘evaluation culture’) surrounding the potential challenges they face.  

Funding and backing at system level have strengthened the initiatives’ position 
and ability to operate smoothly. The team at the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science 
and  Research  (BMBWF)  provides  one  person  (30%)  for  the  steering  of  the  ÖKOLOG 
programme, and one person (30%) for office tasks. The Ministry of Education, Science and 
Research  provides  the  University  of  Klagenfurt  with  EUR  85,000  per  year  for  the 
coordination of the ÖKOLOG programme and network. This includes one full-time position 
(50%  for  coordination  and  50%  for  office  tasks),  (travel)  costs  for  meetings  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  ÖKOLOG-website,  while  teachers  in  the  regional  teams  receive  two 
units of value (teaching hours). It should be noted that ÖKOLOG has been running since 
1995,  and  is  a  more  mature  initiative  than,  for  example,  the  Portuguese  or  Italian 
initiatives. Portugal’s AFC is also supported from the main education budget, but receives 
complementary  funding  from  the  European  Structural  Funds.  Compared  with  the  other 
initiatives, the Network of Environmental Education Centres Pavucina (Czech Republic) has 
a  much  more  diverse  and  vulnerable  funding  structure.  Its  main  office  and  the  projects 
implemented by the network are funded by grants from the Ministry of the Environment, 
European  Funds,  membership  fees,  participation  fees,  counselling,  audits,  analytical 
services, gifts, and other sources. UNA Europa also has a more uncertain funding situation, 
but  primarily  due  to  uncertainty  with  regard  to  the  management  of  its  funding  across 
jurisdictions. The quote below regards the Austrian case study and also shows how stable 
funding mechanisms is crucial to the effectiveness of the EES initiatives.  

“A  challenge  is  still  posed  by  sustainably  anchoring  ÖKOLOG  at  schools  at  the 
interface of innovation and as part of the dynamic everyday culture of these schools. 
In  relation  to  regional  support  systems  in  the  federal  states,  the  respective 
professional and political contexts play a decisive role. The provision of stable and 
continuous  support,  which,  at  the  same  time,  is  flexible  enough  to  dynamically 
respond to change, both makes high demands on all parties involved and, at the 
same time, also requires adequate resources348.” 

Similarly, the experts report that the Italian MultiLab may also be difficult to implement 
holistically  in  universities  with  little  funding.  MultiLab’s  approach  is  easier  to  put  into 
practice in smaller universities, which can count on a good level of funding. However, other 
factors must simultaneously be present, such as a group of university professors and 

348  Rauch,  F.  (2016).  Networking  for  Education  for  Sustainable  Development  in  Austria:  The  Austrian  ECOLOG-Schools  Programme. 

Educational Action Research 24 (1), 34-45. (DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2015.1132000) 

104 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
internship  supervisors  with  a  shared  vision  of  education  and  training  for  EES,  and 
who are willing to invest time in a common participatory project. 

Furthermore, governmental support and backing need not be solely financial. The 
Austrian  experts  highlight  that  the  inclusion  of  EES  topics  and  competences  in  the  new 
curriculum for primary and secondary school in Austria is also beneficial in supporting the 
overall work and creating momentum and need for ÖKOLOG’s services. The same is true 
in  Portugal,  where  AFC,  a  governmental  initiative,  was  part  of  a  new  legal  framework 
addressing a new educational vision with clear implications for the curriculum.  

The  university  alliance  UNA  Europa  stands  out  in  terms  of  the  particular 
challenges  and  opportunities  it  faces  with  regard  to  WIA,  due  to  its  cross-
institutional and cross-border context. While each of the eight partner institutions aim 
to  apply  WIA  in  their  institutions,  each  member  has  different  focus  areas  and 
responsibilities  with  regard  to  the  implementation  of  UNA.  It  may  therefore  be  more 
challenging to ensure its holistic implementation at all institutions. In some ways, UNA can 
be  said  to  reinterpret  the  environment  in  which  students  learn  by  re-arranging  the 
educational  space  and  meaning.  This  is  evident  in  two  of  UNA’s  objectives.  On  the  one 
hand, it acknowledges that a university is: “not a place, but a body of knowledge, ideas, 
and values, evolving freely beyond borders, mediums and time”, and at the same time it 
is  “the  home,  therefore  the  responsibility  of  its  community,  namely  all  the  people  who 
share  and  contribute  to  its  ideals”.  This  potential  tension  between  a  place  that  is  not 
necessarily  physical,  and  the  notion  of  a  community/home,  must  be  understood  in  the 
specific context of UNA. Students at UNA will be required to attend and participate virtually 
for  many  modules,  although  physical  mobilities  will  also  be  encouraged.  While  students 
can have the benefit of learning from multiple institutions, they  are likely to have more 
virtual education than is currently the case at most universities. Furthermore, when they 
go  on  mobilities,  they  will  need  to  harbour  a  culture  of  tolerance  that  can  benefit  their 
learning  across  cultures  and  communities.  UNA  stakeholders  recognise  that  creating  a 
coherent institutional culture across the eight participating institutions is one of 
the main challenges UNA faces. Yet, if they can overcome this challenge, they will help 
to build a unique set of skills for learners, who will achieve sustainability competences that 
suit diverse socio-economic and cultural contexts.  

5.2. 

Engaging communities and students for sustainability 

The preceding section on WIA touches on and relates to the discussion on the engagement 
of  communities  and  students.  In  this  section,  we  look  more  closely  at  these  issues;  in 
particular,  the  importance  of  including  communities  and  students  in  the  direction  of  the 
initiative after its implementation, and the ways in which this can enhance its effectiveness.  

While  similar  networks  exist,  both  within  the  Czech  Republic  and  in  other  countries, 
Pavucina  stands  out  in  terms  of  community  engagement,  thanks  to  its  community  of 
learning, which is connected by shared goals and its informal, friendly atmosphere. 
Stakeholders  emphasise  that  Pavucina  was  not  founded  by  any  authority,  and  does  not 
have top-down management. Instead, it has grown organically out of the enthusiasm and 
motivation  of  its  members.  In  this  respect,  it  differs  slightly  from  the  Austrian  and 
Portuguese initiatives, which involve much closer support from government, although the 
Austrian initiative also grew out of an initiative that began locally. The Portuguese example 
is  also  unique  in  that,  despite  being  implemented  top-down,  it  encourages  innovation, 

105 

 
 
 
 
flexibility and choice of action by schools in their implementation of EES. Thus, all of the 
initiatives focus on finding ways to connect the right people, who already exhibit intrinsic 
motivation, and proceed to strengthen their efforts.  

The  transfer  of  EES  networks  and  programmes  to  other  countries  should  be  based  on 
encouraging and supporting cooperation between existing education centres since no real 
community of practice can be developed using a top-down approach if there is a 
lack of intrinsic motivation among its members. Yet, experts emphasise that Pavucina 
and other European networks can benefit from promoting mutual contact and cooperation 
beyond the local or national level. As mentioned above, Pavucina is limited by its regional 
(Czech)  perspective.  Promoting  the  opening  of  the  network  beyond  its  current 
borders  could  provide  essential  insights  into  the  field  of  EES  –  especially  when 
environmental  and  biodiversity-related  issues  are  better  understood  in  a  wider  regional 
context.  At  the  same  time,  Pavucina’s  experience  in  promoting  a  friendly  community  of 
practice  may  provide  inspiration  for  networks  and  centres  in  other  countries  on  how  to 
strengthen bottom-up initiatives for EES through capacity building.349 

In the Italian case of MultiLab, there was an exceptionally high level of awareness about 
the  importance  of  the  community,  referred  to  in  the  quote  below  as  ‘territory’,  as  an 
enabling factor for the success of the initiative: 

“EES  cannot  be  enforced  without  the  territory,  and  must  try  to  build,  as  proposed  by 
MultiLab, an ‘integrated educational system’, an ‘educating community’ in which trust in 
the university, and in the contribution it can give to the educational system, is established 
from  early  childhood.  One  of  the  objectives,  as  remembered  by  the  interviewee,  is  that 
‘awareness of environmental and social sustainability is built as a need 'from below', with 
those who really work in the field, and is not imposed from above by institutions’” 350   

In addition, the MultiLab initiative also stands out by linking and focusing on all levels of 
education and bringing together teachers and students of all ages in experiential research 
and education appropriate for different ages. Lack of synergies between educational levels 
has been highlighted as a barrier to effective and holistic learning for EES. Such synergies 
are seldom achieved, although they can help to improve the effectiveness of learning as 
well as adding much-needed lifelong learning and inter-generational perspectives.  

International and high-level collaboration has further enhanced pedagogical innovation and 
research  at  institutions.  MultiLab  made  itself  known  not  only  locally,  through  a  dense 
network of relationships built with museums and institutions within the territory, but also 
at national and international level. In fact, in addition to university professors, researchers, 
teachers  and  Italian  educators,  the  annual  conference  is  also  attended  by  foreign 
professors  and  researchers,  with  whom  strong  and  continuous  collaboration  has  been 
established. This finding is good news for UNA Europa, which aims to establish a cross-
border EES community and become “a truly European inter-university environment, where 

349 Simmons, V.N., Klasko, L.B., Fleming, K., Koskan, A.M., Jackson, N.T., Noel-Thomas, S., Luque, J.S., Vadaparampil, S.T., Lee, J.-H., 

Quinn, G.P., Britt, L., Waddell, R., Meade, C.D. and Gwede, C.K. (2015). Participatory Evaluation of a Community–Academic Partnership to 

Inform 

Capacity-Building 

and 

Sustainability. 

Evaluation 

and 

Program 

Planning 

52, 

19-26, 

doi: 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2015.03.005 

350 Focus Group restART 

106 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
outstanding  research  is  continuously  linked  to  transnational  learning  and  innovative, 
critical thinking” (Blechinger-Talcot, 2021).  

In particular, UNA can be considered an innovative initiative for its attempts to make use 
of collaborations with the community to solve one of the main challenges in implementing 
EES: applying an interdisciplinary perspective. One of the central aims of UNA Europa is to 
combine the complementary strengths of the partners, fostering levels of collaboration that 
go deeper than existing methods. The UNA Europa partners have selected five Focus Areas 
to  launch  their  collaboration.  Each  Focus  Area  fosters  multi-disciplinarity,  and  includes 
most  of  the  subjects  offered  by  the  universities.  These  Focus  Areas  act  as  the  initial 
thematic  ‘glue’  that  ties  the  universities  together  in  their  mission  to  create  a  ‘virtual 
campus’.  While  the  competences  and  skills  for  the  Joint  Bachelor  Programme  in 
Sustainability have yet to be crystallised, the Focus Areas suggest that sustainability will 
be linked with other Focus Areas of cultural heritage, data science and artificial intelligence, 
European studies and Health.  

Below is a description of UNA’s planned Joint Bachelor Programme in Sustainability: 

“Students  will  gain  interdisciplinary  skills  and  critical  knowledge  to  tackle  sustainability 
challenges. Thinking in a broader systems perspective, they will obtain an understanding 
of the interlinkages between the issues, as well as their political, socio-cultural, economic, 
technological,  and  legal  backgrounds,  understanding  of  the  UN  SDGs  and  their 
implementation,  beyond  the  rhetoric,  offers  students  constructive  skills  to  promote 
sustainability inclusively, create solutions, and facilitate the achievement of agenda 2030. 
Students will negotiate with other students and professionals from partner universities with 
better argumentation, digital, and co-creation abilities for sustainability transformation.” 

While the two initiatives taking place at the level of higher education focus more on looking 
outwards  for  collaborations,  the  Portuguese,  Austrian  and  Czech  initiatives,  which  more 
often  target  primary  schools,  focus  more  on  how  to  engage  the  local  community.  In 
particular, AFC focuses  heavily on involving students in decision making and monitoring 
whether the initiative has positively impacted students in terms of both learning and well-
being. This probably explains students’ ‘buy-in’ and the positive feedback received during 
the evaluation of the project. In addition, the initiative had many positive consequences 
for student learning (See 5.3). 

5.3. 

Fostering action competences 

The  case  studies  confirm  that  transmissive  teaching  is  a  key  barrier  to  the  effective 
implementation of EES. The cases themselves, with their diverse forms and approaches, 
can  be  regarded  as  active  attempts  to  overcome  this  barrier,  and  to  demonstrate 
alternative ways of teaching that can better foster EES implementation. More concretely, 
before AFC was introduced in Portugal, the situation that limited action competences was 
described by students as consisting of the following issues:  

―  little or no pedagogical differentiation (little use of different pedagogical methods 
and approaches, usually focusing on traditional methods that limit collaboration 
and participation);  

―  excessive focus on the teacher; and  
―  overuse of expositive/passive pedagogical practices, where students are reduced 

to mere assimilators of information. 

107 

 
 
 
 
AFC  overcomes  this  barrier  by  giving  more  autonomy  to  the  institutions  to  develop 
their own curricula and to actively involve students and the community. The key strength 
of the AFC experience may not be autonomy per se, but the way it has built a structural 
framework  around  it  to  support  and  ensure  that  positive  change  happens  (see  5.1). 
Students  commented  that  the  positive  contributions  that  AFC  has  brought  to  schools  in 
general were its ability to foster students' involvement in active learning through projects, 
and  less  teacher-centred  learning.  The  offer  an  integrated  approach  to  different 
curricular  areas,  anchored  in  real-world  problems,  and  strengthened  diverse 
transversal  competences  such  as  collaborative  skills;  self-  and  group  responsibility; 
communication and decision making based on negotiation and group consensus; the critical 
use of information and knowledge; data collection, analysis and interpretation; and critical 
reflection  upon  possible  solutions.  In  these  projects,  students  consider  sustainability-
related questions the most interesting and relevant to study more deeply. 

Prompted by a similar concern, the Bolzano MultiLab also responds to a profound need in 
the  Italian  education  system,  and  is  an  example  of  higher  education  and  training  for 
teachers that builds the necessary action competences. Among the case studies, MultiLab 
is probably the one with the most well-defined and diverse constellation of pedagogies for 
developing action competences.  It responds to the need to build methodologies suitable 
for  teaching  scientific  subjects  (from  mathematics  to  physics  to  natural  sciences)  in 
pre-primary  and  primary  schools.  At  these  levels  of  education,  teachers  often  feel 
unprepared and slavishly follow textbooks, or propose observations and small experiments. 
This is a key barrier to teaching it engagingly. The initiative aims to provide teachers with 
innovative  tools  they  can  use  to  shape  students’  behaviours.  The  list  below  provides  a 
snapshot of some of the pedagogies or teaching methods used by MultiLab: 

―  Community or place-based learning (especially with museums) 
―  Experiments and citizen science projects 
―  Experiential learning (a process of lifelong, lifewide, lifedeep learning) 
―  Action research as a pedagogy 
―  Cooperative learning 
―  Self-enquiry-based learning 
―  Storytelling  
―  Art and STEAM approaches 

In addition, MultiLab provides evidence on the impact of its methods through research and 
the dissemination of experiences at the university. There are several inspiring stories of 
students who created solutions to real-life problems using creativity and critical thinking, 
without  these  being  required  by  the  school.  In  addition,  teachers  have  reported  feeling 
more confident about teaching EES after participating in MultiLab’s in-service training.  

One  main  take-away  from  across  the  initiatives  is  the  use  of  self-enquiry-based 
learning.  In  MultiLab  and  ÖKOLOG,  building  participants’  reflexivity  before,  during  and 
after the proposed actions  is key. For each  MultiLab internship, a personal development 
plan  is  systematically  constructed,  which  requires  future  teachers  to  understand  where 
they start from, the path taken and what is still missing, in order to achieve the goals they 
have set for themselves. An interviewee for the ÖKOLOG initiative stated: “ÖKOLOG is an 
advocate for new forms of teaching and learning. It promotes self-reflection and helps not 
to  slip  into  the  old  pattern  of  teaching.”  Focus  group  participants  in  the  Multi-Lab  case 

108 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
study research stated: “We use the portfolio not as a documentation but as a self-reflection 
tool: where the heart of the matter is not what I did or saw, but how what I saw or did 
changes  me,  how  it  transforms  me  and  outlines  my  professional  profile  based  on 
competences  that  I  try  to  highlight,  linking  them  to  the  experience  I  have  had.  It  is 
therefore not the experience itself that changes me but the use I make of it. The change 
is in the shared reflection and in the possibility of having a tool that allows this operation, 
(…) to trace a path, to be present to oneself and therefore be "intentionally educational". 

Furthermore, several stakeholders (e.g. in Portugal and the Czech Republic) highlighted as 
a  strength  the  fact  that  institutions  themselves  adopted  such  a  self-enquiry-based 
approach, and applied it in regular evaluations of the initiatives. 

5.4. 

Supporting and preparing education personnel 

As has been highlighted by the study so far, the curriculum and teacher education are not 
consistently in sync with what is required for EES to flourish and produce a great impact. 
A  interviewee  for  the  Portuguese  case  study  explained  the  situation  as  follows:  “The 
consultation  process  conducted  identified  the  following  key  problems  of  the  national 
education  system:  we  have  a  19th-century  school  with  20th-century  teachers  and  21st-
century students.” The initiatives in every case study complemented their diverse methods 
with teacher education to ensure that those methods were appropriately applied.  

In  doing  so,  the  initiatives  demonstrate  further  innovation  by  developing  teacher 
assessment instruments or advanced training programmes. In 2019, ÖKOLOG developed 
a tool for (self) reflection, the Competency Compass for teachers 351. Using this tool, 
teachers can assess their competences they have acquired in the field of  environmental 
education  for  sustainable  development.  The  Competency  Compass  covers  the  following 
areas: developing attitudes towards the environment and sustainability;  build up, reflect 
on, pass on environmental knowledge; evaluate, decide, act; and methodical and didactic 
approach. Another reflection tool, which involves the pupils, is the footprint calculator for 
schools and individuals.352  

Schools that were able to build up a sustainable ecological school structure often already 
had  experience  with  ecological  education  and  school  development  before  they  joined 
ÖKOLOG.  Building  upon  those  experiences,  the  ÖKOLOG  network  supports  further 
development –  for  example, through  regional exchange  of  experiences and information, 
generating  new  ideas,  the  provision  of  educational  materials,  and  through  financial 
resources.  Such  support  is  considered  very  helpful  for  education  personnel.  Further 
opportunities  for  support  are  found  in  the  creation  of  a  pool  of  external  lecturers  and 
advisors, the development of more varied materials depending on types of schools, as well 
as stronger activity in the area of public relations and the provision of material resources. 

  ÖKOLOG  schools  are  supported  through  materials,  the  ÖKOLOG-website,  regional 
network  meetings  and  seminars  (e.g.  ‘ÖKOLOG  days’),  as  well  as  opportunities  for 
networking  and  exchange  of  experience  between  the  ÖKOLOG  regional  teams  and 
ÖKOLOG schools.  

351  ÖKOLOG,  Kompetenzen-Kompass  (n.d.).  Available  at:  https://www.oekolog.at/angebote-news/kompetenzen-kompass/  [Accessed  1 

June 2021]. 

352 Footprint calculator for schools (n.d.). Available at: http://www.fussabdrucksrechner.at/schulen/index.php [Accessed 1 June 2021]. 

109 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
  Support for teachers in schools from ÖKOLOG coordinators, and motivation towards 

the joint implementation of ÖKOLOG activities with students.  

In  2016,  the  Free  University  of  Bozen-Bolzano,  which  is  connected  to  and  inspired  by 
MultiLab,  became  a  forerunner  in  Italy  as  the  first  university  to  introduce  compulsory 
elements of laboratory and multidisciplinary training to help future teachers in the process 
of integrating disciplines, particularly in science. This new training course was developed 
over a period of two years, and involved three local educational authorities, one for each 
official language (Italian, German and Ladin), and schools. Overall, the approach taken to 
teacher training by MultiLab is broader, and represents a ‘new way of thinking’ and a 
‘paradigm  shift’,  based  on  the  concepts  of  interdependence  and  complexity  as 
described in this study: ”This can happen only if we obtain the involvement of all the actors 
in the field and a change of perspective regarding the very concepts of teacher education, 
which should become a ‘reticular and net-like’ project, a process of community building, 
starting from universities, schools and institutions involved in education” 353 . This approach 
is also in line with the building of a continuous professional learning community as 
teachers remain in touch with the network and learn.  

Lastly, the Portuguese case study provides the insight that learning for educators should 
not  only  cover  teachers  but  also  the  whole  education  community.  One  of  the  most 
important  challenges  that  had  to  be  overcome  in  implementing  AFC  was  ensuring  the 
effective involvement and active participation of schools. To achieve this, capacity building 
and  training  for  top  leaders  was  essential.  However,  to  be  completely  successful,  all 
teachers (as well as other staff – and, broadly, the whole education community) should be 
trained for AFC and EES. Almost all of the participants in this study referred to the necessity 
to  redesign  and  develop  strong  initial  training  for  teachers  that  integrates  the  holistic 
perspective  and  whole-institution  approaches,  as  well  as  leadership  skills  based  on 
democratic governance, to accelerate their potential as change makers in schools. In this 
sense, HEIs are also required to enter more boldly into the reformulation of future teacher 
education.  In  the  focus  group,  the  improvement  of  initial  teacher  training  and  the 
continuous professional development of educational staff were among the measures most 
frequently mentioned as being important to further scaling up AFC. 

6. Conclusions and recommendations 

Education  for  environmental  sustainability  aims  to  develop  competences  that  empower 
individuals to reflect on their actions, taking into account their current and future social, 
cultural,  economic  and  environmental  impacts from  a  local  and  a  global  perspective.  As 
part of society, individuals should be empowered to act in a sustainable manner in complex 
situations, which may require them to strike out in new directions and participate in socio-
political  processes.  This  calls  for  every  member  of  society  to  acquire  a  ‘sustainability 
mindset’ and environmental literacy. The European Green Deal, the 2030 Agenda for 
Sustainable Development and the IPCC reports have signalled the urgency to embed the 
principles of environmental sustainability into all levels of education due to the tremendous 

353 Dozza, L. (2020). ’Nuovi modelli dell’apprendere/insegnare all’Università. Laboratori in rete partecipati con la comunità’, Atti Convegno 

SIPED 

110 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
climatic  challenges,  increasing  natural  hazards  and  decline  in  biodiversity  faced  by  EU 
Member States and the entire world.  

The current situation suggests that it is time to change the way we think about the purpose 
of education, and to put environmental sustainability at the heart of learning. Most common 
understandings of education describe it either as preparation for the future more broadly, 
or more concretely as equipping learners with competences for the future labour market. 
However, climate change, with its related environmental, social, and economic dimensions, 
is the most defining challenge of our time, and will vastly impact the future for the current 
and  coming  generations.  This  study  recognises  the  context  and  volatility  of  the  current 
situation  and  the  diverse  impact  that  climate  change  will  have  on  learners  physically 
(hazards  and  risks)  and  mentally  (eco-anxiety,  grief  and  need  for  resilience),  of  which 
certain  impacts  cannot  yet  be  predicted.  As  social  policy,  businesses,  transport  and 
production  and  other  key  policy  areas  and  sectors  adapt  to  account  for  the  necessary 
changes –both to adjust to and to mitigate the impact of climate change – education can 
play  the  role  of  facilitating  and  easing  this  change,  by  providing  learners  with  the 
knowledge,  skills  and  attitudes  to  better  prepare  them  for  a  more  volatile  but  ‘green’ 
society and labour market.  

The demand for sustainability as a new purpose of education requires intensified efforts to 
address  the  socio-emotional  and  affective  dimensions  of  learning  beyond  the  mere 
cognitive focus. From  such a perspective,  education is not solely limited to acting as an 
instrument  to  achieve  specific  formal  individual  needs  and  levels,  but  to  serve  as  the 
integrated  process  and  operating  mode  of  a  sustainable  path  of  life.  For  such 
transformations  to  take  place  holistically  and  comprehensively,  action  is  needed  both 
vertically  (from  individual  change,  to  institutional  and  systemic  changes)  and 
horizontally – with all stakeholders acting in synergy for the promotion of environmental 
sustainability. 

The reason that broad and interdisciplinary partnerships are important is precisely the fast-
changing  field  of  sustainability  and  our  understanding  of  the  environmental  crisis,  a 
constantly evolving field of knowledge that is hard for some teachers to keep up with. The 
role  of  the  teacher  in  this  situation  is  that  of  a  facilitator  between  outside  experts  and 
students. In addition, the teacher is the expert on pedagogy, as many outside experts will 
not  possess  this  understanding  of  learning,  and  will  use  a  didactic  approach  to  deliver 
content. This is important to highlight, as a vertical and horizontal approach does not mean 
a diminishing role for the teacher in implementing EES. 

This study consolidates evidence on the ways in which educational institutions and systems 
can advance sustainability mindset. It also provides a comprehensive mapping of national 
and institutional practices, processes, tools and strategies in education for environmental 
sustainability  at  different  levels  and  in  forms  of  education  and  training.  By  looking  at 
inspirational  examples  of  innovative  practices  and  policy  processes,  this  study  explores 
what  drives  and  supports  system-wide  education  for  environmental  sustainability.  In 
addition, this study focuses more concretely on the process of how competences required 
to prepare learners are developed through initiatives across system and institutional levels.  

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6.1. 

Key findings 

6.1.1.  Conditions  for  mainstreaming  holistic  education  for  environmental 

sustainability across systems 

In all EU countries, individual ECEC centres, schools and HEIs and local communities have 
become more conscious about their role in promoting a sustainability mindset. However, 
education  for  environmental  sustainability  is  not  yet  a  systemic  feature  of 
education policy. The degree to which institutions (at the compulsory education level in 
particular) can develop and embed innovative sustainability-oriented policies, depends on 
the  broader  system  of  governance  as  much  as  on  the  culture  and  context  of  each 
institution. Factors such as the degree of autonomy, flexibility in using financial resources, 
sound systems of monitoring and evaluation, and professional development systems, all 
exert a  strong influence on  the ways in which  formal education institutions  operate and 
integrate various sustainability-related practices.  

Different  levels  of  education  face  various  challenges  in  relation  to  EES.  Early  childhood 
education  and  care  (ECEC),  as  well  as  primary/secondary  education  levels,  share  many 
similar enablers and barriers with respect to EES implementation. However, EES is rarely 
prioritised  at ECEC level  due to concerns  about overwhelming  children. Because 
the concept of sustainable development can be deemed too complex to introduce to young 
students, the notion that it should be left for later education levels often prevails. This line 
of thought also appears to be widespread at policy level  – EES is seldom defined in any 
national policy documents, strategies or programmes aimed explicitly at ECEC. This study’s 
findings  suggest  that  EES  appears  most  commonly  in  policy  documentation  aimed  at 
primary/secondary  education.  This  means  that  there  is  a  lack  of  recognition  of  the 
importance  of  sequencing  of  educational  activities  as  students  progress through 
different levels of education. Understanding what a mindset involves – as opposed to 
just content – would enable this. A competence framework that helps to develop this 
understanding of a sustainability mindset across ages and educational levels, through the 
scoping  and  sequencing  of  EES  learning  outcomes  over  the  years,  can  therefore  be 
particularly effective. 

When  comparing  primary/secondary  education  with  higher  education  (HE),  the  key 
distinctive characteristic is the degree to which EES is implemented. Due to a high level of 
independence  and  autonomy  at  university  level,  the  implementation  of  EES  varies 
significantly between HEIs, and depends on the willingness of the university community 
to  mainstream  sustainability.  The  siloed  disciplinary  structure  of  HEIs,  along  with 
overcrowded  university  curricula,  render  most  institutions  barely  open  to  new 
paradigms such as EES. 

Key finding 1. Many EU countries commit to some sustainability-related goals 

and embed education for environmental sustainability in their education 

policy strategies; however, only a few follow this up with clear action plans. 

The existence of national implementation roadmaps, strategies and other policy documents 
is a key enabler for the better implementation of EES. Having a well-defined national action 

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plan that identifies specific targets and actions to be taken helps with EES implementation 
at both institutional and individual levels.  

Conceptually,  the  majority  of  Member  States  have  moved  away  from  the  term 
‘environmental  education’  towards  ‘education  for  sustainable  development’,  and  thus 
widened  their  thematic  focus  to  also  factor  in  social  and  economic  issues.  Most  policy 
documents  reviewed  in  this  study  reflect  a  deep  understanding  of  the  interlinkages 
between environmental, social and economic challenges, and the urgent need for a green 
economy.  The  environmental  dimension  has  gained  particular  importance  lately,  due  to 
the increased interest in climate change education. 

Effective policies for education for environmental sustainability are purposeful, reflexive, 
and work across all of the pillars that support the education system (curriculum, pedagogy, 
funding and support for institutional innovation, teacher training, etc.)  

Key finding 2. Education for environmental sustainability is rarely a cross-

sectoral and cross-cutting issue. 

While almost all countries have specific documents relating to education for environmental 
sustainability,  very  few  focus  on  EES  across  documents  in  other  policy  fields.  Explicitly 
integrating  educational  elements  into  all  policy  documents  relating  to  sustainable 
development  renders  both  education  and  non-education  policies  more  impactful. 
Prioritising education in the context of the economy and other sustainability strategies can 
facilitate the implementation of EES in schools and VET, and has been found to influence 
education  systems  and  the  purpose  of  education  more  broadly  in  different  jurisdictions, 
when aligned with green growth planning. Furthermore, EES is also crucial to ensuring that 
green growth is properly implemented and does not rely on ‘greenwashing’ or superficial 
measures.  

Key finding 3. Few countries provide clear definitions of sustainability 

competences and related learning outcomes. 

While  the  UNECE  reports  consider  it  a  strength  for  ESD  implementation  that  countries 
implement  the  key  competences  for  lifelong  learning,  Ayers  (2020)  find  that  where 
competences are not contextualised for sustainability, this provides no guarantee that they 
will achieve their desired learning outcomes. The literature review and overall study 
findings highlight that the best way to crystallise the link between 21st-century 
skills  and  competences  for  environmental  sustainability  may  be  through  an 
explicit  competence  framework  for  sustainability.  In  the  context  of  a  curriculum 
framework,  there  needs  to  be  explicit  mention  of  sustainability  competences,  learning 
objectives, and how to achieve and assess these. As yet, very few countries do this. 

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Key finding 4. In most EU countries, curricula do not make links between key 

transversal skills, EES thematic areas, and scientific understanding. 

Our  review  of  curricula  found  that  only  three  Member  States  explicitly  linked  an 
understanding of natural science that is specific to transversal skills, those that are relevant 
to a broad range of occupations and sectors, to EES. While all Member States cover various 
transversal skills in their  overall curricula, these are not  contextualised for  EES learning 
outcomes.  

Furthermore,  the literature reviewed  for the  study suggests that some transversal skills 
are necessary components of sustainability competences.  Several international attempts 
to  define  EES  competences  refer  to  ‘system  thinking  competency’  and  ‘anticipatory 
competency’ (UNESCO, 2017, pg. 10 on cross-cutting key competences; Wiek et al., 2011; 
UNECE, 2012), which can also be understood as the ability to embrace complex systems, 
and  to  envision  futures  and  change.  EES  is  a  field  in  which  interdisciplinary  and 
interconnected understandings of the natural and human world are particularly important. 
While  this  interdisciplinary  aspect  is  in  many  ways  lacking  in  the  curricula,  our  study 
findings suggest that this may be due to a lack of clearly defined competences that describe 
how  linkages  between  disciplines  and  fields  can  be  approached  in  practice.  Transversal 
skills such as the complex systems thinking defined in the context of EES, when built upon 
a  good  foundation  of  knowledge  of  both  science  and  civics/citizenship  (the  historical, 
geographical, economic and political context), can help to bring out this unique aspect of 
EES and crystallise the interdependent nature of the social and human world.  

Key finding 5. Education for sustainability goes beyond including certain 

topics in the curricula. It should first of all focus on transformative and 

transdisciplinary teaching and learning approaches, to experience the 

interdependency of socio-economic and socio-ecological systems. 

The coverage, scope and depth of EES have increased in curricula across Europe, as the 
curriculum  is  an  important  tool  for  mainstreaming  EES  within  schools.  Yet,  the  ways  in 
which environmental sustainability topics and pedagogies are included in national curricula 
vary, and cannot be considered comprehensive in all Member States. We consider curricula 
frameworks comprehensive when they explicitly carve out space for EES, provide in-depth 
understanding  of  the  topic  from  multiple  perspectives  at  local  and  global  levels,  and 
emphasize  learning  along  all  the  learning  dimensions  –  cognitive,  socio-emotional  and 
behavioural – to develop action competences.  

Education  for  environmental  sustainability  entails  much  more  than  including 
topics  into  curricula.  It  must  primarily  focus  on  transformative  teaching  and 
learning approaches and transdisciplinarity, as individual, specialised disciplines have 
been  found  insufficient  to  address  the  complexity  of  socio-ecological  systems.  Thus, 
instruction in suitable pedagogies or pedagogical guidelines to foster nature-connectedness 

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and  action  competences  is  crucial,  as  are  interdisciplinary  approaches  to  building  the 
necessary synergies between disciplines. 

However, the study also finds that one of the root causes for the lack of prioritisation of 
EES, along with its thematic dismissal, is curriculum overload. The national policy mapping, 
in conjunction with the literature, suggests that new and innovative subjects such as EES 
tend to be piled on top of existing curricula rather than being designated an appropriate 
slot  in  an  interdisciplinary  way.  Often  lacking  time,  and  without  appropriate  training  on 
EES  and  its  proper  implementation,  and  without  assessment  guidelines,  teachers  are 
tasked  with integrating  the  subject  into  their  classrooms  in  an interdisciplinary  manner. 
This frequently proves difficult, resulting in a lack of prioritisation and in thematic dismissal.  

Key finding 6. Systems of professional development should better prepare 

educators for new ways of teaching, and for integrating behavioural and socio-

emotional dimension into their teaching. 

It has been established that limited teacher training on EES is characterised by lack of EES 
professional  trainers  in  the  field  and  insufficient  emphasis  on  EES  during  initial  teacher 
training. As there is often no systematised training framework in place, becoming an expert 
on sustainable development in the education sector appears not to be considered by many 
as a viable career route. In some Member States, this shortage of expertise is particularly 
evident during initial teacher training. Without initially learning the appropriate skills and 
new  teaching  methods,  many  teachers  tend  to  lack  sufficient  motivation  to  immerse 
themselves in EES during continuous professional development.  

Key finding 7. Monitoring and assessment are crucial to understanding the 

impact of existing policies and approaches: yet flexibility is needed. 

Monitoring and evaluation is crucial at two levels: to evaluate the specific skills of learners 
on  the  one  hand,  and  to  evaluate  institutions’  progress  towards  benchmarks  relating  to 
EES. Without data on how learners and universities are faring, it is hard to develop clear 
action plans for improvement. This finding does not necessarily imply that data gathering 
should be standardised, or that it should be demanding. In fact, the study clearly highlights 
that the future of assessment is diverse, and that extensive data gathering can be overly 
complicated  and  unsuitable  for  EES  implementation.  The  key  take-away  here  is 
nevertheless that monitoring is useful, but that flexibility in the approaches to assessment 
and monitoring is advisable.  

6.1.2.  Drivers of change at institutions  

At  all  levels  of  education,  many  good  and  innovative  examples  of  EES  occur  at 
institutional level. One issue when looking at the institutional level is that it is challenging 
to  gain  a  complete  overview  of  what  is  happening  on  the  ground,  and  to  what  extent 
institutions are applying and teaching EES. UNECE reporting and other literature suggest 
that the number of programmes and initiatives on the ground is increasing; however, many 
of these are still isolated, fragmented and project-based.  

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Some  broader-based  programmes  consist  of  general  pledges  or  commitments,  which 
research  has  found  to  be  not  always  well  implemented  in  practice.  Looking  at  the  good 
practices studied in greater depth in this report, it appears that individuals play a key role 
in  ensuring  that  whole-institution  approaches  are  implemented  consistently  at  an 
institution.  Overall,  the  key  enabling  factors  for  whole-institution  approaches  are 
personal initiative and open-mindedness among the key actors, adaptability and 
shared leadership, in combination with visions and plans in which students play 
an active role.  

In  many  EU  countries,  this  positive  change  is  also  driven  by  environmental  education 
centres  and  NGOs  involved  in  non-formal  education,  working  to  support  teachers  and 
schools  and  create  additional  space  for  learning.  Non-formal  education  institutions  are 
particularly  influential  in  networking  and  creating  the  professional  learning  communities 
necessary for teachers to re/upskill to better teach EES.  

Key finding 8. A whole-institution approach is instrumental in ensuring 

effective education for environmental sustainability, and in building an 

institutional culture of sustainability 

The  whole-institution  approach  has  been  found  to  have  positive  effects  in  ensuring  that 
EES  is  implemented.  Studies  and  examples  that  also  focus  on  the  impact  of  whole-
institution  approach  on  students’  learning  highlight  the  need  to  focus  on  integrated 
approaches  to  teaching  methods  in  which  the  environment  is  actively  used  in  teaching; 
building  up  initiative  and  open-minded  attitudes  among  the  key  actors  within  the 
institution;  adaptability  and  self-reflection/monitoring;  shared  leadership;  including 
environmental  sustainability  into  the  core  vision  and  operational  plans  holistically;  and 
engaging students and wider networks. 

In ECEC, several interesting pedagogies have been widely adopted in some countries and 
can be seen to link very well to sustainability-specific competences (e.g. forest and earth 
pedagogy  and  eco-pedagogy).  Examples  in  ECEC  are  less  often  engaged  in  whole-
institution approaches and cross-sectoral collaborations, although the findings suggest that 
participatory pedagogies where children are involved in decision making on sustainability 
issues can also have a positive effort on their behavioural and attitude-related learning at 
this stage. At the school level, the eco-school programme has been widely rolled out, and 
some countries are also designing their own whole-institution approach from scratch, due 
to the risk that applying a global programme  will not grasp local issues sufficiently well. 
The teacher survey, as well as the literature, suggests that teachers prefer to mix different 
pedagogies such as project-based or outdoor learning with EES topics, but that they wish 
to have more training and materials on how to design lessons and teach skills in a targeted 
and  influential  way.  There  is  a  concern  across  all  education levels  that  whole-institution 
approaches have been found to be applied without enough pedagogical underpinning, and 
without  the  engagement  of  all  actors  in  the  school,  especially  students.  As  such,  it  can 
remain  a  ‘decoration’  rather  than  a  learning  site,  and  therefore  insufficiently  impact 
students’ mindsets.  

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Key finding 9. The active engagement of students is a major element in 

driving change towards sustainable practices and learning for sustainability 

Several  studies  attest  that  it  is  not  enough  for  schools  to  promote  action  for  the 
environment.  In  addition,  they  must  also  develop  learners’  feeling  of  ‘ownership’  over 
positive environmental behaviour.  Evidence demonstrates how  student-led sustainability 
projects can shift hierarchies and increase student agency. Going beyond simply consulting 
students, and instead ensuring their active participation in the governance of schools, has 
helped to bring them on board as powerful actors for positive change. Student engagement 
in the learning process has been crucial to ensuring the relevance of innovative pedagogies 
and  organisational  practices,  and  in  making  school  environments  attractive  to  young 
people. 

Key finding 10. Preparedness, commitment and capacity to manage change on 

the part of educators and institution leaders are key factors in ensuring the 

effective implementation of education for environmental sustainability. 

Evidence shows that  educators, as well as school leaders, are among the  key agents of 
change.  Therefore,  they  need  to  be  sufficiently  well  prepared  and  self-confident.  The 
comprehensive implementation of a whole-institution approach requires change agents to 
develop good practices in order to shape the overall culture and make EES at the institution 
both  integral  and  durable.  Institutions  that  have  succeeded  in  implementing  EES  have 
invested  in  the  professionalisation  of  their  teachers,  promoted  team  learning  and 
collaboration initiatives, provided the necessary autonomy and trust for their teachers, and 
also  provided  space  and  platforms  for  staff  to  engage  with  professional  learning 
communities.  

Key finding 11. Cooperation networks and partnerships between schools and 

local stakeholders have often provided spaces for joint innovative solutions on 

learning for sustainability 

Multi-stakeholder  cooperation  is  perceived  as  an  integral  part  of  the  promotion  of  EES. 
Given the importance  of grand transitions in contributing to combatting climate change, 
multi-stakeholder  cooperation  is  crucial  in  underpinning  a  consensus-based  vision  and 
strategy.  EES  could  therefore  also  more  explicitly  address  the  role  of  collective  action, 
multifactor networks and sociotechnical innovation in shaping energy transition processes 
in its teaching or whole-institution approach.  

To create diverse and cross-boundary learning settings that draw holistic, comprehensive 
pictures of global sustainability challenges, educational institutions and educators should 
foster partnerships at local, national and international levels. Learning within partnerships 
(involving a range of societal actors, such as businesses, NGOs, public institutions and/or 
policymakers) becomes a source of creativity and innovation through dialogues or projects 
that enable students to learn about  real-world challenges, as  well as  from the partners’ 

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expertise and experiences. At the same time, they can be empowering for partners, and 
can increase their capacity as critical agents of change. 

6.2. 

Policy implications 

This section reflects on the ways in which key actors in the European Union at all levels of 
education  and  across  the  non-formal/informal  divide  can  move  forward  to  ensure 
transformative  change  in  institutions  and  promote  system-wide  change  to  effectively 
mainstream EES. It builds upon insights from all data sources, but particularly from the 
validation of findings during the stakeholder focus group. 

Policy action 1. Place environmental sustainability as a core purpose of 

education 

This  study  found  that  a  plethora  of  good  examples  and  initiatives  concerning  EES  exist 
across the European Union. However, there is a lack of interlinkages between these 
ongoing initiatives, as well as a lack of the strategic thinking necessary to capture 
the  lessons  learnt  and  their  ongoing  achievements,  and  to  make  sure  positive 
initiatives are replicated in the future. This is a profound barrier because in order to 
address the urgency of climatic and environmental challenges, it is necessary to move from 
isolated  good  practice  to  mainstreamed  good  practice.  Most  common  understandings 
describe education as either preparation for the future more broadly or, more concretely, 
equipping learners with competences for the future labour market. Climate change, with 
its related environmental, social, and economic dimensions, is the most defining challenge 
of our time, and one that will vastly impact the future for current and coming generations.  

The main added value of actors at system level is their ability to ensure synergies, 
incentives and provide support that ensures the longevity of projects for EES, and that 
they are holistically developed and carried out across the board. To facilitate the holistic 
and  strategic  thinking  that  can  bring  about  this  transformative  change,  policymakers  at 
international, regional, national and local levels need to recognise that EES requires a shift 
in thinking around the purpose of education. They need to develop strategies and action 
plans that align sufficiently with this redirection and cover all of the pillars that support the 
education system (curriculum, pedagogy, funding and support for innovation and teacher 
training,  etc.).  This  holistic  rethinking  of  education  around  environmental 
sustainability and sustainable futures should also be mirrored in the institutions, 
where leaders are particularly important in driving this change. 

Policy action 2. Engage diverse actors across age groups, sectors and forms of 

education around EES 

The  finding  that  cross-sectoral  collaboration  between  institutions  (micro-level) 
matters for EES, applies equally to actors at the meso- and macro- system levels. 
Policymakers  and  ministries  can  collaborate  across  sectors  to  ensure  that  education  is 
always a core element of sustainability plans, as well as documents relating to economic 
development.  Action  plans  must  be  clear  and  actionable,  providing  examples  and 
guidelines  for  all  stakeholders.  Similarly,  when  engaging  in  consultation  work  and  the 
design  of  policies  for  EES,  actors  at  system  level  should  also  engage  and  invite  diverse 

118 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stakeholders including not only sectors outside of education, but also non-formal and 
in-formal education, students, teachers and parents.   

Policymakers should therefore adopt a lifelong learning perspective around EES when 
engaging  in  EES  policy  making.  EES  is  most  impactful  and  transformative  when  it 
follows the learner from early childhood to adult years in a manner that is consecutive, but 
also  cyclical  and  complete.  When  repurposing  education  around  environmental 
sustainability, it is therefore crucial for policymakers to align their strategies and actions 
across  the  different  levels  of  education.  At  EU  level,  programmes  such  as  Erasmus+, 
eTwinning and various EU-led networks can further help to engage learners and student 
teachers  in  EES  and  ensure  lifelong  learning  around  EES.  This  can  be  achieved  by 
prioritising  EES  as  a  transdisciplinary  area,  and  applying  pedagogical  approaches  that 
are  supportive  to  EES  (e.g.  project-based  learning,  student-centred  approaches,  game-
based and arts-based learning and digital innovation) in EU-funded programmes.  

Parents  and  communities  play  a  key  role  in  ensuring  the  continuous  learning 
process from one education level to another, and could take an even more active role 
in  facilitating  an  ongoing  enquiry  mode  within  sustainability  learning,  from  ECEC 
throughout the compulsory school years. Similarly, literature, good-practice initiatives and 
the  findings  from  the  case  studies  show  that  student  engagement  is  crucial  to  ensuring 
that  EES  is  implemented  in  an  engaging  and  adequate  manner  in  institutions,  and  that 
policy makers can involve students in the whole process and provide funding for student-
led projects in capacity and support action programmes.  

Overall, more broad-based collaboration for EES among various actors at formal 
and  non-formal  institutions  is  advisable  to  comprehensively  implement  the 
whole-institution approach to EES, and to reduce the workload of teachers and 
school leaders in implementing EES. This study finds a plethora of good examples of 
innovative pedagogies and courses – in particular, those provided by non-formal training 
institutions or societal actors such as museums and parks.  

The focus in building cross-sectoral collaboration and partnerships for EES should be an 
inclusive process that is driven by the interest of teachers, students and school leaders, 
and not by demands to privatise or outsource the work of teachers. Overall, as with the 
implementation  of  EES  at  system  level,  an  inclusive  process  that  considers the 
voice  of  all  education  personnel  and  students  is  crucial  at  institutions.  This  will 
ensure  the  sustainability  of  the  whole-institution  approach  and  the  wellbeing  of  the 
institutional  community  –  which  again  matters  for  the  longevity  and  success  of  EES 
initiatives. 

Policy action 3. Provide tangible links and a definition of sustainability 

competences that result in sustainability mindsets with transformative impact 

This study finds that lifelong, community-based and interdisciplinary learning is particularly 
crucial  for  the  effectiveness  of  EES.  However,  education  systems  face  challenges  in 
ensuring these principles are embedded on the ground. One core reason is  an ingrained 
reliance on a system of discipline-based education, a focus on cognitive aspects, and the 
myth  of  the  linear  learning  model,  which  implies  that  pro-environmental  behaviour  can 

119 

 
 
 
 
 
only be developed after environmental knowledge and attitudes. The traditional forms and 
contents of knowledge organisation and their respective modes of instructions need to be 
revised  to  allow  us  to  move  away  from  rigid  disciplinary  and  decontextualised 
content  and  towards  more  whole-person  learning  that  links  head,  hands  and 
heart for sustainability.  

In fact, one of the biggest challenges involved in the transition to a more transformative 
model  of  education  is  the  lack  of  a  clear  and  comprehensive  definition  of  sustainability 
competences. In addition, there is a lack of logical linkages and guidance as to the design 
of  educational  objectives  and  learning  outcomes  with  regard  to  EES.  Very  few  Member 
States  explicitly  define  sustainability  competences  in  a  comprehensive  manner.  Nor  do 
they  explicitly  describe  the  key  transversal  skills  crucial  for  effective  pro-environmental 
learning. More concretely, the complex theoretical underpinning for EES and related skills 
and  competences  are  not  easily  systemised,  as  demonstrated  in  our  introduction  to  the 
key  terms  and  concepts.  This  can  appear  confusing  to  educators  with  little  previous 
experience  of  EES, as  well as making it more  difficult for educators to navigate through 
such complexity. Better-defined learning objectives are necessary, and could help teachers 
to develop new approaches to foster sustainability mindsets in students through teaching, 
as well as helping to better integrate EES into teacher training. Defining concrete learning 
objectives  that  link  to  transversal  skills  such  as  problem  solving  or  complex  systems 
thinking could also help teachers from various disciplines to better understand how they 
can  design  modules  and  learning  scenarios  for  EES  in  an  interdisciplinary  manner.  The 
clear definition of key competences should help to mainstream EES across the curriculum. 
This will further crystallise how to assess sustainability competences and, since 
assessment often directs the teaching methods being used in class, should help 
to ensure that all teachers integrate EES.  

Policy action 4. Provide more training opportunities, and improve existing 

ones, with all education personnel 

Limited  opportunities  for  education  on  EES  for  all  education  personnel,  including  school 
leaders,  is  one  of  the  main  barriers  to  successfully  implementing  EES  in  schools  at  all 
education  levels.  At  the  system  level,  policymakers  can  direct  and  ensure  that  initial 
teacher training is in sync with the newly defined purpose of education or with their existing 
EES  strategies,  and  that  the  education  community  has  a  say  and  a  voice  in 
consultations  on  EES  policy  of  relevance  to  their  professional  development. 
Furthermore, policymakers can provide more support to training institutions for continuous 
professional  development,  and  focus  on  incentivising  courses  that  lead  to  teachers 
acquiring the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes. In doing so, policy makers should 
think outside the box and benefit from informal channels such as popular online 
repositories  where  resources  and  guidelines  can  be  shared  readily  with  the  education 
community. Training opportunities can take the form of workshops, seminars or lectures, 
and  could  be  made  available  online  and  accessible  to  all  teachers.  Supporting  teacher 
training  centres,  agencies  and  NGOs  that  provide  teachers’  continuing  professional 
development with guidance on and tools for distance learning, to increase their outreach 
to  teachers,  will  also  be  beneficial.  National  points  of  contact  specialising  in  EES 
should be established or further strengthened, given that these have been found to 
act as a great harmonisation medium for EES. The establishment of such points of contact 

120 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in countries where they do not yet exist was suggested by several experts. These contact 
points can help to clarify concepts, policies and strategies on EES; provide implementation 
guidelines  and  tools;  and  produce  monitoring  and  quality  assurance  instruments  and 
frameworks.  The  most  noteworthy  example  is  the  Permanent  Unit  of  Education  for  the 
Environment and Sustainable Development (EESD) in Cyprus. 

Policy action 5. Ensure that the institutional leadership is supportive and 

distributed among several leading actors, rather than being centralised in a 

single person 

Supportive  and  distributed  institutional  leadership  is  key  to  ensuring  the  uptake  of  the 
principles  of  EES  by  the  whole  institutional  community.  Such  leadership  welcomes  and 
actively supports the creation of a shared school vision and strategy, along with a clear 
implementation plan for sustainability. Evidence has shown that for a school to become 
EES-effective, shared or distributed leadership is required and a ‘heroic’ leadership style is 
not  sustainable  over  time354,355.  Such  a  distribution  has  governance  structures  and 
mechanisms in place that include teachers and pupils in decision-making processes. This 
affects the sense of ownership of sustainable practices among both students and 
staff, as well as the development of students’ competences. Including sustainability 
into  the  planning  and  visions  for  the  schools’  identity  and  core  operations  can  be 
particularly impactful, and can ensure that the institution implements a whole-institution 
approach with relevant monitoring and quality assurance instruments. Including students 
in school boards and giving them real decision-making power has also shown to increase 
the focus on EES and good whole-institution practices at institutions.  

Policy action 6. Ensure consistent and high-quality training opportunities for 

institutional leadership  

All of the enabling factors in the previous recommendation rely on educated and qualified 
school leaders. Formal and non-formal institutions can therefore get involved in ensuring 
that  school  leaders  are  sufficiently  well  trained  in  creating  the  culture  at  the  school 
necessary  to  mainstream  EES  through  the  whole-institution  method  in  an  inclusive  and 
comprehensive manner. Improving the qualifications and skills of early childhood education 
and care, school and higher education leaders will also ease the burden on educators 
who, in several stakeholder groups and studies, report feeling exhausted and overwhelmed 
by  overcrowded  and  rapidly  changing  curricula.  For  example,  specific  continuing 
professional development for school leaders could be developed in which leading staff can 
be supported in their work towards continuously improving implementation and education 
for  sustainability  at  their  institution,  as  well  as  change  management,  and  enabling  and 
creating  partnerships.  System-level  actors  can  get  involved  too,  by  incentivising  school 

354 Bennell, S. (2015). Education for sustainable development and global citizenship: Leadership, collaboration, and networking in primary 

schools, International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 7. 10.18546/IJDEGL.07.1.02. 

355 Abrahamsen, H. and Aas, M. (2016). School leadership for the future:  heroic or distributed? Translating international discourses in 

Norwegian policy documents, Journal of Educational Administration and History 48:1, 68-88, doi: 10.1080/00220620.2016.1092426 

121 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
leaders to make use of training opportunities, as well as supporting institutions that provide 
training  through  funding,  advice  and  connections  with  experts  (e.g.  national  points  of 
contact). 

Policy action 7. Factor in the impact of teacher mobility and the need for 

professional development and fulfilment into the design of EES strategies and 

practices at institutions  

Institutions can also ensure that educators are encouraged and recognised for their 
continuous professional development, and that newly onboarded staff experience a natural 
continuation rather than a break in their professional learning path when changing jobs. 
This recommendation is not exclusively linked to EES, but will nevertheless help to ensure 
that teachers with EES training can make use of what they have learned. If teachers are 
to be sufficiently prepared and confident, they need a supportive culture at their workplace 
that encourages their learning and teaching on EES from a lifelong learning perspective. 
In concrete terms, this means that actors at system or institution level could facilitate a 
forum or space for teachers to continue their professional development and share 
their  experience  with  each  other.  Such  a  positive  learning  culture  can  result  in 
increased  collaboration  among  teachers,  and  an  increase  in  project-based  and 
interdisciplinary  approaches  at  institutions.  This  type  of  wider  social  dialogue  and 
discussion around EES is needed at both national and local levels.  

122 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7. Annexe 

Table 15. Case study selection criteria 

Criteria 
Feasibility 

Diversity 

Whole-institution 
and holistic 
approach 

Offering context 
to  
other lessons 

Transformative 
action 

Mainstreaming 
value  

Description 
Since one of the main aims of case studies is to provide examples of effective and 
innovative approaches in EES, the availability of evidence on the results and impact 
of particular approach/policy is crucial. 

The selected initiatives have to differ in terms of a) type; b) country of origins; c) 
implementation level; d) targeted education level. This will allow for a more thorough 
analysis  of  enabling/hindering  contextual  conditions  for  the  effectiveness  of  the 
initiative. 

The selected initiatives have been measured according to how well they ‘go beyond 
knowledge’.  One  way  to  better  understand  this  criterion  is  to  break  down  the 
pedagogies  and  trends  underpinning  the  policy/initiative  into  learning  'in',  'about', 
'through' (e.g., culture) and 'for' (e.g., agency) the environment, and make sure the 
selected  case  study  focuses  on  all  of  these  (rather  than  focusing  on  the  socio-
emotional  and  behavioural  learning  dimensions  only).  ‘Through’  emphasises  an 
additional element to the three learning dimensions, by focusing on the context and 
importance of the setting that the learners find themselves in. EES lessons should 
see  the  person  and  foster  the  learners'  agency  to  develop  a  positive  future  while 
situating the learning in a wider structure and must therefore go beyond content and 
didactics.  ‘Going  beyond  knowledge’  is  still  key  to  this  criterion,  but  we  need  to 
understand  that  this  can  be  achieved  through  knowledge  as  long  as  the 
initiative/policy  encourages  comprehensive  pedagogical  approaches  that  focus  on 
the person, purpose, tools and the setting in which the learning takes place. For this 
reason,  the  learning  institution  needs  to  be  engaged  in  EES  as  well  (e.g.,  whole-
institution approach). 

Not all examples of scaling up are positive once taken out of the national context. 
Research suggests that there is a need for any education system to value the local 
or regional culture that exists there and integrate policies in a sensitive manner that 
takes the local context into account. Ensuring that there is regenerative sustainability 
is  essential,  as  every  corner  of  the  world  has  its  own  ecosystem.  We  therefore 
understand scalable and transferable initiatives as practices that can be connected 
to  other  initiatives  and  share  similar  general  principles  or  ways  of  work  in  other 
countries, or that are flexible enough and emphasise locally embedded integrations. 
It is, therefore, very important to see this criterion in light of detailed information on 
national policy synergies and policy processes that are replicable and could empower 
positive and locally embedded change-making on the ground. 

Exemplary  policy/initiatives  should  lead  to  positive  change  and  transformation. 
Overall, the research team understands transformative initiatives/policies as those 
that  take  place  holistically  and  comprehensively  and  require  action  both  vertically 
(from  individual  to  institutional  and  systemic  changes)  and  horizontally  –  all  the 
stakeholders  acting  in  synergy  for  the  promotion  of  environmental  sustainability. 
Thus,  the  criterion  emphasizes  the  need  to  choose  initiatives/policies  that  do  not 
occur  in  a  vacuum  but  as  a  part  of  a  planned  and  ongoing  and  long-term  policy 
process towards EES (be it at national, regional or institutional levels). The selected 
initiative ideally would also demonstrate positive results and impact on beneficiaries 
–  school  community  and  students  themselves  (development  of  necessary 
sustainability competences). 

The criterion on the mainstreaming abilities of the policy/initiative demands that the 
policy/initiative has been up-scaled nationally and implemented across the education 
system to have a wider impact. Besides, the initiative/policy that fulfils this criterion 
offers  potential  for  it  to  be  implemented  across  borders,  in  addition  to  specific 
settings and institutions, due to visible and measurable success factors. 

123 

 
 
 
 
Innovation 

The  national  experts  focused  on  listing  initiatives  that  were  well  known  for  their 
potential upscaling and mainstreaming. Yet not all of these can be effective across 
contexts,  either  because  of  becoming  a  standardized  approach  or  because  of 
traditional pedagogies and organization of education. The literature review suggests 
that there is a lack of good practices on assessment, evaluation and funding although 
these  have  potential  to  bring  about  systemic  impact  due  to  their  linkages  and 
importance for the working of education and learning across schools and institutions. 
This criterion should not be seen in isolation but could be a great additional criterion 
to justify some transformative and scalable actions over others. 

Table 16. Whole Institution Approaches (WIA) 

Foundation for Environmental Education Eco-schools (FEE) 

School for Sustainable 
Development Award, Sweden 

FEE Eco-Schools (England, 
Wales and Scotland) 

FEE Eco-Schools Europe 

ENSI Eco-Schools 

1998 

1995 

1994 

1986 

Pre-school,  Compulsory  school 
and non-compulsory schools 

Infants,  Primary,  Secondary 
and Special Needs schools 

Kindergarten,  Primary  and 
Secondary schools 

TYPE OF WIA 

YEAR 
ESTABLISHED 

EDUCATION 
FOCUS 

FUNDING AND 
MANAGEMENT 

FRAMEWORK OF 
OPERATION 
(INTERNATIONAL 
INFLUENCES; 
NATIONAL 
POLICIES, 
STRATEGIES; AND 
CURRICULUM 
LINKS) 

is  run  by 
UK  Eco  Schools 
ENCAMS 
(Environmental 
Campaigns), a national charity 
committed  to  creating  and 
maintaining  high  quality  local 
environments. 
Regional 
branches across the UK: Keep 
Britain  Tidy,  Keep  Wales  Tidy 
Campaign,  Tidy  Northern 
Ireland  and  Keep  Scotland 
Beautiful.  The  Eco-Schools 
Program  receives  sponsorship 
from  SITA  UK  Environmental 
Trust. 
ISO  14001 
the 
Based  on 
process and encourages pupils 
to engage with environmental 
and  sustainable  development 
issues. It provides a structured 
system  for  the  environmental 
management of schools. 

Funded  and  managed  by  the 
for 
Sweden  National  Agency 
Education 
in 
Swedish 
consultation 
Protection 
Environmental 
Agency) 

(developed 

with 

National  Agency  for  Education 
has set the criteria for schools to 
meet to receive the award under 
the  ordinance  of  the  Swedish 
Government.  Works  towards  the 
central  principles  of  the  School 
Act  and  links  directly  with  the 
plan  of  action  outlined  in  the 
Millennium Declaration, signed at 
the  2002  WSSD,  Johannesburg. 
The  award  criterion  is  based  on 
Swedish  curriculum  and  national 
syllabus. 
to 
Strong 
curriculum  from  pre-school  to 
non-compulsory 
are 
evident. 

schools 

links 

Institutes, 
Training 
Teacher 
Higher 
Swedish 
Education, 
Environment  Protection  Agency, 
National  Board  of  Health  and 
Welfare  and  the  Swedish  Work 
Environment Authority 

PARTNERSHIPS 
AND 
STAKEHOLDERS  

Support from almost all Welsh 
Local  Authorities 
together 
with  ACCAC,  ESTYN  and 
environmental  organisations 
including 
the  Environment 
Education  Council  for  Wales, 
RSPB,  Prince’s  Trust  Cymru, 
and  The  Healthy  Schools 
Network.  These  bodies  also 
help  to  provide  a  network  of 
assessors throughout Wales. 

Managed by FEE International 
Coordination and by member 
organisations (NGOs) in each 
country. 

has 

Links 

Based  on  an  Environmental 
Management System such as 
ISO  14001  or  the  EC's  Eco-
Management 
and  Audit 
System (EMAS), The Program 
methodology 
been 
designed to be the core of the 
EcoSchools  process,  yet  the 
structure is flexible enough to 
be  adopted  in  any  country, 
and  at  any  level  of  schools’ 
environmental 
previous 
achievement. 
to 
curriculum work is one of the 
seven steps as part of process. 
Schools  are  encouraged  to 
in  all  subject 
integrate  EE 
areas. 
Multi-sector 
partnerships 
core  feature.  Internationally 
UNEP  and  EU  and  sponsors. 
Nationally:  public  entities 
such 
of 
Education  and  Environment, 
as 
Regional 
as 
Administrations  and  Local 
Authorities. Public specialised 
institutions, 
NGOs, 
businesses, 
civil-society 
associations and individuals. 

as  Ministries 

well 

Schools, 
students, 
teachers, teacher trainers 
and administrators 
ENSI  is  an  international 
EE 
government-based 
network 
the 
under 
umbrella of OECD’s: CERI 
.  Self-funded  by  member 
countries  25  Members 
(represented  by 
states 
educationists 
senior 
appointed 
their 
government. 

by 

areas 

in  order 

for 
Key 
and 
development 
research 
to 
connect  activities  and 
promote  dialogue 
in: 
teacher  education  eco 
development 
school 
quality  criteria  dynamic 
qualities  (i.e.  autonomy 
and 
individual 
responsibility) 

communities: 
School 
management, 
teachers 
and  pupils.  Educational 
teacher 
authorities, 
educational 
trainers, 
research 
institutes  and 
governments  across  the 
OECD area. 

124 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
for 

the 

Aims 

Action 

General 

(materials 

cooperation 

the  School 

for 
about 

Criteria 
for 
Sustainable Development Award: 
1. 
(school 
management, activity and impact 
audit, 
programme 
development,  yearly  appraisals) 
support.  2.  Activities  (focuses  on 
teaching,  staff  competence  and 
and 
training, 
activities, 
integration 
of 
interaction  with 
local 
community) 
3.Occupational 
health  and  Safety  and  physical 
welfare  (whole  school  approach 
and  responsibility)  4.  Physical 
environment 
and 
products;  food,  waste,  water, 
energy,  air,  local  environment, 
transport and buildings). 
The purpose is to encourage and 
the  development  of 
support 
methods 
and 
teaching 
learning 
sustainable 
development.  Strong  emphasis 
on  democratic  principles  of 
students being able to influence, 
take 
and 
responsibility 
participate.  Award  criteria  looks 
at school life  - (teaching and the 
school  as  a  workplace),  ethical, 
aesthetic,  cultural  and  health 
considerations. 
Programme  steps  to  achieve 
award:  1.  Whole  school  support 
(governing  body 
to 
teachers  and  students).  2.  A 
review  (using  criteria)  of  current 
situation and activities (audit). 3. 
Development 
Action 
programme.  4.  implementation 
Report 
of 
actions 
documentation 
for 
award  and  development  of  new 
action  areas.  6.  Receive  diploma 
and use of logo. 
Schools  must 
the 
National  Agency  by  addressing 
actions 
undertaken 
achievements  to  meet  award 
criteria.  This  report  must  also 
include actions planned for future 
years. 

to  apply 

through 

report 

and 

to 

of 

5. 

The  School 
for  Sustainable 
Development Award is granted in 
the  form  of  a  diploma  and  logo 
and is valid for three years. 

WHOLE-SCHOOL 
APPROACH  

KEY FOCUS AND 
PRINCIPLES  

STAGES AND 
CONTENT  

METHODS FOR 
MONITORING AND 
REPORTING  

ACCREDITATION / 
CERTIFICATION  

Whole-school  initiative  which 
environmental 
encourages 
awareness  and  action 
to 
address  the  management  of 
the school. Must involve pupils 
in decision-making and taking 
action 

Based  on 
ISO  14001 
the 
process,  with  emphasis  on 
litter  and  waste  minimisation, 
although  schools  can  also 
focus  on  Transport,  Healthy 
Living,  Energy  and  Water 
Saving 
School 
or 
Environment/Biodiversity.  Up 
to  8  programs  of  continuing 
professional development. 

The  seven  elements  of  the 
EcoSchools  Programme:  1. 
establish 
Eco-Committee 
made  up  of  pupils,  staff, 
governors  and  parents  2. 
undertake 
Environmental 
Review,  3.  implement  Action 
Plan,  4.  link  to  curriculum,  5. 
monitor  and  evaluate  6. 
Involve  wider  community.  7. 
produce ‘Eco-Code’ or mission 
statement 

recorded 

Part  of  schools’  work 
to 
monitor  and  evaluate  their 
in 
Action  Plans.  Progress 
chosen  focus  areas, 
lesson 
plans and school improvement 
plans  are 
in  a 
portfolio.  This  portfolio  must 
be completed annually to show 
evidence of ongoing work and 
to  keep  Ecoschool  status  and 
flag. 
Schools  can  apply  for  three 
award  levels  –  bronze,  silver 
and  Green  Flag.  Schools  self-
silver; 
assess  bronze  and 
trained volunteers visit schools 
to  assess  the  Green  Flag 
award.  The  award 
re-
assessed  and  renewed  every 
two  years.  Incentives  –money 
and  savings,  recognition  and 
publicity,  links  to  curriculum, 
and links to community. 

is 

the 
framework 

FEE 
Underpinning 
international 
is 
the  principles  of  Agenda  21, 
for 
the 
including 
environmental awareness and 
improved  students’  skills  for 
active 
and 
participation 
decision-making. 

need 

all 

school 
Involves 
and 
stakeholder 
educational  experts 
in 
research (action research) 
and  school  development. 
Promote 
international 
exchanges, 
understanding 
cooperation. 

and 

issues 

Based  on  the  principles  of 
Agenda  21.  Three  main 
themes;  Waste,  Water  and 
Energy  but  schools  can  go 
onto  to  participate  in  locally 
specific 
relating  to 
LA21. Later, schools can go on 
to  focus  on  other  aspects  of 
environmental 
and 
development 
sustainable 
issues,  from  transport  and 
biodiversity  to  health  and 
citizenship. 
Seven  stage  process  1.  Eco-
committee,  2.  environmental 
review,  3.  action  plan,  4. 
monitoring  &  evaluation,  5. 
curriculum  links,  6.  links  to 
wider community 7. eco code 

Aims to develop, test and 
of 
publish  methods 
learning 
teaching  and 
which 
good 
define 
practices of EE by setting 
up 
international  school 
partnerships  and  aims  to 
conduct 
comparative 
studies  in  such  areas  as 
‘Quality  criteria  for  Eco 
School development’ 

Create  learning  networks 
Action  Research  Studies, 
Publications  Conferences 
Thematic Seminars 

Monitoring and evaluation are 
a required element as part of 
the  seven  steps  to  ensure 
targets  of  action  plans  are 
being worked towards. 

and 

Research 
international 
are 
opportunities 
provided 
to  exchange 
data  and  experiences 
from  member  countries 
and  have  access 
to 
research in EE and EFS 

Each  School  program 
is 
assessed.  Successful  schools 
are awarded the Eco-Schools 
Green Flag. 

N/A 

125 

 
 
 
 
Agency  staff  available  for  report 
writing  support  on  a  needs-basis 
and agency website 

PROGRAM 
IMPLEMENTATION 
AND SUPPORT 

The  Eco-Schools  Officer  has 
networks of contacts for most 
local authorities and will try to 
match  existing  resources  for 
specific projects. Occasionally, 
visits  to  school  and/or  small 
grants  can  be  made  when 
available.  Website  also  has 
information, 
supplementary 
links  to  curriculum  subjects 
and an interactive chatroom. 

FEE  Eco-Schools  website; 
(newsletter  with 
Eco-news 
issues  and  case  studies 
in 
languages), 
different 
activities  and  materials  for 
schools, 
regional  seminars 
and international conferences 

International 
conferences, 
workshops, 
exchanges 
professional 

thematic 
teacher 
and 

Source: Australian Research Institutes in Education for Sustainability (2004). Whole-school approaches to sustainability: An international 
review of whole-school sustainability programs. Available at: https://aries.mq.edu.au/projects/whole_school/files/international_review.pdf 

7.1.  Note on the concept and understanding of natural sciences  
The natural sciences are the sciences that seek to explain the rules that govern the natural 
world  through  scientific  methods,  the  cornerstone  of  which  is  measured  by  quantitative 
data  (Ledoux,  2002,  p.  34).  They  also  attempt  to  provide  mathematical  (either 
deterministic or stochastic) models of natural processes. There are five branches of natural 
sciences (Barr, 2006, p. 1; Simhony, 2006, p. 49), including: 

1.  Astronomy 
2.  Biology 
3.  Chemistry 
4.  Earth sciences 
5.  Physics. 

In primary and lower secondary education, natural sciences have a holistic dimension, and 
they aim to ensure that students: 

  Start  to  develop  scientific  knowledge  and  conceptual  understanding  through  the 

specific disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics. 

  Start to develop understanding of the nature, processes, and methods of science 
through  different  types  of  science  inquiry  that  help  them  to  answer  scientific 
questions about the world around them. 

  Are  equipped  with  the  scientific  knowledge  required  to  understand  the  uses  and 

implications of science, today and for the future. 

In upper secondary education (ages 15-18) and depending on the country, there are study 
directions where the subjects of physics, chemistry and biology are not offered separately. 
In  these  directions  the  afore  mentioned  aims  are  expanded  and  deepened  while  three 
broad  subject-specific  aims  in  natural  sciences  that  relate  to  the  purposes  of  learning 
science  are  enhanced:  doing  sciences;  knowing  the  subject  content  and  making 
connections; and understanding the uses of science. 

In  terms  of  content,  the  natural  sciences  in  primary  and  secondary  education,  are  a 
combination of two central branches: the life sciences and the physical sciences. The life 
sciences revolve around biological studies, and the physical sciences contain astronomy, 
chemistry, Earth science, and physics. 

126 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For  instance,  in  Belgium,  in  primary  education,  natural  sciences  subject  (or  World 
orientation,  as  it  is  called  for  some  educational  networks)  covers  nature,  technique, 
humankind,  society,  time  and  space  and  the  use  of  natural  resources.  This  can  be 
considered  as  an  example  of  conventional  case  of  Natural  Sciences  subject  in  primary 
education which is taught in a holistic manner  when students not  only acquire scientific 
knowledge and develop scientific skills but also reflect on scientific implications on nature, 
humankind, society and culture. On the other hand, in Cyprus, in primary education, the 
natural  sciences  subject  has  more  of  a  scientific  dimension  covering  the  topics  such  as 
living organisms; natural environment; energy; light; sound; matter; forces, movements, 
tools,  simple  machines,  constructions;  heaven  and  earth  (weather  phenomena  and 
geographic  orientation  etc)  and  our  body  and  health  (main  parts  of  human  body,  five 
senses, healthy living, etc)356. 

When it comes to lower secondary education, there are cases when natural sciences offered 
as a separate subject solely represents one of the central branches (either life sciences or 
physical sciences) while the rest of subjects are being taught separately. In Czech Republic, 
lower  secondary  students  address  the  educational  area  “Humans  &  Nature”,  which 
comprises of Physics, Chemistry, Natural Sciences and Geography. Natural Sciences as a 
separate  subject  covers  mostly  biological  topics  including  general  biology  and  genetics, 
fungal  biology,  plant  biology,  animal  biology,  human  biology,  inanimate  nature, 
fundamentals of ecology and empirical exploration of nature357. In other countries, Natural 
Sciences  emerge  as  a  separate  subject  providing  interdisciplinary  view  and  connections 
between  different  scientific  subjects.  In  Portugal, in  the  second  cycle  of  basic  education 
(Grades 5 to 6), science is offered as an independent course, Natural Sciences, taught by 
a teacher with specialization in the natural sciences. The curriculum for this course focuses 
on themes that are fundamental for students’ comprehension of the functions of the Sun-
Earth-life  system.  It  addresses  the  domains  of  living  and  non-living  things  and  their 
interactions, as well as the dynamics of human interventions on this system358. 

In  the  upper  secondary  education,  the  study  field  of  Natural  Sciences  might  differ  from 
country to country as well. While in Estonia, the study field of natural sciences comprises 
of 4 key subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geography (Earth Science), in Lithuania, 
this is not the case for upper secondary students who choose the social or humanitarian 
study  direction  (advanced  level  in  languages,  history,  arts)  as  a  general  one.  These 
students are offered an integrated Natural Sciences course, covering all branches of natural 
sciences  and  including  the  following  topics:  composition  and  structure  of  materials; 
inorganic  and  organic  compounds;  properties  and  changes  in  materials;  genetic 
information  in  the  cell  and  life  continuity;  movement  and  forces;  energy  and  physical 
processes; sustainability of materials and energy circuits; electricity; waves and radiation; 
environment and man; fundamentals of astronomy359. 

356 http://archeia.moec.gov.cy/mc/2/fysikes_epistimes_dimotiko.pdf 

357 https://files.eun.org/SciEduDept/EES/subject_used_merged.pdf     

358 

http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2015/encyclopedia/countries/portugal/the-science-curriculum-in-primary-and-lower-secondary-

grades/  

359 https://www.smm.lt/uploads/documents/svietimas/ugdymo-programos/vidurinis-ugdymas/Gamtamokslinis_ugdymas_4_priedas.pdf  

127 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
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