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Marco Rieckmann
Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education – an International
Perspective

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Citation:
Rieckmann, M. (2019): Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education. An
International Perspective. In: Lahiri, S. (ed.): Environmental Education, Delhi, pp. 33–48.

Version: Online since:

Authors‘ final postprint version 23 March 2020
 Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education – an International
Perspective
Marco Rieckmann
Abstract
Teacher education is a key prerequisite for the promotion of education for sustainable development (ESD) at
schools. Whether school-based education processes and the schools themselves can be shaped as sustainable
educational institutions, depends largely on the knowledge, competencies, attitudes and values of the
teachers, but also on the interaction with institutional frameworks and curricular structures. However,
looking in detail at the state of teacher education for sustainable development in Germany, it becomes clear
that the field is still very much characterised by courses and projects in individual disciplines. To date, there
are hardly any structural changes in teacher education and training, and there is a need for development in
the school structures and curricular requirements in order to promote the ESD concept. Therefore, in the
coming years in the context of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD, a stronger and faster
integration of ESD into the structures of teacher education and the fostering of ESD practice should be given
more importance.
Keywords: Education for Sustainable Development, Teacher Education, Germany

1. Introduction
Against the backdrop of global ecological, social, economic and cultural problems and the necessary societal
transformation, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims to promote the development of
sustainability competencies (Lozano et al. 2017; Rieckmann 2012). ESD is intended to enable people to
participate in sustainable development and critically reflect on their own actions. This affects both teachers
and learners. In the sense of an emancipatory understanding of ESD, it is not about specifying certain
sustainable ways of thinking or behaving, but enabling individuals to think about questions of sustainable
development themselves and to find their own answers (Wals 2015).
Teacher education is a key requirement for promoting ESD at school. Teachers are powerful change agents
for delivering the educational response needed for achieving sustainable development. Whether school
education processes and the schools themselves as educational institutions can become more sustainable
depends on the knowledge, competencies, attitudes and values of the teachers, but also on the interaction
with institutional frameworks and curricular structures.
Teacher education must meet this challenge by reorienting itself towards ESD as demanded by international
declarations, such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Strategy for
Education for Sustainable Development (UNECE 2005) and the Bonn Declaration (UNESCO 2009), as well
as various educational policy papers at the national level. The monitoring and evaluation of the Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) has shown that there are many good examples of
integrating ESD in teacher education (see box 1) and that the support of teachers has been a key condition to
the successful adoption and implementation of ESD (UNESCO 2014a).
Box 1: Country examples of good practice of teacher education programmes integrating ESD
Jamaica – Pre-service teachers learning through ESD community action projects
“Literature and Education for Sustainable Development is a core course for students pursuing the
graduate programme in Language Education, and an elective for students in the graduate programme
for Teacher Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. The course aims to
introduce students to the concept and principles of sustainable development and to provide them with
opportunities to explore the role of ESD in creating a sustainable world. There are three components
to the course: 1. A global framework in which students examine local and global sustainability
challenges. 2. The study of literature as a means to develop empathy, give students a sense of
community, clarify values, understand sustainability from multiple perspectives, and motivate them to
act. 3. Engagement in community action projects. As a major assignment, students are required to
address sustainability challenges in their community. Students have chosen to address issues of
violence, poverty and environmental degradation through peace projects, working with the homeless,
school gardening and bee-keeping, to name a few. Students have found the course most useful as they
attend to real-world problems and work closely with their communities. They come to understand that
they can learn from, as well as help improve the quality of life in their community.”
Greece – In-service teacher training
“The Ministry of Education established 46 Centres for Environmental Education and Sustainability
under the Regional Directorates of Education all over the country. The projects these centres are
running aim at training teachers in order to implement projects related to ESD in their schools.
During the 2011 school year, 184 seminars for 8,745 teachers of primary and secondary education
took place.”

Source: UNESCO (2014a, p. 92, 97)

However, efforts to prepare teachers to implement ESD have not advanced sufficiently. Therefore, more
work still needs to be done to reorient teacher education to approach ESD in content and teaching and
learning methods. That is why the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD in its priority action area 3 aims
at building capacities of educators. One of the proposed actions in this area is to integrate ESD into pre-
service and in-service teacher education programmes (UNESCO 2014b).
This chapter particularly presents and discusses to what extent teacher education in Germany adequately
prepares teachers for this task and to what extent a promotion of institutional framework conditions and
curricular structures conducive to ESD is given.
2. Teacher Education for Sustainable Development and its Institutionalization

2.1 Framework Conditions for Implementing ESD in Teacher Education

At the political level, since 1992 framework conditions have been created that promote actions of societal
actors, including teachers, in the spirit of sustainable development. These include strategies and programmes
such as the UNECE Education for Sustainable Development Strategy (UNECE 2005), the UN Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and the Global Action Program (GAP) on Education
for Sustainable Development (2015-2019) (UNESCO 2014b). In addition, the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) (United Nations 2015) also play a role in teacher education (UNESCO 2017). Although
teacher education and school education in Germany are a matter for the 16 States that form Germany, the
education system itself proves to be a multilevel system with horizontal as well as vertical decision-making
structures. This should also be considered in the context of the implementation of ESD. Programmes such as
the UNECE Strategy, the GAP or the SDGs are therefore as much reference frameworks as the regulations of
the Ministries of Education on the First or Second State Examination when it comes to implementing ESD.
Target 4.7 of the SDGs specifically refers to ESD: “By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire knowledge and
skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for
sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of
peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution
to sustainable development” (United Nations 2015, p. 17). Some German States, such as Saxony or Baden-
Württemberg, have already developed appropriate educational materials on the SDGs for schools or are
currently developing these. As part of the implementation of the SDGs, overarching initiatives are also
taking place, such as “The World's Largest Lesson” (World's Largest Lesson 2016). To what extent such and
other activities in the context of the SDGs can be established in schools and in teacher education will have to
be analysed in the coming years.
The GAP has set itself the goal of gaining stronger political support for ESD (priority action area 1), to
holistically transform learning and teaching environments (priority action area 2), to develop competencies
among teachers and multipliers (priority action area 3), to mobilise the youth (priority action area 4) and to
promote sustainable development at local level (priority action area 5). In particular with areas 2 and 3, the
GAP directly addresses the relevance of teacher education for sustainable development. Priority action area 2
aims to promote the Whole-Institution Approach in schools and all other learning and teaching
environments. Priority action area 3 focuses on fostering the competencies needed by change agents to
promote ESD, and integrating ESD into the education and training of early childhood, elementary and
secondary and vocational education teachers and trainers (UNESCO 2014b).
As part of the implementation of the GAP in Germany, a National Platform and forums have been set up,
which have developed and defined fields of action as well as targets for the National Action Plan on ESD,
which was published in June 2017 (National Platform ESD 2017).
Teacher education for sustainable development is described in the National Action Plan as a field of action.
It states: “Teachers, educators, multipliers and those who train them are effective change agents. In order to
develop their competencies, ESD must be structurally implemented in education, training and further
education. For this purpose, framework conditions and quality standards must be set and promising support
measures developed” (translated from German by the author, National Platform ESD, p. 26). In order to
achieve this, the following goals are formulated: competence development of teachers; implementing ESD in
teacher education and training; examination of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and
Cultural Affairs (KMK) on how to incorporate the implementation of ESD in its future decisions and
recommendations; participation of extra-curricular educational partners in all phases of teacher education
(National Platform ESD, p. 26).
For the implementation of the National Action Plan and thus also for implementing ESD in teacher
education, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) plays a
central role. Since the beginning of the Decade, ESD has been mentioned in documents of the KMK. In
2007, the KMK, in collaboration with the German Commission for UNESCO, published for the first time
recommendations for the implementation of ESD in schools and conducive framework conditions (KMK /
DUK 2007). The relevant ministries of the German States set the school curricula, regulations and
examination requirements for the first and second phase of teacher educationi and thus have the opportunity
to implement ESD in both pre- and in-service training. The inclusion of ESD in school curricula creates the
need for further training of teachers. With reference to the standardised examination requirements and
content requirements for subject-related didactics formulated by the KMK, some German States have
incorporated ESD as a compulsory element into their laws on the first and the second teacher examination,
such as Baden-Württemberg. The goal set out in the National Action Plan to examine how the KMK can take
into account the implementation of ESD in its future decisions and recommendations (National Platform
ESD 2017), at least suggests that the KMK will interlink its activities with those of the GAP.
In addition to the German States and the coordinating federal institutions, such as the KMK, especially the
subject didactics of Sachunterricht / Integrated Studies, geography, economics, political sciences and social
sciences, biology, chemistry and physics contribute to the implementation of ESD. Other actors in the field
of ESD and teacher education in Germany are networks, such as the German-language network “Teacher
Education for Sustainable Development” (LeNa), which published a memorandum and a research paper on
strengthening ESD in teacher education in 2014 (LeNa 2014a, b), as well as the ESD-network of universities
in Baden-Württemberg or the international network “Reorientation Teacher Education towards
Sustainability”ii. The German Educational Research Association (GERA) maintains an ESD subdivision.iii

2.2 Framework Conditions for the Implementing of ESD by Teachers

The implementation of ESD at schools places high demands on teachers. It presupposes that they have dealt
with the concepts of sustainable development and ESD. By integrating the educational concept into teacher
education and training, teachers are empowered to address key societal issues and to deal with them together
with their students. Teachers are enabled to design learning processes to support the acquisition of
sustainability competencies in the classroom. This includes also to work interdisciplinary and in projects.
Thus, ESD allows to view the own teaching practice from a new perspective. Qualification of educators for
working with the concept can be expected to contribute to innovations in school education and an increase in
the quality of education (Barth and Rieckmann 2012).
The importance of teacher education for the promotion of ESD at schools has been emphasised again and
again in various documents in Germany and at international level in recent years, e.g. in the ESD indicators
(Adomßent et al. 2012). One of the ten indicators proposed to monitor the integration of ESD into the
education system in Germany is “Training of teachers in education for sustainable development” (Adomßent
et al. 2012). The UNECE devotes two indicators to teacher education in the area of “equipping educators
with the competence to include sustainable development in their teaching”: Sub-indicator 3.1.1: Is ESD a
part of the initial educators' training? And sub-indicator 3.1.2: Is ESD a part of the educators' in-service
training? (UNECE Expert Group 2007, p. 7).

3. Teaching Competencies for ESD

It is widely agreed that teachers need to be qualified to work with the concept of ESD and that they have to
acquire certain competencies to deal with issues of sustainable development and to orient their teaching
practice to this concept. In order to prepare teachers to facilitate ESD, they must develop sustainability key
competencies (including knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, motivation, and commitment). However, in
addition to general sustainability competencies, they also need ESD competence which can be described as a
teacher’s capacity to help people develop sustainability competencies through a range of innovative teaching
and learning practices. Concerning teacher competence development, the German National Action Plan on
ESD asks for “promoting the development of ESD competence models for teacher education (school and
university teachers)” by the Federal State, as well as “promoting pilot projects on teacher education for
sustainable development at all phases and their interrelations” (National Platform ESD 2017, p. 27).
In order to integrate ESD into the classroom and to promote sustainability competencies among the students,
the teachers should be able to address the challenges of sustainable development and their own role in this
process. Issues raised by the concept should be considered in an integrative and multi-perspective way and
dealt with across disciplines. This includes the reflection of one's own subject in terms of its importance for
sustainable development as well as a change of perspective for subject-related content. Teachers should also
be able to design teaching-learning environments that allow students to participate and gain experience in
dealing with sustainable development tasks (see box 2).

Box 2: Learning objectives for teachers to promote ESD

 Know about sustainable development, the different SDGs and the related topics and challenges
 Understand the discourse on and the practice of ESD in its local, national and global context
 Develop their own integrative view of the issues and challenges of sustainable development by
taking into account the social, ecological, economic and cultural dimensions from the perspective
of the principles and values of sustainable development including that of intergenerational and
global justice
 Take disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinaryiv perspectives on issues of global change
 and their local manifestations
 Reflect on the concept of sustainable development, the challenges in achieving the SGDs, the
importance of their own field of expertise for achieving the SDGs and their own role in this
process
 Reflect on the relationship of formal, non-formal and informal learning for sustainable
development, and apply this knowledge in their own professional work
 Understand how cultural diversity, gender equality, social justice, environmental protection and
personal development are integral elements of ESD and how to make them a part of educational
processes
 Practice an action-oriented transformative pedagogy that engages learners in participative,
systemic, creative and innovative thinking and acting processes in the context of local
communities and learners’ daily lives
 Act as a change agent in a process of organisational learning that advances their school towards
sustainable development
 Identify local learning opportunities related to sustainable development and build cooperative
relationships
 Evaluate and assess the learners’ development of cross-cutting sustainability competencies and
specific sustainability-related learning outcomes

3.1 Competence Models

These elements of ESD competence are described much more in detail in a number of different models of
teacher competencies in the field of ESD, such as the CSCT model (Sleurs, 2008), the UNECE model
(UNECE, 2012), the KOM-BiNE model (Rauch and Steiner, 2013), as well as the approach from Bertschy et
al. (2013). The UNECE model (2012) refers to all educational practitioners and is divided into four areas: 1.
Learning to know (The educator understands...), 2. Learning to do (The educator is able to...), 3. Learning to
live together (The educator works with others in ways that...), 4. Learning to be (The educator is someone
who...). Teacher education programmes should be further developed to meet these standards.
While the CSCT model, the UNECE model and the KOM-BiNE model refer to the relationship of teachers
to society, their sustainability values, attitudes and behaviours, and thus their involvement in the sustainable
development of society, the approach of Bertschy et al. (2013) focuses on the professional context. This is
based on what teachers can and need to know in order to be able to teach in the sense of ESD. However, the
question arises as to whether teachers who do not relate, at least to some extent, their own attitudes and
values (and behaviours) to sustainable development, are able to work with students on sustainable
development issues in a credible way.
3.2 Concepts for Integrating the Development of ESD competence into Teacher Education: Strengthening
Interdisciplinarity

Different concepts have been elaborated on how ESD can be integrated into teacher education and thus also
the acquisition of appropriate competencies for teachers can be fostered. For facilitating the development of
ESD competence in teacher education, changes concerning the content and structure of pre-service and in-
service teacher education are necessary. ESD should be a cross-cutting concern for teacher education as well
as for the in-service training and should provide fundamental orientation. In the first phase of teacher
education, the concept should be integrated into the compulsory modules of the subject disciplines, subject-
related didactics, educational sciences and practice-oriented studies (National Platform ESD 2017), where
close cooperation of the areas is important (see box 3). At the same time, interdisciplinary work should be
promoted. In the sense of a comprehensive competence development, the students should also be given
opportunities for situated learning.

Box 3: Possible modules of a teacher education curriculum with ESD as a key element
 Basic concepts of sustainable development from a local, national and international perspective
 ESD concepts from a local, national and international perspective
 Disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary views of key examples of sustainability
challenges
 Project-oriented work on specific problems of local, national and global importance in
cooperation with educational institutions and other (local) partners
 Research-based analysis of ESD processes in different learning settings (such as schools, colleges
or non-formal educational institutions)
 Practical experiences with ESD approaches and their critical reflection

In the second phase, the prospective teachers have to be enabled to broaden their ability to act and to reflect
on school practice in relation to the objectives of ESD. Here, also the qualification of the subject leaders in
the study seminars plays a central role. A comprehensive integration of ESD into the provision of continuing
in-service training must take place in the third phase (National Platform ESD 2017): In this context,
institutions of further education such as competence centers of universities and state institutes are to be
named as central institutions.
Learning on the basis of real societal challenges in local contexts requires cooperation with external partners.
Modules should thus enable access to external partners (such as communities, non-formal educational
institutions, and ESD networks) and include possibilities for project-oriented collaboration.
Additionally, ESD requires internationalisation as an element of teacher education, in particular by making
international debates about ESD and discussions about cultural diversity integral components of modules.
This means that students should be given the opportunity to study abroad, facilitating practical experiences.
In order to integrate ESD more in teacher education, there should be a participative development of the
content and the organisation of teacher education programmes with key stakeholders such as students,
teachers, local NGOs, and ESD experts. For facilitating innovation, it is crucial for the educational institution
to have the necessary structural conditions as well as the freedom to engage in organisational learning
processes.

As many teachers still have not learnt about ESD already in their pre-service training, they need to have
access to in-service training on ESD. On the one hand, this would open up opportunities for developing the
necessary knowledge and competencies to participate in the process of sustainable development. On the
other hand, professional development is a prerequisite of reorienting educational processes and educational
institutions. Here it is crucial that professional development for ESD is available to more than only one
teacher from the same institution and that it is recognised by the educational systems regarding applications,
promotions, etc. Also national and regional centres of expertise for ESD could develop opportunities for
professional development and advisory services, making use of the potential of government and non-
governmental organisations as well as universities and other institutions of higher education.

Against this background, the question arises what has been achieved – especially in the context of the UN
Decade – with regard to teacher education for sustainable development in Germany.

4. State of Teacher Education for Sustainable Development in Germany

4.1 Studies on Teacher Education for Sustainable Development in Germany

Although there are already some good examples of the integration of ESD into teacher education, there is
currently little data on the state of integration of ESD into teacher education at German universities. With a
survey of the German States “On the situation and perspectives of education for sustainable development”,
the KMK (Kultusministerkonferenz) (2017) has gathered statements on the integration of ESD into the three
phases of teacher education in Germany. When interpreting these results, however, it should be borne in
mind that this is not a structured survey with specific, clearly defined criteria, but the self-reports of the
states. These vary considerably in detail. In addition, areas such as “environmental education” are sometimes
referred to as activities in the sense of ESD (KMK 2017).
The results show that “ESD [...] is implemented in most States both in the first and second phases of teacher
education in different ways” (KMK 2017, p. 5). With regard to the first phase of teacher education, it
becomes clear that there the implementation of ESD takes place, for instance, “through the integration of the
acquisition of transversal competencies on the basis of a framework regulation, which is autonomously
implemented by the universities in the study curricula of the subjects, or in a subject- or topic-related way
through the integration in individual subjects (e.g. Sachunterricht / integrated studies, science, geography,
economics) as well as within the modules of educational science” (KMK 2017, p. 5). Here, ESD is usually
understood as a cross-sectional task or competence. In addition, there are ESD-related project activities or
events in the first phase. For example, in Baden-Württemberg with the introduction of new teacher education
programmes in the winter semester 2015/2016, for all student teachers the acquisition of cross-sectional ESD
competencies is a mandatory part of their curricula. In Berlin, an implementation project with Freie
Universität Berlin for the integration of ESD into higher education is planned as part of the “Curriculum
Framework Education for Sustainable Development” (KMK and BMZ 2016). At the University of Bremen,
in study courses with teacher training ESD is part of the subject-specific curriculum of the subject
“Interdisciplinary Sachunterricht / integrated studies” (elementary and primary education) and the didactic
curricula of the natural sciences. In addition, it is possible for all student teachers at the University of
Bremen to complete a school-related research internship on issues of sustainable development and write
corresponding master's theses. At the University of Hamburg, ESD is the systematic reference point of the
curricula in the teacher education courses in different phases of the study (KMK 2017). “In most States,
however, there is currently no binding regulation, so that there is not yet a comprehensive and systematic
implementation of ESD in teacher education in the states” (KMK 2017, p. 5).
This also applies to the second phase of teacher education. “Here, too, it can be stated that there is currently
not a binding, nationwide and systematic implementation of ESD in all States" (KMK 2017, p. 5). Also in
the second phase, ESD “is understood to a large extent as a cross-sectional task or competence or in the
context of interdisciplinary educational tasks and as an implicit component of all subjects or of subjects
particularly related to ESD” (KMK 2017, p. 5). Partly, it can be seen also an implementation of ESD in all
framework curricula for the seminars and an integration into the seminar training. In addition, projects,
elective modules and events or additional qualifications as well as the qualification of subject leaders and
other teachers at the seminar are used for the integration of ESD in the second phase of teacher education. In
some cases, network structures in the States also play an important role in the integration of ESD at the
seminars. For example, in Hesse, the study seminars in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt and Heppenheim have
integrated ESD into their training. In Baden-Württemberg, also in the second phase, ESD as an
interdisciplinary competence is an implicit component of all subjects (KMK 2017).
Regarding the third phase, the KMK notes that ESD is “involved in teacher training in a variety of ways in
the states". However, the offers “essentially depend on the state-specific framework conditions and
respective organisational structures” (KMK 2017, p. 5). Even if there are good examples in in-service
teacher training such as ESD as a cross-sectional competence in the subject-related and interdisciplinary
official teacher training in Baden-Württemberg, ESD as a guiding theme for various fields of teacher training
at the Hamburg State Institute for Teacher Education and School Development (LI) or the Counseling Center
"Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)" of the central in-service training institution “State Institute
for Pedagogy and Media” in Schleswig-Holstein (KMK 2017), there are no nationwide offers in all States.
Although significant progress has been made in some States compared to the last KMK survey (2012), it is
still clear from the data currently available that “despite many years of discussions about the need to promote
education for sustainable development, especially in teacher education [...] such initiatives and structural
decisions are still in their infancy” (translated from German by the author, Stoltenberg and Holz 2013, p.
41).
4.2 Possibilities of implementing ESD in teacher and school education

As a key institution, the KMK could play a more important role in the deeper integration of ESD in the
German school system. Since concepts and topics of school education are closely linked with teacher
education, this interaction should also be used in the implementation of ESD into teacher education. If ESD
were part of the educational standards for primary, secondary and higher education, the concept would not
only have a chance to be taken seriously, but also to be more integrated into all subject didactics. A key
player in this context could be the Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen (Institute for Quality
Development in Education), which deals with the further development, operationalisation, standardisation
and review of educational standards.
For the first phase, not only the framework agreements on the education of arts subjects, such as art and
music, and the educational standards for teacher education could be extended to include the concept of ESD
– but also the examination system, which regulates the completion of the first phase, would have to be
adapted accordingly, that is, the framework agreements on the education and examination of a primary
education teacher (type 1 teacher) and on the education and examination of general student teachers of
primary education and all or individual types of secondary education (type 2 teacher). To date, there is no
mention of ESD.
As far as the second phase is concerned, ESD should be included in the common requirements for the
preparatory service and the final state examination in order to prevent the concept from being considered as a
voluntary addition.
Another step towards the integration of ESD into teacher education, the capacity building of teachers and the
related effectiveness research could be the programmes “FONA3” of the BMBF and the “Quality Offensive
Teacher Education” of the Joint Science Conference (GWK). While ESD has been identified as a central
component of sustainability research in the framework programme “FONA3”, there is no explicit reference
to teacher education and training. The “Quality Offensive Teacher Education” focuses on inclusion as a key
thematic focus – but there is no mention of ESD, although diverse cohesion potential could emerge in the
themes of research and innovation addressed through ESD and inclusion. By examining empirical evidence,
the aforementioned programmes could support and make even more visible the work with the concept of
ESD in teacher education.

5. Conclusions

Teacher education for sustainable development is an important prerequisite for promoting ESD at schools. It
supports teachers in developing the required competencies. Progress has been made in recent years in
integrating ESD into teacher education. However, this still concerns rather isolated courses and projects;
structural changes are only beginning to emerge. So far, there is not a single university in Germany that
understands ESD as a cross-sectional issue of teacher education and systematically integrates it into all
subjects, subject-related didactics, educational sciences as well as school-practical studies. The same applies
to the second phase of teacher education in the study seminars.
The further development and above all the practical testing and implementation of the existing concepts for
integrating the educational concept ESD into teacher education and thus the transfer of model projects and
individual best practice examples into the structures of teacher education – in the sense of a binding and
systematic integration of ESD – remains an existing challenge. The teacher-training universities and study
seminars are only just beginning to align their educational offerings with the ESD concept. This process
could be accelerated by a binding integration in the teacher training regulations.
Furthermore, there are still no nationwide offers for in-service training on ESD for teachers. And the
effectiveness of existing offers could be increased by addressing, for example, school management, study
seminars and the school inspectorate with further education and training. In addition, the implementation
process in schools after further education and training should be more closely supported. These efforts in the
practice of teacher education should be supported and accompanied by increased research on teacher
education for sustainable development. This could be, for example, research for the modeling and measuring
of teaching competencies and thus a deeper scientific development of the necessary professional knowledge
of teachers. Also, more empirical research on the state of teacher education for sustainable development in
Germany as a whole and at individual universities is needed, but also on the subjective theories on
sustainability and ESD of (prospective) teachers.
I hope that in the coming years, in the context of the GAP, more emphasis will also be placed in Germany on
the stronger and faster integration of ESD into the structures of teacher education.

Notes
i
In Germany, teacher education is divided into a first academic phase at university (3-5 years) (first phase) followed by an in-service
training phase (1.5-2 years) run by the respective state’s education authority (second phase). The continuing (lifelong) in-service
training of all teachers is often called the third phase of teacher training.
ii
The network was founded by the UNESCO Chair "Reorienting Teacher Education to Address Sustainability" at York University in
Toronto, Canada.
iii
http://www.dgfe.de/en/sections-commissions/division-3-intercultural-and-international-comparative-educational-
research/subdivision-education-for-sustainable-development.html
iv
Interdisciplinarity means cooperation among different scientific disciplines and the “integration of different
disciplinary perspectives, theories and methods”. Transdisciplinarity refers to “cooperation with experts in
possession of practical experience from outside the academic world” (Godemann 2006: 52).

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