TY - CHAP

T1 - Implementing education for sustainable development in the German school system

T2 - Implications for teacher education

AU - Barth, Matthias

AU - Kater-Wettstädt, Lydia

PY - 2021/9/28

Y1 - 2021/9/28

N2 - Education, and education for sustainable development (ESD) in particular, plays a central role in building society’s capacity to address some of the most pressing societal challenges we are facing today. This central role is reflected in the commitment of the international community to global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which is to ensure an inclusive education for all. Accordingly, it has been the aim of the Global Action Programme (GAP) to further develop and disseminate the results of the UN Decade of ESD (2005-2014). To ensure adequate implementation of ESD at all levels will ultimately require a focus on teacher education, both in higher education and on the job in the form of continuing professional development (CPD). Consequently, the GAP included a key action area explicitly aiming to strengthen the capacity of educators to become learning facilitators for ESD. More and more countries are embedding ESD in their priority areas for teacher education policies and practices. However, to prepare teachers for the challenge of implementing ESD at the school level, universities and teacher-education programs must embrace pedagogies that help foster the competencies required to take action and equip teachers to serve adequately as competent change agents. In this chapter, we illustrate how ESD can be implemented in different phases of teacher education and provide examples of structural support and progress achieved in Germany.

AB - Education, and education for sustainable development (ESD) in particular, plays a central role in building society’s capacity to address some of the most pressing societal challenges we are facing today. This central role is reflected in the commitment of the international community to global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which is to ensure an inclusive education for all. Accordingly, it has been the aim of the Global Action Programme (GAP) to further develop and disseminate the results of the UN Decade of ESD (2005-2014). To ensure adequate implementation of ESD at all levels will ultimately require a focus on teacher education, both in higher education and on the job in the form of continuing professional development (CPD). Consequently, the GAP included a key action area explicitly aiming to strengthen the capacity of educators to become learning facilitators for ESD. More and more countries are embedding ESD in their priority areas for teacher education policies and practices. However, to prepare teachers for the challenge of implementing ESD at the school level, universities and teacher-education programs must embrace pedagogies that help foster the competencies required to take action and equip teachers to serve adequately as competent change agents. In this chapter, we illustrate how ESD can be implemented in different phases of teacher education and provide examples of structural support and progress achieved in Germany.

KW - Sustainability education

KW - Educational science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120388086&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/4a71eab1-7cb0-38fc-a77c-fa2793daabad/

U2 - 10.4324/9781003197973-11

DO - 10.4324/9781003197973-11

M3 - Chapter

AN - SCOPUS:85120388086

SN - 9781000454147

SP - 157

EP - 175

BT - Quality in Teacher Education and Professional Development

A2 - Chi-Kin Lee, John

A2 - Ehmke, Timo

PB - Taylor and Francis Inc.

CY - London

ER -