Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: Not Just Desired but Also Effective for Transformative Action

Julius Grund and Antje Brock
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Julius Grund: Institut Futur, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Antje Brock: Institut Futur, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: Despite its role as a key factor for transformation, there is still a lack of large-scale studies on the effects of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The aim of this study is to predict sustainable behavior based on reported implementation of ESD as well as psychological (e.g., attitudes, emotions) and socio-demographic variables. Descriptive statistics and a multiple regression model were used to analyze data from 2564 young people from different formal educational fields and 525 teachers from Germany. Both learners and educators desire a distinctly higher amount of ESD within formal educational settings compared to the status quo. The multiple regression model explains 26% of variance in sustainable behavior. By far the strongest predictors are, firstly, connectedness with nature, followed by emotions regarding sustainability and ESD implementation on the content level (making connections between past, present and future, the local and the global, and ecology, economy and the social). One implication of the research findings is an “update” for ESD: Emphasizing the emotional dimension of education and relating the didactics of “controversial issues” to ESD.

Keywords: education for sustainable development (ESD); environmental education (EE); sustainable behavior; pro-environmental behavior; connectedness with nature; emotions; teaching controversial issues (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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