Project leader: Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan

Project coordination: Dr. Mandy Singer-Brodowski

Monitoring-Team:
Dr. Antje Brock, Julius Grund, Jorrit Holst, Dr. Mandy Singer-Brodowski, Janne von Seggern

Duration: 2020-2023

Office of the Scientific Advisor to the UNESCO Program “ESD for 2030” in Germany - Monitoring and Scientific Advice

The nationwide monitoring on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Germany is an independent, multi-method research project that aims to assess the extent, quality and process of ESD implementation over time and across various educational areas. It is headed by the scientific advisor to the National Platform on ESD (Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan) and supports the multi-stakeholder process of implementing the UNESCO program “ESD for 2030” in Germany. The project’s results are frequently documented, summarized and communicated to the interested public, educational practitioners and academic researchers. In addition, recommendations are derived for policy-making and quality development. Split into four modules, the project includes quantitative and qualitative studies, mixed-method document analyses, and evidence-based advice and knowledge mobilization.

Module 1 aims to synthesize and communicate international and national insights into ESD between the academic community and policymakers, administrators, civil society actors, the business community and education practitioners. The scientific advisor and the monitoring team convey this empirical knowledge to the National Platform and to attendees of the Expert Forums, Partner Network meetings, and the youpaN (Youth Forum) through consulting and professional support. This helps to promote evidence-informed strategies to strengthen the further development of ESD for 2030 and the implementation of the National Action Plan.

Module 2 undertakes an assessment of the status and process of ESD implementation within documents of the German education system. Building on prior analyses of over 4,500 documents from four educational areas (early childhood education, school education, vocational education and training, and higher education), it examines the extent to which ESD and related concepts have become established within the education system via a longitudinal document analysis. Its main textual sources include, among others, curricula, exam regulations, training guidebooks, legal documents, and political resolutions. The results serve as an evidence base for recommendations to foster the effective implementation of ESD. They are communicated in various formats tailored to different audiences such as academics, policymakers and practitioners.

Module 3 adopts the methodology of Reflexive Monitoring in Action (RMA). RMA stimulates processes of learning and reflection within multi-stakeholder networks that aim to spur social innovation for sustainable development. The module offers committee members the opportunity to assess the implementation of the objectives of the National Action Plan for ESD to date and, where necessary, to adjust the objectives and strategies to strengthen ESD in the German education system. To this end, the Monitoring Team will prepare, implement and document the RMA methodology in various workshops.

Module 4 assesses sustainability-related knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and ESD implementation within formal educational settings via quantitative studies. It builds on a large scale study which surveyed over 3000 young people and teachers in 2018. Alongside comparative analyses between the two survey dates, a new component aims to yield a deeper understanding of far-reaching sustainability-related learning processes. To this end, an initial mixed-methods study inquires into the conditions under which people undertake sustainability-related transformation processes.

Recent publications:

• Grund, J., & Holst, J. (2023). Emotional competence: The missing piece in school curricula? A systematic analysis in the German education system. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 4, 100238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100238
• Holst, J. (2022). Towards Coherence on Sustainability in Education: a Systematic Review of Whole Institution Approaches. Sustainability Science, 1-16.
• von Seggern, J., & Singer-Brodowski, M. (2020). Why Context Matters for Educational Policy – Analysing Interactive Practice in the Governance of Education for Sustainable Development in Germany. Zeitschrift für internationale Bildungsforschung und Entwicklungspädagogik 4(20), 25–29.
• Holst, J., Brock, A., Singer-Brodowski, M., & 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.
• Grund, J., & Brock, A. (2020). Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: Not Just Desired but Also Effective for Transformative Action. Sustainability, 12(7), 2838.
• Singer-Brodowski, M., von Seggern, J., Duveneck, A., & Etzkorn, N. (2020).  Moving (Reflexively within) Structures. The Governance of Education for Sustainable Development in Germany. Sustainability, 12(7), 2778.
• Singer-Brodowski, M., Brock, A., Grund, J., & de Haan, G. (2020). Reflections on the science-policy interface within education for sustainable development in Germany. Enviromental Education Research, Ahead-of-print, 1-17.
• Grund, J., & Brock, A. (2019). Why We Should Empty Pandora’s Box to Create a Sustainable Future: Hope, Sustainability and Its Implications for Education. Sustainability 11(3), 893.
• Singer-Brodowski, M., Etzkorn, N., & von Seggern, J. (2019). One Transformation Path Does Not Fit All-Insights into the Diffusion Processes of Education for Sustainable Development in Different Educational Areas in Germany. Sustainability 11(1), 269.