Europe's education agency makes sustainability recommendations

All countries in Europe cover sustainability in their curricula to some extent, and most educational systems integrate sustainability skills across different subjects, according to a report by Eurydice, part of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EECEA).

The report, Learning for sustainability in Europe: Building competences and supporting teachers and schools, was prepared following a 2022 Council recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development. 

It finds that almost half of the education systems analysed set sustainability-related learning objectives for their new teacher training programmes. However, only a third of education systems provide financial support for small-scale infrastructure, like maintenance of school gardens, or field trips related to sustainability, and this support is rarely granted automatically. In addition, less than a third of education systems monitor how schools embed sustainability in their activities by establishing specific criteria related to learning for sustainability in either external or internal school evaluations.

Sustainability competencies

The report analyses the top-level curricula, learning competences and support measures for schools and students in seven areas:

• valuing sustainability;
• promoting nature;
• systems thinking;
• futures literacy;
• adaptability;
• political agency; and
• individual and collective action.

In addition to the findings above, it notes that:

• among the seven sustainability competences, futures literacy is the least present in European curricula. This skill allows students to imagine alternative future scenarios and think about possibilities so they can identify action that can lead to expected or preferred futures;
• education systems usually provide current teachers with training, teaching materials, resources and guidelines relating to sustainability education; 
• support for whole-school approaches to sustainability is widespread throughout European school systems; and
• nearly half of education systems have obtained labels relating to sustainability in schools. These are special labels to show that a school promotes sustainability, including international sustainability school programmes, such as the Eco (Green) Schools programme and the UNESCO Schools Network.

Report recommendations

The report recommends:

A whole-school approach, with sustainability competences embedded in the curriculum in a holistic way across all activities. While the majority of European education systems provide guidance for schools to enable them to develop whole-school approaches to sustainability, financial and non-financial support for specific school activities is less common.
Training and support for teachers is needed so they can implement sustainability teaching approaches. Current support and training opportunities could be reinforced. Less than half of the education systems analysed required new teachers to be trained in sustainability-related competences. Support for the professional development of current teachers is more common, but training is rarely mandatory.
Financial support should be increased to enable schools to invest in infrastructure that can be used in learning for sustainability or to fund regular school activities related to sustainability, such as field trips. The report notes that projects promoting sustainability education may depend on the initiative of individual teachers or school leaders. 
Comprehensive policies and strong actions are needed to promote sustainability at European schools and support teachers and schools providing all students with the opportunity to develop their competences in this domain.

Many education systems have demonstrated that such a comprehensive approach is possible. For instance Finland adopts a holistic approach to sustainability competences in its curriculum and provides a wealth of support to teachers and schools. At the same time, schools have autonomy regarding how to spend government funding for sustainability projects. 
 
Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth notes in the report that the EU is committed to ensuring that every young European has access to high quality education and training on sustainability. To achieve this goal, she says governments need to develop comprehensive strategies to prioritise learning for sustainability among schools, educators and students. This should include integrating sustainability as a central theme in education policies. She adds “I am confident that the rich evidence in this comprehensive report will serve as an invaluable resource for educators, policymakers and other stakeholders to foster the development and enhancement of learning for sustainability.”

Next steps

The Commission says the report strengthens its evidence base in terms of the progress achieved so far, and what gaps exist. As such, it will contribute to evidence-informed policy responses that further support embedding sustainability into education and training systems across Europe. The findings will also serve to inform the Commission’s annual publication on the state-of-play of education and training in the EU, the Education and Training Monitor.

The European Commission supports sustainability education through a growing number of initiatives. For example:

• the dedicated School Working Group on Learning for Sustainability exchanges experiences and good practice on common challenges;
• the Erasmus+ programme places a strong focus on the green transition and sustainability in education and training.
• the current call for projects on teacher education has climate change, the environment and sustainability as a priority area for funding.  
• environmental protection, sustainable development and climate action are priorities for the European Solidarity Corps; and
• through the Education for Climate Coalition, the Commission supports a growing community of learners and teachers active on climate change and sustainability issues.

The Commission has also developed resources such as GreenComp, the European framework which describes the sustainability competences that should be acquired by learners of all ages. Since its publication in 2022 it has found its way into education and training programmes, curricula and policies in schools and outside. To foster collaboration on green competences a Community of Practice around GreenComp was created which individuals and organisations can join.

Read the report here.