Teacher education for sustainable development: catalysing change across the professional landscapes in Europe

Many teachers care about sustainability but say they don't feel ready to teach it. Training is often a single workshop, and sustainability tends to sit at the edges of teacher preparation. So where should effort go to make a real difference?

Ingrid Mulà and Daniella Tilbury reviewed more than 200 research papers, reports and policy documents, mostly from Europe. They also wrote up nine case studies with the people who ran each program. They checked their conclusions with ten experts from government, universities, schools and nonprofits.

The researchers identified eight "entry points" where action spreads change across the whole system. Six matter most for educators:

1. Learning together works. Teachers who learned with peers, in formal networks or informal groups, became more engaged and moved faster on whole-school change. One international network of more than 80 teacher education institutions has supported its members for 25 years. A Mediterranean nonprofit has helped train almost 10,000 teachers and teacher educators, often where national support was missing. Teams working on real changes in their own schools gained lasting motivation. Common barriers were lack of time, funding and experience.
2. Reflection beats judgment. In Hungary, teachers kept online portfolios. They collected evidence of their teaching and reflected on it in their own time, and this deepened the quality of their sustainability teaching. Recognition systems that grade teachers can cause stress. Portfolios, peer observation and self-evaluation felt less daunting.
3. Recognition motivates. Celebrating good practice encouraged teachers to go further. It worked especially well for mid-career and later-career teachers looking for a new challenge. Some small grants rewarded teamwork rather than competition.
4. Framing matters. Programs that showed how sustainability improves education overall drew in leaders and teachers who were not yet committed. Examples were better student engagement, new teaching methods and curriculum reform.
5. Good resources are focused and tested. Free online materials are plentiful, but teachers must spend time judging them. One widely used program succeeded because it had clear objectives, used active learning and was tested in schools many times.
6. Standards set expectations. Scotland requires every registered teacher to show sustainability in their practice. Standards worked best when teachers helped shape them and when they were flexible enough for different roles.

What this means for your practice:

Find or start a peer group. If your school or organization offers little support, a network can fill the gap. A small team that meets regularly to work on one real change in your setting is a strong place to begin.

Keep a reflection portfolio. Collect photos, student work and short notes about what you tried. If you supervise or train others, use self-evaluation and peer visits rather than formal judgment.

Lead with better teaching. When you talk with principals or doubtful colleagues, start with what sustainability does for student engagement and active learning. Connect it to goals your school already cares about.

Choose and build resources with care. Look for materials with clear objectives and active learning that have been tried with real students. If you write materials, test them and revise them.

Celebrate colleagues. Recognize good work publicly. Experienced teachers looking for something new may be eager to take on a sustainability role.

Nonprofits and nature centers can fill gaps. The review shows that nonprofit partners and networks have trained thousands of teachers where official support was lacking. If you work in such a setting, the review suggests your training role can matter a great deal.