Education for sustainable development: a teacher guide

Education for sustainable development (ESD) connects subject learning to decisions about people, resources and the environment. You can begin with an existing unit: choose a question students can investigate, look at who is affected and plan a useful response.

Start with one unit

1. Choose a topic and an SDG that fit a unit you already teach.
2. Set a question students can investigate, such as how the school uses water or handles food waste.
3. Decide what evidence the class can collect or read.
4. Plan a response: a proposal, a classroom change or findings shared with another class.
5. Ask students to explain what they learned, what changed and what remains uncertain.
6. Review the work with a colleague or partner teacher and choose what to try next.

Keep the first task small enough to finish within your unit. Students can begin by sharing findings; a larger school improvement can follow if the people involved agree to it. For subject-specific activities, see the classroom ESD examples.

Three ways to teach ESD

1. Connect an SDG to your subject

Use the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to connect a subject topic with a wider question. An energy unit can explore SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy. A discussion of poverty can use SDG 1; nutrition can connect to SDG 2 and SDG 3.

Map these connections with colleagues across subjects and year groups. Jacqueline Harmer recommends this whole-staff approach in her 2023 Edutopia article, with attention to age and accessibility.

2. Investigate a real question

For a water topic, students might collect school-approved usage information, compare findings with a partner class and propose a way to reduce waste. Ask them to show the evidence behind the proposal and consider who would need to help. This gives them a chance to practise reasoning and collaboration.

3. Connect learning with school life

A whole-school approach connects lessons with school operations, decision-making and community participation. A class studying food waste might discuss its findings with catering staff; students could help plan the response and check it later. UNESCO includes learning environments and local action in its ESD for 2030 roadmap.

Lucy Hargreaves describes whole-school examples, including Finland and Eco-Schools, in a 2008 Development Education Review article. It is a historical account of approaches and challenges, rather than evidence of their current coverage.

What does ESD mean?

UNESCO describes ESD as learning that develops knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for responsible decisions about the environment, society and the economy. It can run through science, geography, language, social studies and other subjects.

The ESD for 2030 roadmap identifies five action areas: policy, learning environments, educator capacity, youth and local action. Its 2020 framework connects classroom learning with wider changes in education and communities.

Why use ESD in K-12 teaching?

Questions about climate, biodiversity and inequality connect several subjects. An ESD task gives students a way to use subject knowledge, compare perspectives and explain a choice. Set the curriculum goals for your class, then assess the work students actually produce.

Education is SDG 4 and also supports learning for the other goals. UNESCO's 2017 learning-objectives guide offers topics and activities that teachers can adapt to their setting.

Eight competencies to plan and observe

UNESCO's 2017 guide names eight sustainability competencies. Use them to choose questions and look for evidence in student work. A lesson can offer practice; it does not establish that every student has mastered a competency.

• Systems thinking: What is connected to this issue?
• Anticipatory thinking: What might happen after this change?
• Normative competency: Which values and priorities shape the choice?
• Strategic competency: What action can we plan and test?
• Collaboration: How can we learn and work with others?
• Critical thinking: What supports or challenges this claim?
• Self-awareness: How do my choices affect the situation?
• Integrated problem-solving: How can we combine what we have learned to propose a response?

The OECD's 2018 global-competence framework also addresses examining issues, considering perspectives, interacting across cultures and taking action. It can help you plan an international discussion. It is a framework for learning and assessment, not proof that a particular ESD lesson improves PISA scores.

What do the cited studies show?

Abdullahi and colleagues' 2024 study surveyed 251 university students in Somalia and found an association between ESD and sustainability behaviour. Bonilla-Jurado and colleagues' 2024 review examined 50 studies about higher education. These papers concern university settings; they do not establish outcomes for K-12 pupils or for the activities suggested here.

Plan an international ESD project

An international project adds another community's perspective to a local question. Two classes can investigate the same issue, compare their evidence and explain why their proposed responses differ. The current Class2Class educational framework combines international collaboration, competencies and student participation.

Choose an SDG and a question that both classes can investigate. A short exchange of observations may suit a first project; a longer collaboration can include a shared proposal or a tested idea. Agree the activities and timetable with the partner teacher.

Name the learning you want to observe, such as explaining evidence or responding to another perspective. Keep students' drafts, discussions and reflections to see how their thinking develops. The eight Class2Class competencies are a separate classroom framework from UNESCO's eight sustainability competencies.

Use the Project Assistant to develop a topic, goals and activity timeline. Review and edit its suggestions so they fit your class. Decide how students will show their learning before the project begins.

Resources for planning

• UNESCO learning objectives: topics and activities for each SDG.
• UNESCO ESD for 2030 toolbox: guidance and resources for implementation.
• Edutopia: a teacher's approach to mapping SDGs across the curriculum.
• Five ESD strategies: another Class2Class guide to classroom integration.
• Sustainable Development Goals: an introduction to the goals for teachers.